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Wuthering Bites
When a young orphan named Heathcliff is brought to Wuthering Heights by the manor's owner, Mr. Earnshaw, rumors abound. Yet the truth is more complicated than anyone could guess. Heathcliff's mother was a member of a gypsy band that roamed the English countryside, slaying vampires to keep citizens safe. But his father was a vampire. Now, even as Heathcliff gallantly fights the monsters who roam the moors in order to protect beautiful, spirited Catherine Earnshaw, he is torn by compassion for his victims - and by his own dark thirst. Though Catherine loves Heathcliff, she fears the vampire in him, and is tempted by the privileged lifestyle their neighbors, the Lintons, enjoy. Forced to choose between wealthy, refined Edgar Linton and the brooding, increasingly dangerous Heathcliff, she makes a fateful decision. And soon Heathcliff, too, must choose - between his hunger, and the woman he will love for all eternity...
362 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2010
31 people are currently reading
2012 people want to read
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Sarah Gray
10 books6 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews
June 21, 2018
from the back cover (boldface mine):
when a young orphan named heathcliff is brought to wuthering heights by the manor's owner, mr. earnshaw, rumors abound. yet the truth is more complicated than anyone could guess. heathcliff's mother was a member of a gypsy band that roamed the english countryside, slaying vampires to keep citizens safe. but his father was a vampire. now, even as heathcliff gallantly fights the monsters who roam the moors in order to protect beautiful, spirited catherine earnshaw, he is torn by compassion for his victims - and by his own dark thirst.
AHHHHHHH!!! yes yes yes a thousand times yes!! how could this go wrong???
ohhhhhh, like that.
so this is my first venture into the literary monster mash-up genre. i cannot turn down a wuthering heights adaptation, nope. it's funny, because seriously, the day before this came out, i was lamenting to john petrie that there were so many zombie/mummy/werewolf/vampire retellings, and not one had been attempted for wuthering heights, which seems to me like it would be such a natural conflation: heathcliff and a vampire. i mean, duh, right? and then - blammo - the next day, there it was. and i bought it and began reading it that very night.
overall, i'm not sure how i feel about this trend. i can see why it makes sense to add monsters into jane austen: just to have something interesting happen. oh snap!!! (and here's where i duck from elizabeth's right hook. i kid, i kid!!!)
but on the other hand, you wouldn't think there was an elegant way to wedge vampires into the plot, despite the already-vampiric qualities of heathcliff and the bizarre actions of some of the characters which could be easily explained by massive blood loss. but that part of the book is fine - the addition of vampires: there are huge pockets of emptiness in w.h. - heathcliff's "missing" three years, his origins, that whole period where heathcliff is living in the house with hindley and hareton, unsupervised, unobserved... there are plenty of places to slap a vampire or two.
it explains why lockwood wouldn't want to cross the moors back to thrushcross grange in the beginning, it explains the multiple wasting sicknesses and pale countenances and the swooning...i mean, you could do a really good job writing vampires into this book, people.
my problem is with all the rest of it. i'm not sure how the other ones work - but it is my understanding that the austen/alcott/twain text is reprinted in full, but that scenes are added in the style of the author's writing that comically or shamelessly (based on your particular opinion) reimagines the text.
but this reads more like an outline of w.h. the tone is just... off. and it may not even be apparent to a casual fan of the heights. but i freaking love that book. and it's like looking at a 3d movie without those glasses - even in the cases where the words are practically identical; like heathcliff's deliciously melodramatic "i can love my murderer but not yours" speech... it just seems... wrong.
part of it might be that the inserted material is mostly more of nellie-dean's perspective, and it's pretty ... folksy. it adds a lot of "humor" to a story that should in no way ever be humorous.
seriously, vampires could have made the already dark plot of w.h. even darker, and genuinely scary, but she chose to go a different route, and for the record, i HATE the constant referring to the vampires as "beasties". that's what you would call a mischievous hedgehog, not a bloodsucking killer.
