Book 28: Finished.

I really, really loved Wuthering Heights. It was not at all what I expected it to be, but that's okay-I loved it anyway.

I know that a lot of people cannot stand it, and I am sure it is for the very reasons I listed in my last post. All of the characters are horrible people. They all make decisions that leave the reader wondering, "Are they crazy? Stupid? or just extremely passionate?" I am thinking they are all of these things. Each character made me go crazy with anger. I kept yelling at them in my head to wake up and learn a little. They never did.

But I loved the book. It is a different portrait of love. Catherine and Heathcliff's love affair is certainly passionate and full of emotion. It is also nothing like what you would expect. It is violent at times, and scary-like watching two trains barreling towards one another on a track with no brakes. You want to look away, but you just can't.

The second half of the novel, which focuses on Catherine's daughter, is even more mind-boggling. If there ever was a spoiled little daddy's girl, little Catherine would be it. She is everything her mother was and more. Like her mother, she is also spoiled and passionate. She does what she thinks is best for herself, with hardly a care for the implication of her actions on those around her.

Overall, this is definitely an extremely powerful novel about just that. It is a good look at how our actions can harm those around us without our realizing it. It is about how we should be careful how we treat others around us because in the future, we could be at their mercy.

This is definitely a powerful novel and one that I will be sure to read over and over again.

Book 28: Characters.

I just feel like I should say this outright.

I really hate every character in Wuthering Heights.

There, I said it.

They are all whiny, selfish, self-absorbed, idiotic, uneducated, power-hungry, over-dramatic morons.

*sigh*

It feels good to get that out.

Now, with all of that being said, I love the novel.

Perhaps that is a contradiction, but it's true. While the characters make me cringe, I am sucked into the drama and passion that is Wuthering Heights.

I don't mean to harp on the Twilight references (after all, I got out some anger in yesterday's post), but I can't help but comparing the two. Perhaps Meyer really did base her characters on these selfish people. Heathcliff is so like Edward. He is controlling, violent, and overbearing. Catherine is the essence of all of Bella Swann's horrible characteristics. She is selfish and asks for pain and heartache.

It is almost as if Meyer loved these characters and just modernized them for the benefit of today's readership. Because, like the characters in Wuthering Heights, all of the characters in Twilight are cringeworthy.

Okay, no more Twilight from now on.

Anyway, I cannot stand any of the characters. The narrator is a whiny little man who seems a little too obsessed with the history of the place called Wuthering Heights. In all honesty, he has no business inquiring after any of the inhabitants or commenting on them. When he is fully in a scene, I find him annoying and whiny. He complains too much.

I also cannot stand the housekeeper-Nelly. Since most of the novel is from her point of view (she is relating the history of Wuthering Heights to the MC), we get to hear a lot from her. What irks me is that she knows better, but she still constantly plays into Heathcliff's traps and does what is worse in every situation. It is mind-boggling and aggravating.

The two main love interests in the first volume are also incredibly irritating. Heathcliff is overbearing and power-hungry. He is a violent character, moody, and downright mean. I can find nothing good in him.

And Catherine is a selfish woman who only cares about her own happiness.

Even with all of this being said, I still LIKE the book. I don't know why, but I am drawn to these horrible people and their poor messed up lives. I don't see the love in this story, but I am waiting to be surprised. I am waiting to see if Bronte can make these people into something meaningful and less disgusting. But even while I wait, I still like the book. I like how even though there is nothing to love, I want to know more.

I suppose that is the draw of this novel, and why when it first came out, critics were skeptic of the writing style. Books this dark didn't draw audiences back then like they might now.

So yes, I am curious to see where it goes.

Has there ever been a book where you hated the characters but still loved the story?

Book 28: Wuthering Heights.

I feel like this is one of those books I should have read a long time ago. I mean, I love Austen and often the Bronte sisters and Austen seem to go hand in hand. However, I never read any Austen until I was in my third year of college, and up until this point, I have never read anything by any of the Bronte sisters.

I am starting to think that my English degree is a joke.

But, I am trying to remedy all of these problems by reading these books now, right?

Back to Wuthering Heights. I'll be honest and say that I have a lot of reservations about this novel. Perhaps it might be that whenever I think about Wuthering Heights recently, I see a few images that have scarred my mind.

