Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights is the epitome of the English classic novel. It has the perfect mix of love, suspense, thrill, and mystery. The characters unfold slowly, but are complete in themselves and fit into the plot. The life of the 19th century can be ascertained by how the children grow up, the thought-processes and the kind of living and transportation modes. In this review of Wuthering Heights, I will highlight a little bit of the story and tell you why I quite liked the book.
The story begins when a Mr. Lockwood comes to rent the house, Thrushcross Grange and encounters the spirit of old Catherine. The old housemaid, Nelly Dean starts to recount the old stories which form the major part of the novel. How the estate came to be owned by Heathcliff, who was brought home from the roads one day. How Heathcliff and Miss Catherine became such good friends and then fell in love. How they were not allowed to be married. And what spurned the angst of Heathcliff and how he came to own a lot of the estate by brains and means. She also explained that since Heathcliff genuinely loved Catherine, her spirit wandered looking for him. Their children, then, meet each other and how the story progresses is very different, anticlimactic and yet a great read. Because the events are realistic, and naturally unfold. The story wraps up everything neatly and has a happy ending which is all you can ask for.
Bronte’s writing is so good, that you never want to put down the book. Once you get over the old English writing style, you end up wanting more. I read Jane Eyre, and Pride and Prejudice after this because I couldn’t get enough of the charm of the old English courting and portrayal of romance. Wuthering Heights is a book with a mass appeal, the perfect hint of mystery and lots of doleful, lovely moments. Some noteworthy sentences make it a keeper. A definite good read for me. It is also not a very long, which increases its appeal.
My Rating: 4 out of 5
Suspense Rating: 5 out of 5
Complexity Rating: 5 out of 5
General Pace of the book: 4 out of 5
Recommendation: Grab a copy soon!
EDIT: Lauren, a fellow blogger commented to tell me that Heights is a Gothic novel rather than a Victorian one, as a previous version of this post mentioned. I have made the correction and understand the distinction!