i just pity the people who will read this before wuthering heights. because this is a poor introduction to a truly haunting love story. (yeah, i said it, what??)
it didn't suck (chortle, chortle), but i really didn't enjoy it, so i have to give it a sad two stars. but three for effort!
come to my blog!
when a young orphan named heathcliff is brought to wuthering heights by the manor's owner, mr. earnshaw, rumors abound. yet the truth is more complicated than anyone could guess. heathcliff's mother was a member of a gypsy band that roamed the english countryside, slaying vampires to keep citizens safe. but his father was a vampire. now, even as heathcliff gallantly fights the monsters who roam the moors in order to protect beautiful, spirited catherine earnshaw, he is torn by compassion for his victims - and by his own dark thirst.
AHHHHHHH!!! yes yes yes a thousand times yes!! how could this go wrong???
ohhhhhh, like that.
so this is my first venture into the literary monster mash-up genre. i cannot turn down a wuthering heights adaptation, nope. it's funny, because seriously, the day before this came out, i was lamenting to john petrie that there were so many zombie/mummy/werewolf/vampire retellings, and not one had been attempted for wuthering heights, which seems to me like it would be such a natural conflation: heathcliff and a vampire. i mean, duh, right? and then - blammo - the next day, there it was. and i bought it and began reading it that very night.
overall, i'm not sure how i feel about this trend. i can see why it makes sense to add monsters into jane austen: just to have something interesting happen. oh snap!!! (and here's where i duck from elizabeth's right hook. i kid, i kid!!!)
but on the other hand, you wouldn't think there was an elegant way to wedge vampires into the plot, despite the already-vampiric qualities of heathcliff and the bizarre actions of some of the characters which could be easily explained by massive blood loss. but that part of the book is fine - the addition of vampires: there are huge pockets of emptiness in w.h. - heathcliff's "missing" three years, his origins, that whole period where heathcliff is living in the house with hindley and hareton, unsupervised, unobserved... there are plenty of places to slap a vampire or two.
it explains why lockwood wouldn't want to cross the moors back to thrushcross grange in the beginning, it explains the multiple wasting sicknesses and pale countenances and the swooning...i mean, you could do a really good job writing vampires into this book, people.
my problem is with all the rest of it. i'm not sure how the other ones work - but it is my understanding that the austen/alcott/twain text is reprinted in full, but that scenes are added in the style of the author's writing that comically or shamelessly (based on your particular opinion) reimagines the text.
but this reads more like an outline of w.h. the tone is just... off. and it may not even be apparent to a casual fan of the heights. but i freaking love that book. and it's like looking at a 3d movie without those glasses - even in the cases where the words are practically identical; like heathcliff's deliciously melodramatic "i can love my murderer but not yours" speech... it just seems... wrong.
part of it might be that the inserted material is mostly more of nellie-dean's perspective, and it's pretty ... folksy. it adds a lot of "humor" to a story that should in no way ever be humorous.
seriously, vampires could have made the already dark plot of w.h. even darker, and genuinely scary, but she chose to go a different route, and for the record, i HATE the constant referring to the vampires as "beasties". that's what you would call a mischievous hedgehog, not a bloodsucking killer.
i just pity the people who will read this before wuthering heights. because this is a poor introduction to a truly haunting love story. (yeah, i said it, what??)
it didn't suck (chortle, chortle), but i really didn't enjoy it, so i have to give it a sad two stars. but three for effort!
come to my blog!
November 7, 2019
I've been holding off reading this as it felt like the perfect Halloween read and that it was.
Dont get me wrong it is full of trashy nonsense but there is a decent story line there that plays well against the original and if you like vampires your going to like this.
Overall I enjoyed the ride, it wont win any awards but it's a decent read if you like twisted tales that dont take themselves too seriously.
I think it pays to have already read the original but if you havent dont let it stop you picking this up.
Heathcliff and Cathy will always remain undead and theres a part of me that thinks even Emily Bronte would have a good giggle at this.
Dont get me wrong it is full of trashy nonsense but there is a decent story line there that plays well against the original and if you like vampires your going to like this.
