I remember liking this book as a teenager. Maybe I didn't read it very well or didn't understand it because this time through I thought Heathcliff was just a mean old ornery guy, not a romantic hero. That being said it does contain creative story telling and had remained a classic novel for about 200 years now.
This is the bad review it got: On Wuthering Heights: “How a human being could have attempted such a book as the present without committing suicide before he had finished a dozen chapters, is a mystery. It is a compound of vulgar depravity and unnatural horrors.” — Graham’s Lady’s Magazine, 1848
I wouldn't be as severe as that but reading this book gave me pains. It is the one book I keep telling myself maybe I should read it a second time just to make sure I actually understood it but I just can't bring myself to do it.
I am a huge sucker for period romance novels and classic romances. However, I have read Wuthering Heights twice and watched a couple of movie adaptations. It is not at all romantic. At least not as far as Heathcliff is concerned. In his case, he was basically obsessed. He was jealous, possessive, and driven by revenge. I think this novel basically shows how love can go horribly wrong.
This is the bad review it got:
On Wuthering Heights: “How a human being could have attempted such a book as the present without committing suicide before he had finished a dozen chapters, is a mystery. It is a compound of vulgar depravity and unnatural horrors.” — Graham’s Lady’s Magazine, 1848