Luis Ramos
One-Sentence Book Review
A classic for a reason, a fantastic look into how generational trauma can have devastating consequences, along with a revenge-and-obsession-heavy plot.
Summary, Thoughts and NotesWuthering Heights is a book that mainly revolves around the lives of two families, the Lintons and Earnshaws, and the complex relationships between them after Mr. Earnshaw adopts Heathcliff and raises him as one of his children. We accompany these children throughout most of the book, starting from when they're children, all the way to adulthood and even follow the lives of their children up to a certain point. The main plot of the book revolves around Heathcliff and Catherine, who fall in love with each other, but won't have their love materialize with each other for reasons their own. This unfulfilled love turns into obsession, combined with the complex relationships between most of these characters mixed with some physical and emotional abuse makes for a very intriguing and intricate story that is both impactful and interesting.
Themes and Character NotesI've read many people describe this book as a romance novel, which I very much disagree with, this is a fantastic view into how generational trauma can be deeply ingrained into the personality of people and how difficult it can be to overcome said trauma and try to be the change you want. The characters Heathcliff and Catherine are very complex characters who are most affected by these kinds of trauma, they love each other, then torture each other for not being able to be together. Even after Catherine's death, Heathcliff constantly suffers and blames Catherine for making him suffer so, and this trauma is reflected in how poorly he treats others in turn. In addition to all of this, Heathcliff's main motivation in most of his actions is that of revenge. Revenge on Catherine's brother for making Heathcliff's life miserable when they were children, and revenge on Edgar Linton (Mr. Linton's son), who's the one that actually ended up marrying Catherine, and who Catherine chose over Heathcliff simply for his money and status, despite her admitting she actually loves Heathcliff.The main themes of obsession (not love!) and revenge are present all throughout the book, and different ways they affected even Heathcliff's and Catherine's children are made very apparent very early on. It is these children, who at first are victims of said generational trauma, and who are also seen as abusive to begin with, who break the cycle of abuse, at least from the Earnshaw and Linton side, Heathcliff's only son, unfortunately, ends up being a victim of his father's obsession, but it does make for a very powerful moment when we see that these behaviors can be broken and that each person is the owner of their own destiny and have the free will to decide how to act for themselves.
What Worked, What Didn'tI came into this book without knowing anything about it and with a very open mind, it turned out to be better than I could have anticipated. I felt the characters very real, and their torment and suffering was just as emotional for me at times as it was for them, the book is filled with some very powerful moments which only makes the book more impressive as the whole story takes place in the two houses each family lives in and the road that connects them, we see nothing outside of this small bubble, and that just helps create this feeling that these relationships are all that these characters have.On the other hand, I did find the book a bit too dreary at times, which could turn some readers off the novel, make no mistake, this is a dark and emotional journey. A lot of times, the book focuses too much on what the characters, Heathcliff and Catherine, mostly, would do to take their revenge, and seeing a lot of those plans come to fruition makes the novel take on a darker tone.On the topic of Catherine, she has a daughter, also called Catherine/Cathy, which makes an already complicated family tree more confusing. It's normal for parents to name their children after themselves, but in this case, I think it does make the plot and understanding who's who more complicated than it needed to be.The whole story is told from one of two perspectives - Mr. Lockwood and Nelly. Mr. Lockwood is a complete stranger to both families who comes to Wuthering Heights (originally the Earnshaw's house) to rent Thrushcross Grange (originally the Linton's house) from Heathcliff, who, as part of his plan for revenge, ended up owning both houses at the end of the story. Mr. Lockwood is, in reality, a minor and fairly forgettable character, throughout the story, which makes using him as one of the voices we learn about these families an interesting decision. The other voice we hear this story from, Nelly, is originally one of the housekeepers for the Earnshaws, and hers is the main voice we learn everything from. The issue that might arise with Nelly, is that given her role as a housekeeper, it's hard to imagine she had as clear an idea of everyone's intentions and what they were thinking as she believes she has. In this sense, she might be seen as an unreliable narrator for some readers. In my opinion, that just adds to the intricacies of the story and makes it that much more interesting, to allow us, as readers, to form our own judgements towards each of the characters, since we're learning everything from someone who would have their own biases as well.
Personal Recommendation
Given the impactful story, complex characters and relationships, this is definitely a story worth diving into, I wouldn't recommend this book for people who are sensitive to dark themes or if abuse and trauma are triggers. If, on the other hand, you can handle these things and are looking for an intense read that really looks at generational trauma and how it can stop with one's own choices, this is a definitive recommendation from me.
