Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, 406 pages

"This only novel by a young and sheltered Victorian clergyman's daughter introduces two of the world's imperishable lovers. The tender attachment of Heathcliff to young Cathy grows into a savage and devouring passion, destroying one generation and nearly wrecking a second." -Back Cover

I read Wuthering Heights in high school and hated it. I figured that I would give it another try and see if 20 years of maturity would change my opinion. I think it did. I can now understand the obsessive, intense, and destructive nature of Heathcliff and Cathy's love, whereas as a teenager I felt like all love stories should end with "and they lived happily ever after." This one is pretty much "not happily ever after" from start to finish.

This time around I could feel sorry for both Heathcliff and Cathy. I found myself thinking, "If only he had stayed two minutes longer to hear what she said after 'it would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now.'" Minutes later she says those classic words, "If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger."

I pretty much felt sorry for all the characters in this book. It's a tragic love story with all the characters falling victim to that love - Hindley, Hareton, young Cathy, Edgar, Isabella, even Ellen Dean. Heathcliff and Cathy could not let go and forgive and forget. They had to continually punish each other and those around them regardless of the consequences.

I loved that the story was told from Ellen's point of view with a mixture of past and present. I loved how the story ended and now, as a 30-something adult, I can recommend this book as the classic that it is.