Reviews with content warning for Animal cruelty - O Monte dos Vendavais

A well-written book, which brings to life the cold harsh-natured yorkshire moors through everything from the scenic description, the buildings, the characters and the plot.
For those who believe this is a romance, it is not, and I pray for those misguided.
This is a dark gothic tragedy, each turn of the plot is filled with dark sorrow. It tells the story of repeated cycles of abuse and the different characters as they live and die through it. Each suffer pain and inflict it, only little sparks of hope carry the reader through this tragedy. The love for Catherine that ties the novel together is not a great romance but a twisted dark tale.
It has been excellently written by Emily Brontë, an author who felt such tragedy during her life and after her death. Wuthering Heights is both a horrible trial and a pleasure to read.

Tip: if you have never heard a thick rural yorkshire accent, I recommended looking up videos of old yorkshire poetry before attempting reading (and butchering) Joesph’s accent.

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cinthiaurora's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Great book. Emily Brontë’s writing is so gorgeous at some points that it takes my breath away. Trying to read Joseph’s dialogue gives me a headache though.

Spoiler

Wouldn’t necessarily say she ending is unsatisfactory but it is frustrating how Mr. Lockwood’s character was truly obsolete all along. Nelly is also kind of a frustrating character because she’s such a passive narrator. Her will never influences the outcome of the story. I know it’s because she’s a servant, but you’d think she’d have at least some influence over her own actions. Her primary purpose really IS to just be there and observe, and occasionally be used as a tool to move the plot along. Kind of depressing for a character who’s dialogue narrates literally the entire book.
Also, most of the characters are extremely unlikable but you’ll love it if you know that already going in.

Final note; I disagree with the general consensus that this book is slow-paced. Someone dies or gets married nearly every chapter, and there’s several years long time jumps… I don’t know how much faster it can really get.

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lochlynwolfe's review against another edition

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dark 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

4.5

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lleer's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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yvespiders's review against another edition

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Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I decided to re-read Wuthering Heights 20 years after I first read it. The second time around, I feel like I have a much better understanding of Emily Brontë's intentions and I have developed more of an appreciation for this novel. I no longer see it as a romantic love story; instead, I see it more like a poetic, gothic story about social class, the vicious effect of childhood abuse on oneself and later generations, and the futility of vengeance. The story is not the most comfortable to read; most of the characters are hateful and there were certain parts that surprised me with its brutal violence. But Heathcliff's character arc and his reflection towards the very end of the book made this masochistic read worth it in the end.

I hesitate to call this a timeless masterpiece, which is why my rating isn't that high. There were some aspects that made this dated and insufferable at times. For instance, I LOATHED the dialogue from Joseph (I generally hate it when authors write out a character's dialect) and I skimmed through those parts. And though frame stories were not uncommon during Brontë's time, the jump from one narrator to another was handled clumsily, in my opinion. However, I think the book offers great commentary on the human condition and I appreciate the fact that this book was so different from other novels that came out at the time same time.

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l_gs's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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lectricefeministe's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad slow-paced

3.0

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greatexpectations77's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.25

This book is completely wild. Maybe I needed to read it when I was younger to cut through all of the child maltreatment and threats against other people and see the supposed love story? I am. Confused. I had to SparkNotes this because I could not remember who was relaying the story. Whew - a trip, and not necessarily one that I would go on again.

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