Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Lockwood travels to Wuthering Heights in hope that he can heal from his broken heart. He finds the people living there fascinating, and his servant tells him the dramatic history of Heathcliff, the Lintons, and the Earnshaws. Heathcliff and Catherine fell in love at a young age, but misfortune forced them apart. Years later, Heatcliff returns to find his Catherine married to someone else. He becomes obsessed with getting revenge with every one who he blames for his loss.

I had to read this book for Honors English and if it hadn't been required reading, I probably would have liked it a lot more. As one of my guy friends pointed out, it's basically a literary soap opera.

I love how thought-provoking it is. Is Heathcliff insane and obsessed? Or is he really just THAT in love with Catherine? There is so much going on and so many questions that arise from it. And then there is like incest. Which is... interesting.There are so many complications and things that the author doesn't tell you. Like is Nelly Dean really telling the truth? Or is she making up parts? And it can even be argued that she loves Heathcliff herself.

The only thing that I didn't like about Wuthering Heights was how confusing it was. It's a "frame story" meaning that there are narrators telling of other narrators. Even though Nelly Dean is telling the majority of the story, it is really Lockwood who is writing all of this down in his diary. So it can be a little confusing to keep track of who is talking. Especially with all the weird punctuation. And the character names. It gets to be quite complicated! There is Catherine Earnshaw, the one who loves Heathcliff, and Catherine Linton, her daughter. And then there is Edgar, who is sometimes referred to as "Linton" and then another character named "Linton". I had to keep a family tree near me when I read so I wouldn't get confused.

Though slightly confusing and as required reading, Wuthering Heights wasn't all that bad. It's a timeless story that can still be loved today. 4 out of 5 stars.