August Meme over at The Classics Club
Sometimes you find something and wonder why you haven't seen it before. There is a blog for Classics Lovers? Why am I not all over that? Well, now I am and I'm joining in on the August Meme fun! And they have a brilliantly difficult question:
What is your favorite classic book? Why?
This is one of those questions that is difficult to answer because there are so many answers and all of them could be right. My first thought was 'The Lord of the Rings' because I think it's really good. But then again, that isn't a book I would easily pick up for an afternoon. My next option was 'Pride and Prejudice'. It's a brilliant book that I absolutely and utterly love. This IS a book you can pick up for some afternoon reading. It is entertaining and if you ask me, it is ripe with hilarious sarcasm. But is it my favourite? And then it hit me, my favourite is the book I have been blabbing to everyone about: 'Wuthering Heights'!
'Wuthering Heights' is an absolutely amazing book. I have already blogged so much about the relationship between Kathy and Heathcliff but I simply cannot get enough of it. Emily Bronte created two characters here that are, in my mind, unrivaled. They are loving, cruel, desperate and, above all, very human. Whereas many other protagonists are eventually in the right, Heathcliff never does what would be considered morally right. And yet, as a reader, you are still able to feel sorry for the man, feel his pain and love. That is amazing writing.
I am not a massive fan of the Bronte's. I think 'Jane Eyre' is overrated, especially when compared to 'Wuthering Heights' and I only like Anne's poetry. Some think of their novels as stuffy and too serious and I can see where they are coming from. They are a lot more serious than Jane Austen, but that is because Austen described the lives of normal English people, whereas Emily and Charlotte Bronte's characters are also representations of larger social movements. What doesn't help 'Wuthering Heights' is that it has multiple narrators who switch regularly and one of the characters, Joseph, talks in a heavy accent that is written out. Reading aloud is the only solution I'm afraid.
I love this book and can read it repeatedly. It makes me lose faith in humanity only to give it back in the final section of the novel. The love story is both beautiful and terrible. And now I really want to read it again!
How about you? What's your favourite classic?
What is your favorite classic book? Why?
This is one of those questions that is difficult to answer because there are so many answers and all of them could be right. My first thought was 'The Lord of the Rings' because I think it's really good. But then again, that isn't a book I would easily pick up for an afternoon. My next option was 'Pride and Prejudice'. It's a brilliant book that I absolutely and utterly love. This IS a book you can pick up for some afternoon reading. It is entertaining and if you ask me, it is ripe with hilarious sarcasm. But is it my favourite? And then it hit me, my favourite is the book I have been blabbing to everyone about: 'Wuthering Heights'!'Wuthering Heights' is an absolutely amazing book. I have already blogged so much about the relationship between Kathy and Heathcliff but I simply cannot get enough of it. Emily Bronte created two characters here that are, in my mind, unrivaled. They are loving, cruel, desperate and, above all, very human. Whereas many other protagonists are eventually in the right, Heathcliff never does what would be considered morally right. And yet, as a reader, you are still able to feel sorry for the man, feel his pain and love. That is amazing writing.
I am not a massive fan of the Bronte's. I think 'Jane Eyre' is overrated, especially when compared to 'Wuthering Heights' and I only like Anne's poetry. Some think of their novels as stuffy and too serious and I can see where they are coming from. They are a lot more serious than Jane Austen, but that is because Austen described the lives of normal English people, whereas Emily and Charlotte Bronte's characters are also representations of larger social movements. What doesn't help 'Wuthering Heights' is that it has multiple narrators who switch regularly and one of the characters, Joseph, talks in a heavy accent that is written out. Reading aloud is the only solution I'm afraid.
I love this book and can read it repeatedly. It makes me lose faith in humanity only to give it back in the final section of the novel. The love story is both beautiful and terrible. And now I really want to read it again!
How about you? What's your favourite classic?
I read Wuthering Heights years ago and can only remember the names of Kathy and Heathcliff. Due to your enthusiasm I definitely will reread this book...and am not a regular "re-reader"!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sparking my interest!
This is my favorite classic too, I have read it several times. Heathcliff is a great character to read about and there are so many great lines from the book that I love.
ReplyDeleteI love how excited you are about this book! And I love that you didn't realize it was your favorite until you thought it over. :-) My favorite is Gone With the Wind -- and I adore Jane Eyre. But Villette and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall are probably my favorites by the Brontes. My second favorite novel ever is Sense & Sensibility. :-) I plan to reread Wuthering Heights!
ReplyDeleteOn this matter, I'm the complete opposite of you - I adore Charlotte & Anne Bronte but I'm afraid I didn't get on with this book very much. Maybe it was my expectations before reading, maybe it's because it was my first Bronte and I was inexperienced, but I found it a bit over dramatic and I didn't buy the love story at all.
ReplyDeleteBut I plan to reread and it's on my classics club list. Hopefully I'll see what everyone else sees in it this time.
My first intro to Wuthering Heights was in English lit in school. I loved it and remember sitting in my bed sobbing when Catherine died. I wrote an essay detailing how Heathcliff should be forgiven all his sins because he'd loved and lost. Oh what a romantic I was :)
ReplyDeleteI can't say I loved Wuthering Heights, but I'm very anxious to try other Bronte works, because I feel there's a lot of potential for drama and heartbreak in these authors' books; I think I just didn't connect with WH because I didn't really like any of the characters. I did love the desolate setting, though. :)
ReplyDeleteI absolutely adore Wuthering Heights and it's not my normal type of book but it just surpassed all my expectations.
ReplyDeleteI love this book, too. I have a 1943 edition that is set in two column type with really creepy illustrations.
ReplyDeleteGreat choice! :) Wuthering Heights was the first Bronte I read, and I really did love the book. I actually think I am most like Emily, personality-wise, so I feel a bit of kinship to her and her only novel. :) Anne and Charlotte are also great (my personal favorite is Villette over Jane Eyre).
ReplyDeleteGreat to meet you through the Club! I hope you're enjoying our new site!
Like Allie, this was my first Bronte novel. I loved reading out Joseph's lines, but I have to say my favorite character was Hareton. I may need to read it again :)
ReplyDeleteSo glad you found the club! I'm really happy to be a part of it!
It's been many years since I read Wuthering Heights and I have the feeling I need to reread after reading your post.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite book as well! Glad to find another Wuthering Heights lover...so many people (even my English major peers in undergrad) gave me a look when I gushed over it. :)
ReplyDelete