Okay, so this is one of those books that theoretically I should have read a long time ago. We've had this really cool version of it since I was a kid. We used to have another classic, but it's gone, and I don't remember what it was. Wuthering Heights is a story that, on the surface, seems like it would be right up my alley. But, I had a sense that it was not a happy ending kind of story. Maybe it was something I heard.
Hindley and Catherine are siblings. Their father brings home an orphan named Heathcliff, and they all grow up together. Catherine and Heathcliff become close, but Catherine marries a neighbor for questionable reasons. Later, Catherine becomes ill, and Heathcliff marries Catherine's sister-in-law because he's a jerk. The next generation becomes playthings for Heathcliff's revenge plans, and it seems that no one can stop him.
This book made me angry. I hated everyone in it, and that doesn't happen very often. Usually there's at least one or two characters that I can at least tolerate to root for. In this, they all sucked. Everyone was either whiny, selfish, spoiled, made numerous bad decisions or turned a blind eye when others did. I kept thinking the best thing that could happen to these people would be for an earthquake to swallow up both estates and be done with them. The end wasn't even really that happy. The "couple" was unevenly matched with one of them still mocking the other. Ugh.
I don't know why people love this book. To each their own. Heathcliff is not a sympathetic character. He reminded me a little of Edward Rochester from Jane Eyre (funnily enough written by Emily's sister Charlotte). The difference is that Rochester had an arc during the book where he underwent a change. Heathcliff just went downhill and stayed there. I was not a fan of this one. Having a character to root for is a must for me, and without that, I just couldn't enjoy it.
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