Overall I enjoyed the ride, it wont win any awards but it's a decent read if you like twisted tales that dont take themselves too seriously.
I think it pays to have already read the original but if you havent dont let it stop you picking this up.
Heathcliff and Cathy will always remain undead and theres a part of me that thinks even Emily Bronte would have a good giggle at this.
will-never-read
August 17, 2012Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
October 12, 2025
I read Wuthering Heights as a teenager and I really struggled to feel for any of the characters but I think reading this book has made me want to go back and try again.
Y'know what I don't know where to begin with Wuthering Bites but I honestly don't think Emily Bronte would be offended at this remodelling of her work. I stayed with it for as long as I could and sometimes I got a pay off for my efforts and sometimes I didn't. I cried a bit at the end, it was a bit cheesy but sometimes a cheesy, emotional end is needed.
I think with all the pain and suffering in our world, when a book comes along that reminds you that you can choose your own path, be it to run after a wagon or end it all, that is a book worth reading. I certainly will be recommending it to some special people in my life as I think they may feel the same once the tale has been told.
All in all, this book has helped me these past few months through a bereavement and I suppose that's the main point I am trying to make. Its made me feel empowered again through my own darkness.
If anyone ever reads this, put in the effort to read Wuthering Bites as I think it may have something its trying to tell you, as it has told me.
Y'know what I don't know where to begin with Wuthering Bites but I honestly don't think Emily Bronte would be offended at this remodelling of her work. I stayed with it for as long as I could and sometimes I got a pay off for my efforts and sometimes I didn't. I cried a bit at the end, it was a bit cheesy but sometimes a cheesy, emotional end is needed.
I think with all the pain and suffering in our world, when a book comes along that reminds you that you can choose your own path, be it to run after a wagon or end it all, that is a book worth reading. I certainly will be recommending it to some special people in my life as I think they may feel the same once the tale has been told.
All in all, this book has helped me these past few months through a bereavement and I suppose that's the main point I am trying to make. Its made me feel empowered again through my own darkness.
If anyone ever reads this, put in the effort to read Wuthering Bites as I think it may have something its trying to tell you, as it has told me.
September 30, 2011
First, READ WUTHERING HEIGHTS. If you have not read it in a while or you have never read it, it is pretty much a prerequisite to this story since the two are so closely intertwined.
That said. This book really surprised me. I was really more drawn in by the clever title than anything else, but in all honesty I was really quite shocked at how much I actually enjoyed it. Wuthering Heights, is a beautiful, dark, haunting tale full of Gothic torment and mystery...quite clearly the perfect setting for a vampire novel as vampires are, in essence, Gothic, tormented, mysterious, etc.
The attempts made by the author to try to stay as close as the original was not nearly as cheesy and I thought it would be. I orginally borrowed this book from a friend for a laugh, Laugh was on me as it was just what it promised to be Wuthering Heights, with a small vampire backstory woven in to the fabric of the plot.
If I were to judge this as a completely stand alone piece and not compare this to Wuthering Heights (and really, how could you not?)I would have to say that this was one of the best vampire novels I've read in a while which surprised me...what surprises me even more is that I have not heard more buzz about it or that more people aren't reading it!
That said. This book really surprised me. I was really more drawn in by the clever title than anything else, but in all honesty I was really quite shocked at how much I actually enjoyed it. Wuthering Heights, is a beautiful, dark, haunting tale full of Gothic torment and mystery...quite clearly the perfect setting for a vampire novel as vampires are, in essence, Gothic, tormented, mysterious, etc.
The attempts made by the author to try to stay as close as the original was not nearly as cheesy and I thought it would be. I orginally borrowed this book from a friend for a laugh, Laugh was on me as it was just what it promised to be Wuthering Heights, with a small vampire backstory woven in to the fabric of the plot.
If I were to judge this as a completely stand alone piece and not compare this to Wuthering Heights (and really, how could you not?)I would have to say that this was one of the best vampire novels I've read in a while which surprised me...what surprises me even more is that I have not heard more buzz about it or that more people aren't reading it!