I am referring to this:



And this....



That very small part of that is a book snob cringes whenever I see these covers. It is not because the covers are modernized, it is because of how they are being marketed. You see those small little "stickers" on each edition? They both say, "Bella & Edward's Favorite Book." THAT makes me cringe.

I understand the Twilight phenomenon. I mean, I read all 4 books and while I enjoyed them, I would never, never refer to them as great literature. I see many big problems in them, the largest being Edward's insane level of stalkerish tendencies. So I have a really hard time with this Twilight themed brand of marketing. It makes me angry.

In my opinion, you should want to read Wuthering Heights because of its storyline and history. Not because it is Bella and Edward's favorite book. Why do two fictional characters have such an influence on what you read?

I also worry about how so many Twilight fans will interpret Wuthering Heights. In regards to writing style and ability, Bronte and Meyer are worlds apart. They come from different eras and backgrounds. I worry that fans of Twilight will read a few pages of Wuthering Heights and hate it outright, thinking, "This is NOT Twilight!!! I was LIED to!!"

*I feel I should note why I say this. When I first saw these editions in a book store, there were two young girls looking at them. One of them picked up a copy and started reading the first few lines, then set it down saying, "This is so boring. Who would want to read this?" The other girl looked at the book and said, "I think that is one of those old books. You know? One that Mrs. ****** would make us read.*

So yes, I go into reading Wuthering Heights with a lot of hesitation. Again, perhaps this is snobbish of me to be so worked up about new editions. After all, not every person who picks it up is doing it because of a book craze, but because they want to read good literature, like I do.

But I have to wonder, will marketing it this way give it more fans or fewer? Is this a clever way of getting teenagers to read more classics and give them a shot? Or is it simply going to make more readers turn away from classic literature from being mismarketed to? I am curious to find out.

What do you think?

Book 28: Book Stats.

Title: Wuthering Heights
Author: Emily Bronte (1818-1848)
First Published: 1847

My Edition: Penguin Classics Hardcover (one of the new fabric bound editions)
Pages: 353

Emily was the second of the three Bronte sisters. Her big sister was Charlotte (author of Villete and Jane Eyre). Her younger sister, Anne, was also an author and wrote Agnes Grey. Emily also wrote poetry as well, but Wuthering Heights was her only known novel. When it was first published in 1847, it was published under the name of Ellis Bell. In 1850, Charlotte decided to republish the novel using her sister's actual name.

I have never read any of the work of the Bronte sisters. Surprising, isn't it? I suppose it has been fear that has kept me away. I am mostly afraid of not liking novels that I "should."

Eventually I will be reading Charlotte Bronte's Villete and Jane Eyre.

Sunday Salon...on Monday.

This has been a horrid week. My laptop has some insane virus on it that is driving me crazy and while Matt and I have tried to get it off with a lot of different scans, nothing is working. We decided that we are just going to wipe it and reboot it tonight. Luckily, I got on yesterday and managed to save everything I needed, so I shouldn't lose anything else (I lost my novel in progress back in January when we tried to wipe the laptop-sensing a trend?)

Since I was so upset about not blogging and getting new posts up, reading fell by the wayside for most of the week. I did start Wuthering Heights on Saturday morning and now I only have about 50 pages left. But, reading was not as successful as it could have, and should have been.

I also had my first day of substitute teaching on Friday. I spent half the day in a kindergarten classroom. I was completely out of my element, since I am certified for 6-12, so I don't think I will be taking a job like that again any time soon. I do have a 2-day job lined up for Thursday and Friday at the district that wanted to hire me this past summer and the job is in my age group and subject matter, so it should be a fun 2 days!

I also signed up for the Classics Circuit in April. I am bummed not to be participating in the Zola tour. I read Germinal in December and loved it, but it was the only Zola on my list. To make up for my disappointment, I will be reading two novels for Dumas, which I am eager to read.

I am also disappointed in the lack of entries for my giveaway, so if you haven't already, please enter! And spread the word! There is a link at the top of my blog.

Goals for this week:

• Laptop back up and running.
• Finish posts for O Pioneers and Little Women
• Finish Wuthering Heights
• Read Alias Grace

Happy reading everyone and I hope to be back in the full swing of things soon!