Everyone warned me that this would be a challenging book to read. My dad told me to get used to the language and writing style as soon as I could. My friend told me to draw a family tree every time the book offered new information. I didn’t take their advice at the start, which is something I regret.

I’m not going to lie, but this was one of the most difficult books I have read. I realised that the biggest mistake I made was to start reading this during the busiest weeks of school. Because of this, I was only able to superficially skim the pages whenever I got time. I only really started to immerse myself into the story when I was able to sit down for an extended period of time and read thoroughly. It took me about fifty pages to really understand Bronte’s writing style and what was going on. However from this point onwards, I found it easier and easier to keep reading because the story was so intense and captivating.

One of the most surprising scenes for me was Catherine’s mental degeneration after Isabella and Heathcliff’s marriage. Her “condition” was already foreshadowed when she loses her temper with Edgar at the start of the book, but this sudden breakdown and brain fever just confirmed how emotionally volatile she was. Although her hysteria and attention-seeking behaviour was something that I found was quite common amongst Victorian era protagonists (e.g. Lydia from Pride and Prejudice), I didn’t expect it to be this severe.

To me, I think it was because Catherine had not changed from when she was a child. Even after being married to Edgar, she yearned for her childhood at the Heights and with Heathcliff. In most books, authors explore the idea of how people change as society/life changes around them. Here, Bronte was able to show the dangers of not growing up and forever remaining trapped in a certain mental stage of life.

Another way I found this book differed to most classics was through Bronte’s characterisation of Heathcliff. When I first started the book, I thought Heathcliff would be the romantic hero of the story. Despite his cold and cruel behaviour, I genuinely believed he would come around would somehow end up with Catherine. But I was surprised once again when this was so far from what happened. The author ruthlessly destroyed every notion of him being the romantic protagonist and instead portrayed him, more brutally, as a man consumed with his own vengeance.

I thought this was one of the most unique books I’ve read in a while and really enjoyed myself despite it being so challenging.