Wuthering Heights: A Rude Awakening

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When reading a classic book, you have certain expectations of what it's going to be like. I just started reading Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. Oh, boy, was I wrong about the book.

Expectations:

- A gothic romance in the vein of Jane Eyre (Yeah, I know it's by the other Bronte sister, but somehow I've lumped them together in my mind.)
- A long book
- Beautiful prose
- Engaging characters

The Reality:

- nasty people sniping at each other (Seriously, the first chapter is like a slap in the face with a wet dishrag)
- An average length, only about 300 pages (Thank god, because if it doesn't get any better, I don't even want to read that much)
- Talk about unlikeable characters! These are truly unpleasant, and not in an interesting, I-want-to-see-what-she-does-next way.
- The prose feels affected and a bit on the purple side
- And what's with the confusing names? Two Heathcliffs, Cathy and Catherine, Linton as a first and last name?Arrgh!


Yeah. I guess I'll finish, but I much prefer Charlotte's Jane Eyre.