I don't intend that I will normally do multiple Bookish Quotes from the same book, but it was hard to go past this description which comes from page 225 of Olivia and Jai by Rebecca Ryman.
Olivia, tiring of her aunt's constant and tedious carping, took her book into the garden to read in peace, if that was the word that could be used considering the frantic impatience with which she awaited tomorrow night. The novel she was reading, Wuthering Heights, had been sent to her aunt from England by her Cousin Maude. It was, wrote Cousin Maude, creating a literary sensation in London. Although a poignant and daring love story, it had been written by an unknown spinster named Emily Bronte, the cloistered, unworldly daughter of an impecunious Yorkshire clergyman. Olivia's choice of reading was therefore fortunate: the book was so gripping, so moving and written with such beauty and passion that she could hardly bear to put it down.
Almost makes me think I should make the effort to read Wuthering Heights.
It is totalyl worth the effort to read Wuthering Heights. It's a dark dark book, but it takes a very thorough look at human nature. I found it fascinating even though I hated everyone in it.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure that you are selling this to me particularly well! lol
DeleteI totally agree with Becky. Everyone is utterly loathsome and will probably make you want to slap them. More than once. But in saying that, there's still something about having read it that I like. Maybe that I slogged through such depressive drivel? Maybe that it's one of the few 'classics' I've read more than once? I'm not sure but I am glad I've read it. Not glad I had to read it twice, though.
ReplyDeleteThat sense of achievement that you get after finishing a particularly difficult classic? Are you up for another reread?
DeleteI only read it mid-way through last year, so not enough time has passed before I can dive back into Heathcliff and Cathy again, I'm afraid! I do know someone that loves it though ;-)
DeleteOh, Wuthering Heights was quite a book, and most people either love it or hate it. The characters are all so strange and fully developed in their proclivities, and there is just a feeling of intense oppression and disturbance in that book. I would love to hear your thoughts on it when you get a chance to read it!
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