One-Sentence Book Review
A classic for a reason, a fantastic look into how generational trauma can have devastating consequences, along with a revenge-and-obsession-heavy plot.
Summary, Thoughts and NotesWuthering Heights is a book that mainly revolves around the lives of two families, the Lintons and Earnshaws, and the complex relationships between them after Mr. Earnshaw adopts Heathcliff and raises him as one of his children. We accompany these children throughout most of the book, starting from when they're children, all the way to adulthood and even follow the lives of their children up to a certain point. The main plot of the book revolves around Heathcliff and Catherine, who fall in love with each other, but won't have their love materialize with each other for reasons their own. This unfulfilled love turns into obsession, combined with the complex relationships between most of these characters mixed with some physical and emotional abuse makes for a very intriguing and intricate story that is both impactful and interesting.
Themes and Character NotesI've read many people describe this book as a romance novel, which I very much disagree with, this is a fantastic view into how generational trauma can be deeply ingrained into the personality of people and how difficult it can be to overcome said trauma and try to be the change you want. The characters Heathcliff and Catherine are very complex characters who are most affected by these kinds of trauma, they love each other, then torture each other for not being able to be together. Even after Catherine's death, Heathcliff constantly suffers and blames Catherine for making him suffer so, and this trauma is reflected in how poorly he treats others in turn. In addition to all of this, Heathcliff's main motivation in most of his actions is that of revenge. Revenge on Catherine's brother for making Heathcliff's life miserable when they were children, and revenge on Edgar Linton (Mr. Linton's son), who's the one that actually ended up marrying Catherine, and who Catherine chose over Heathcliff simply for his money and status, despite her admitting she actually loves Heathcliff.The main themes of obsession (not love!) and revenge are present all throughout the book, and different ways they affected even Heathcliff's and Catherine's children are made very apparent very early on. It is these children, who at first are victims of said generational trauma, and who are also seen as abusive to begin with, who break the cycle of abuse, at least from the Earnshaw and Linton side, Heathcliff's only son, unfortunately, ends up being a victim of his father's obsession, but it does make for a very powerful moment when we see that these behaviors can be broken and that each person is the owner of their own destiny and have the free will to decide how to act for themselves.
What Worked, What Didn'tI came into this book without knowing anything about it and with a very open mind, it turned out to be better than I could have anticipated. I felt the characters very real, and their torment and suffering was just as emotional for me at times as it was for them, the book is filled with some very powerful moments which only makes the book more impressive as the whole story takes place in the two houses each family lives in and the road that connects them, we see nothing outside of this small bubble, and that just helps create this feeling that these relationships are all that these characters have.On the other hand, I did find the book a bit too dreary at times, which could turn some readers off the novel, make no mistake, this is a dark and emotional journey. A lot of times, the book focuses too much on what the characters, Heathcliff and Catherine, mostly, would do to take their revenge, and seeing a lot of those plans come to fruition makes the novel take on a darker tone.On the topic of Catherine, she has a daughter, also called Catherine/Cathy, which makes an already complicated family tree more confusing. It's normal for parents to name their children after themselves, but in this case, I think it does make the plot and understanding who's who more complicated than it needed to be.The whole story is told from one of two perspectives - Mr. Lockwood and Nelly. Mr. Lockwood is a complete stranger to both families who comes to Wuthering Heights (originally the Earnshaw's house) to rent Thrushcross Grange (originally the Linton's house) from Heathcliff, who, as part of his plan for revenge, ended up owning both houses at the end of the story. Mr. Lockwood is, in reality, a minor and fairly forgettable character, throughout the story, which makes using him as one of the voices we learn about these families an interesting decision. The other voice we hear this story from, Nelly, is originally one of the housekeepers for the Earnshaws, and hers is the main voice we learn everything from. The issue that might arise with Nelly, is that given her role as a housekeeper, it's hard to imagine she had as clear an idea of everyone's intentions and what they were thinking as she believes she has. In this sense, she might be seen as an unreliable narrator for some readers. In my opinion, that just adds to the intricacies of the story and makes it that much more interesting, to allow us, as readers, to form our own judgements towards each of the characters, since we're learning everything from someone who would have their own biases as well.
Personal Recommendation
Given the impactful story, complex characters and relationships, this is definitely a story worth diving into, I wouldn't recommend this book for people who are sensitive to dark themes or if abuse and trauma are triggers. If, on the other hand, you can handle these things and are looking for an intense read that really looks at generational trauma and how it can stop with one's own choices, this is a definitive recommendation from me.