December 23, 2020
What’s better than Emily Brontë’s tortured tale of love and obsession starring the notorious anti-couple of Heathcliff and Catherine? The same account with a generous helping of vampires, of course.
This version seamlessly weaves much of Brontë’s pretty prose with supreme bloodsuckers. Mr. Earnshaw still finds Heathcliff as a starving orphan in the city and brings him home to live with his children Catherine and Hindley. This time, however, Heathcliff is half vampire and half slayer; his mother was a Gypsy who learned to slay vampires for her own protection, while his father was a bonafide blood drinker. This ends up becoming quite handy for the Earnshaw family since the cities and countryside are overrun with the bloodsuckers.
Before jumping in fang first, however, make sure you have read Brontë’s original Wuthering Heights. It’s a dark, beautiful Gothic Romance with tortured and generally disagreeable characters. Without having the original as your baseline, I feel it would be a bit confounding to read this.
As for the original, Brontë’s characters are so extreme that they’re hard to like, let alone love. The story is bleak and harrowing, and adding in vampires really seems like a very natural next step. Due to Heathcliff’s unique nature, he ends up having quite a command of the native vamps creeping around the moors and is able to keep Wuthering Heights cleared of the creatures. Well, sometimes the vamps like to play with visitors the way a cat will toy with a mouse, but no real harm is done thanks to Heathcliff’s sway.
Brontë’s novel served as a major inspiration for songwriter Jim Steinman who has written some of the world’s best and darkest love songs. Coincidentally Steinman is also responsible for the music and lyrics of Tanz der Vampire, the musical remake of the 1967 Roman Polanski film The Fearless Vampire Killers. As Steinman has never been without a sense of humor, I believe he would appreciate the twist on this classic tale as well as the dark humor it dispenses.
I personally love the addition of vampires to this timeless story. Unrealized love and passion is its own type of torture, much as the curse of Romantic vampirism seems to be.
I believe, should you choose to accept the challenge of a read, you will be left shivering, heartbroken, damp, and tortured - and possibly a bit bloody - just as Brontë intended you to be.
This version seamlessly weaves much of Brontë’s pretty prose with supreme bloodsuckers. Mr. Earnshaw still finds Heathcliff as a starving orphan in the city and brings him home to live with his children Catherine and Hindley. This time, however, Heathcliff is half vampire and half slayer; his mother was a Gypsy who learned to slay vampires for her own protection, while his father was a bonafide blood drinker. This ends up becoming quite handy for the Earnshaw family since the cities and countryside are overrun with the bloodsuckers.
Before jumping in fang first, however, make sure you have read Brontë’s original Wuthering Heights. It’s a dark, beautiful Gothic Romance with tortured and generally disagreeable characters. Without having the original as your baseline, I feel it would be a bit confounding to read this.
As for the original, Brontë’s characters are so extreme that they’re hard to like, let alone love. The story is bleak and harrowing, and adding in vampires really seems like a very natural next step. Due to Heathcliff’s unique nature, he ends up having quite a command of the native vamps creeping around the moors and is able to keep Wuthering Heights cleared of the creatures. Well, sometimes the vamps like to play with visitors the way a cat will toy with a mouse, but no real harm is done thanks to Heathcliff’s sway.
Brontë’s novel served as a major inspiration for songwriter Jim Steinman who has written some of the world’s best and darkest love songs. Coincidentally Steinman is also responsible for the music and lyrics of Tanz der Vampire, the musical remake of the 1967 Roman Polanski film The Fearless Vampire Killers. As Steinman has never been without a sense of humor, I believe he would appreciate the twist on this classic tale as well as the dark humor it dispenses.
I personally love the addition of vampires to this timeless story. Unrealized love and passion is its own type of torture, much as the curse of Romantic vampirism seems to be.
I believe, should you choose to accept the challenge of a read, you will be left shivering, heartbroken, damp, and tortured - and possibly a bit bloody - just as Brontë intended you to be.
