Wuthering Heights

When I first heard of Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, I thought of long-winded declarations of love and droopy-eyed girls swooping across the moor–sort of like Gone With The Wind with a touch less racism. Instead, what I found was a deeply complex about how dysfunction and trauma reverberate through the ages. The author is trying to show is the different ways that people can be damaged by abusive experiences and painful loss, leading to redirect their pain onto others. Cruelty spreads through the book like a disease, although some characters summon the courage to fight it with love. I find this idea a remarkably brave and progressive form of thinking, especially considering the fact that this book was written in a time when domestic violence was often covered up. Not to mention that this book is very well-written and placed in a beautiful setting populated with complex, carefully developed characters. For those of you who like action, there’s a surprising amount of that, too.