Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2016/12/20/wuthering-heights-kindle-editi.html
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Obligatory linkage for the Kate Beaton version? (Still ongoing, alas.)
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=322
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=323
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=329
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=401
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=402
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=403
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And the Kate Bush version
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Wuthering Heights - a book that shows us the pitfalls of writing about two unlikable people who live in an inhospitable land: creating an unlikable book.
Well, ok, many people like it, and getting free audible narration is cool, but this is one of those classics that made me wary of classics. On the other hand, other old classics, such as Jane Eyre and Candide are surprisingly good to my modern gaze.
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But… how would I be able to see the semaphore flags in the audible version???
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If you’re going to read it, the edition illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg is the best. More on that here.
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It’s a hard book to enjoy while you’re reading it for that very reason, but having done so, I find that it haunts me. It’s something about setting; the vast, empty spaces and feeling of isolation; of having a very small social environment where one small change can provoke an intense emotional conflict; the slow, natural progression of the plot; the sense of a nearly opaque, nearly forgotten layer of history that can only be accessed through extended interviews with an elderly bystander.
I grew up in rural upstate NY on 220 acres of land, next door to my grandparents, and I experienced all of that (in smaller doses) while growing up. For that reason Wuthering Heights has a certain authenticity and nostalgia value to me. It’s what I can easily imagine that place felt like to the people who lived there long ago.
If you liked Jane Eyre, Villette is even better. I’m not sure why it isn’t better-known.
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That’s what I liked about the original Dracula. The sense of isolation and danger in and around the Castle is still with me. Dracula is convincingly evil and menacing. I don’t know if I’d like it as much on a re-reading, though.
I’ll check it out. I only read Jane Eyre because I read The Eyre Affair and wanted to know what the hell was going on 
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Who cares. She’s still an amazing musician. I can forgive her.
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I have no respect for anyone praising that authoritarian nationalist overlord, i can still like her music but not as a person.
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Interesting. My wife refuses to see any movie made by Roman Polanski or Woody Allen because she can’t get past the things they have done in their personal lives to get any enjoyment from their works.
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I gotta say that for me it taints their work and depending on what they’ve done i’ll approach that work accordingly. Orson scott card for instance, i have yet to give him a penny of my money and will continue not to do so: i can’t say i have any desire to read his fiction anyway, someone with such repugnant strong views can’t help but to put some of it in their writing. Can someone honestly say they could separate the work of vox day from his beliefs? I know i couldn’t despite how good that writing may be but y’know, everyone has a different place where they draw the line.
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(Sorry… I’m so sorry)
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My working theory is The Public Toilet Principle.
When a work is made, the creator (metaphorically) leaves a trace of themselves behind…
Some creators are like unicorns, and just the loveliness of their presence elevates what could be a mediocre work into a thing of joy and beauty smelling of delicate flowers.
Others are like someone who’s had a night on the turps followed by an extra-large egg vindaloo and no matter how great the work is, it’s gonna leave a foul stench. Still others are… well, you get the idea anyway. Your example would be like a prisoner on dirty strike. 
Age makes the stink lessen, but it’ll always be there. And the lighted match of criticism will also help, along with the Febreze of historical context.
But at the end of the day, it’s down to the individual whether or not it’s worth holding your nose or just leaving it and using the next cubicle along.
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Heh i like the toilet based metaphor. Lest we forget that there are many lifetimes worth of art to consume without bothering ourselves with morally bankrupt people (not including kate bush in this by the way).
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I’d be inclined to agree with your wife there. We all have our lines, right?
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Yeah. It’s one thing to distrust someone because they have differing political beliefs. It’s another thing being a rapist.
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