Wuthering Heights

[BookWitch]

I'm listening to it on Audible and if it wasn't for the lovely narration by Juliet Stevenson, I'd have given up.
I appreciate it is a great story but I am having such a hard time figuring out what on earth is going on. I can't sort out my Hindleys from my Haretons.
I don't usually struggle with classics, Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, Anna Karenina, never had this problem before.
Maybe I'd do better if I read the book rather than Audible so I could go back and reread if I don't get something, but she is a very good narrator.

Noooo don’t give up! Draw yourself a family tree!

In fact, here you are!

Confusion is definitely part of the wuthering heights experience! From memory it becomes less bewildering after a while, so maybe persevere a bit more, I loved it from not too far in. I don’t seem to have the concentration to listen to books though so would have been reading.

I think I will keep going.
I might abandon the Audible and read the book so I can go back if I need to (I know I can do that with Audible but you know what I mean)

Thanks for the family tree @CoatTails

I'm in agreement with you OP, I found wuthering heights hard work. I read it once as a teenager and assumed I was maybe missing something so went back again and read it again after having kids. Nope, still don't rate it. I think the main thing is that everyone is so horrible and miserable, but not even in a relatable way. I just didn't like anyone in it, especially not Heathcliffe or Cathy.

I think youd be better reading the book. I love an audiobook, but think I'd also struggle with Wuthering Heights in audio.

I thought I was missing something too when I read it! Although this was my first time reading it. I got around halfway to when the baby was born then got confused so went back to the start and reread it. Thought it was only me that felt that way! Although it apparently is one of the more harder ones to read especially compared to Jane Eyre and Anna Karenina

I used to love it , have read it aprox 10 times since teenage , i watched the black and white film as a child and was hooked from then.
It is dark and gloomy, and passionate , but now as an adult i see it differently , toxic people in a toxic relationship, still a favourite though.
Macabre in parts too , keep going there aren't that many characters in it really once you know who's who.
Hope you enjoy it .

I read this when I was about eleven and loved it. Wept copious tears when Cathy died and Heathcliffe demanded that she haunt him but never leave him. Read the book is my advise.

The awful nature of the characters always comes up as a reason people don’t like WH and that is valid if that is necessary to enjoy a book.

For me the characters are awful people, but the prose, the evocation of landscape etc is IMO stunning. It has some beautiful passages and I can feel myself trudging across the moors as I read it.

But crucially, I don’t need to identify/like/see something positive in the characters to enjoy it - with WH it is precisely the unlikeability that makes it work for me.

That said, I have only ever read it (once around early 20s and once in lockdown as a book club read) and I’m not sure that audio would work for me for this particular book. I can’t put my finger on why.

I love this book.
I agree with Mercedes the greatness lies in making unlikable characters likeable, that is a skill. I found the same with Thomas Hardy. The flawed characters were those that I adored. The good characters he made meh and that is a great skill. This has made me want to watch the film now.

Yes some good writing, but I couldn't care less about any of the characters, they are all dull and ghastly. It is like an A-Z of toxic patriarchy and how it destroys everyone's lives.

I have very mixed feelings about Hardy but his characterisation is much, much better IMO.

I tried to read it and gave up. IIRC the story seemed to start again about half way through the book.

I am listening to the audiobook and reading along as well. I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one struggling to keep track of the characters but as an earlier poster said, referring to the family tree does help.

I'm actually finding that the audiobook is helping me to understand the story but as I said, I'm reading along also.

Read it! Wait until the autumn and the dark nights. It is my ultimate comfort read (that probably says quite a lot about me ).

Oh, I agree with you, Winnie! I've read it quite a few times over the years.

Perhaps watch an adaptation first, Bookwitch, just to familiarise yourself with the characters, then read. The Tom Hardy version isn't a bad version.

I read it when I was 18, didn't find it confusing even then. Are you sure you're concentrating?

Yes yes to reading it yourself, much as I love Juliet Stevenson's voice, it's easier to follow and immerse yourself in the landscape of the story when you read it IMHO.

I like the Ralph Fiennes & Juliet Binoche film version myself, great soundtrack by Ryuichi Sakamoto. But probably my favourite film version has to be the Olivier one, just so goddamn dramatic.

I don't find that I like the characters, as Mercedes has said I don't feel the need to identify with characters particularly. But it's so beautifully descriptive and the love between them is so overwhelming, that for me is the draw of the book.

I like the use of local accents in the Tom Hardy version. Though I thought Andrew Lincoln an odd (but not bad) casting as Edgar Linton.

The Olivier film version is dramatic, I agree. The Scodelario adaptation is interesting, but far from a favourite of mine.

I agree with the PP who disliked the characters - me too, it’s an unpleasant book with unlikeable characters being incredibly unpleasant to each other.

Personally I love this book, one of my all time favourites but it’s a bit like the marmite of the classics

The Olivier/Oberon version doesn't even cover the whole story. It ends halfway through the book!