Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

13 reviews

wuthrinheights's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I first read this book a year or two ago, and I now hold two physical copies of it. This is a reread and I still harbor so much love for this story. When I was getting nearer to the ending, I was half glad, half saddened. I was excited to be finished with it so I could go on to read other books but I also didn't want to say goodbye to these characters. Seeing the story spread out for 20 years, I grew attached to them as if I was also a part of the moors. 

Although I do not condone their behaviours, I was still so fascinated and amazed by the intensity of the love held between Catherine and Heathcliff. They were wild and reckless and passionate, which hurt not only each other but the people around them and others that came after them. My favourite parts of the book were their love confessions spoken to Nelly. It was so intense and agonising, it plays so vividly if I were to think back on the book. 

My favourite character was Nelly. Everyone was always dramatic and taken by emotions, but Nelly was always cool and focused. Her deadpan deliveries cracked me up, which gave a lighter tone amidst the gloomy setting of the Heights. She often spoke the truth and would strive to do the right thing, even if her master(s) didn't like to hear it. 

It is still so mind-blowing that despite being written hundreds of years ago, Brontë was able to pen a story that covers abuse running through generational lines, when it probably wasn't that well studied back in those days. Emily was way ahead of her time and it's a shame she never got to see how well her book was loved after the publication. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Ableism, Child abuse, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Incest, Abandonment, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Grief, Racism, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Death, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, and Toxic relationship

acasiamae's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Violence, Abandonment, Addiction, Incest, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, and Physical abuse

Minor: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

seapotatohowisitalrtaken's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Grief, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Addiction, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, and Sexual content

Moderate: Blood, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Gaslighting

Minor: Death of parent

aisabel's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Kidnapping, Confinement, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Addiction, Incest, Medical content, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Classism, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, and Racism

joygarcialim's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Emotional abuse, Incest, and Physical abuse

Minor: Addiction

lectricefeministe's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Grief, Incest, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Violence, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Sexism, Stalking, Alcoholism, and Toxic relationship

jessthanthree's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Racism, Religious bigotry, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Infidelity, Grief, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

pysselfia's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

yikes my dude it did not need to be that racist

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexism, Ableism, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Xenophobia, Alcoholism, Bullying, Classism, Grief, Incest, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Child abuse, Death, Racial slurs, and Violence

neni's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

 I didn't expect this to be as engaging as it was. Obviously classics can be enjoyable, and I've read classics that moved me ( Jane Eyre, for one), but they're usually more serious in tone and with a more sad/ reflective vibe. 

Wuthering Heights managed to give off that dreamy, nostalgic vibe we associate so much with the Bronte sisters, but paired it with frankly the juiciest family and relationship drama I've ever read lmao. Seriously, the kardashians have nothing on these characters , and I mean that in the best possible way. 

The ammount of toxicity in the relationships and the sheer magnitude of the generational trauma, while not exactly pleasant to read all the time, made for a gripping narrative. There were plenty of moments I actually found pretty funny, just from a "let's see how much of a human disaster this bitch is" perspective. Like a car accident in slow motion: you know shit is about to go down badly but you just can't look away. 

The characters themselves were all pretty unlikable, which surprisingly made it fun to read about ( even if I ended up not particularly caring about any of them lol). 

On a more serious note, I really liked the writing style ( to be expected) and thought the narrative strategy was clever (a character, being the narrator, telling another character the story) and interesting (obviously it's not unique to this book, but I thought it fit the story particularly well). 

One thing that brought the rating down slightly for me was the ending, which gave me mixed feelings. 

On the one hand, I couldn't help but feel the satisfaction of what is basically the closest thing to a "happy" ending I think is possible. On the other hand, I thought Heathcliff somehow got off "too easy" (that bastard of monumental proportions certainly deserved more suffering in my opinion) and the romantic plotline kind of came out of nowhere, in a way that didn't feel very believable. Especially considering the backrounds and the previous behaviors of the affected characters . I wasn't exactly disappointed, per se, but there was definitely a meh feeling. 

Overall though, I really liked this and enjoyed my time reading it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Violence, Terminal illness, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Death of parent, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Alcohol, Abandonment, Addiction, and Alcoholism

Minor: Animal cruelty

corleone's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Abandonment, Child abuse, Bullying, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Terminal illness, Racism, Physical abuse, and Incest