FINALLY! I've been trying to read this book for years. And years. It's been on my Goodreads Currently Reading list for at least three years, if not more. I hear often around the internet what a wonderful book it is. But honestly, I don't understand. Everyone just seems very selfish and self-absorbed. Which I guess isn't that far from being true to life. People are pretty selfish, and more interested in their own life than anyone else's.
My dislike of reading this may come from heightened expectations due to the staying power of this novel as a classic. Or it may come from the lack of any real character development among the main players in the story. Or maybe I'm just missing the point. I'm finding the book interesting because it was written so long ago so it's historically valuable in style and content. But that is also why it's leaving me feeling so underwhelmed. I feel as though something that's endured this long should be exciting and awe-inspiring. Instead, I'm left disliking all of the characters, except for the narrator, and the storyteller - and yes, those are two separate people.
I did find an interesting comparison between Heathcliff and Rhett Butler from Gone With the Wind. While there are significant differences, they seem to be characters created of similar thought - roguish, and easily speaking their minds. Physical descriptions are also fairly similar. The difference though, is that Butler was brought up in "society" and therefore does actually have the manners and conventions that come with that breeding. He just chooses the moments when he might not follow those rules. Heathcliff, while he could have been that character, was never expected to act with any grace or sophistication throughout his life, and so, is a less couth version of the same character. The other difference, of course, is that Butler loves, while Heathcliff's main motivation seems to be vengeance, or righting perceived wrongs.
I'm not sure how I feel about the way the story is written, almost as if it's a story being told within a story because I'm not sure that it's really supposed to make you feel anything. I do feel as if it's a bit convoluted, which adds to my own displeasure in the reading. All in all, I'm a little bit disappointed, but I struggled through because I feel as though it's a novel I should have read at least once in my life.
I'm giving it three stars, because it's managed to endure this long. Based on personal preference, I'd probably knock it down to two.
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