July 12, 2020
I thought the idea of this book was a unique twist to the original Wuthering Heights. This book follows the story of the original almost entirely, except the vampire aspect. I also enjoyed the ending of this book a lot more than the original!
November 19, 2011
I have read Wuthering Heights. I enjoyed it. So beings I like Vampires, I figured with this book I'd get the best of both worlds right.........so wrong! I was bored! I MADE myself finish this book. If you read the original, then you most likely had the same ideas as to where this book could have gone, but it didn't! Read the real Wuthering Heights, it's better.
September 10, 2021
So my book group was reading Wuthering Heights and I am not a huge fan of that kind of book (I know, I know), but one of our members kindly pointed out this book to me and said I should read it and we could compare the 2. Off I went on a quest to understand Heathcliff and Catherine and vampires. In comparing the 2 book they are literally the same story just with vampires!
I've gotta say, this book was a lot more entertaining than I imagine the original one was. The vampires definitely made the whole story interesting. In fact, if there had been no vampires I honestly would have quit after a few chapters. Slightly trashy, but overall I am glad I read it. Now I can discuss Wuthering Heights with people (I'll just leave out the whole vampire thing!) 😆
I've gotta say, this book was a lot more entertaining than I imagine the original one was. The vampires definitely made the whole story interesting. In fact, if there had been no vampires I honestly would have quit after a few chapters. Slightly trashy, but overall I am glad I read it. Now I can discuss Wuthering Heights with people (I'll just leave out the whole vampire thing!) 😆
December 8, 2016
**re-read December 2016**
----original review 2010
Where do I begin? This book rather surprised me. I was shocked at how much I actually enjoyed it in the end. "Wuthering Heights" is probably one of my favorite novels of all time.. one of the best classics of all time, in my opinion. It is a beautiful, dark, haunting tale in itself.
"Wuthering Bites"- while I honestly thought the title was a bit cheesy, and I'm sure the title was given as a marketing ploy and in order to try and stay as closely matched with it's 'original' wasn't near as awful or comedic as I thougt it would be. It was basically Wuthering Heights, with a bit of a vampire story tossed along in it. At times, I did feel it mocked the original some, or came off as a bit too comedic in some areas- most especially when the author kept referring to the creatures as "beasties", but the overall piece held my attention and I did actually enjoy it very much.
This "Monster Mash Up" genre in general sort of intrigues me. I only hope that it compels readers to read the original classics as well. In all honesty, I didn't feel it necessary that Wuthering Heights was written into this, as it was already a dark, beautiful and haunting tale. And at times this author of Wuthering Bites did nothing to add more to the atmosphere.
I'm a huge, huge fan of Wuthering Heights. So this didn't change my love for it one bit. If anything, it made me want to rush to my bookshelf and read my old original copy once again. If anyone reads this, I do highly recommend reading "Wuthering Heights" as well, lest you miss out on a truly great classic.
If I were to judge this as a completely stand alone piece and not compare this to Wuthering Heights (and I'm sorry, but I have to compare because that's what it's meant for), I would almost say that this is one of the best vampire pieces I've read in awhile.
I'm rather surprised honestly that it seems this book hasn't been getting a little more recognition than I feel it should.
I give it 4 stars. A pretty great rating from me.
----original review 2010
Where do I begin? This book rather surprised me. I was shocked at how much I actually enjoyed it in the end. "Wuthering Heights" is probably one of my favorite novels of all time.. one of the best classics of all time, in my opinion. It is a beautiful, dark, haunting tale in itself.
"Wuthering Bites"- while I honestly thought the title was a bit cheesy, and I'm sure the title was given as a marketing ploy and in order to try and stay as closely matched with it's 'original' wasn't near as awful or comedic as I thougt it would be. It was basically Wuthering Heights, with a bit of a vampire story tossed along in it. At times, I did feel it mocked the original some, or came off as a bit too comedic in some areas- most especially when the author kept referring to the creatures as "beasties", but the overall piece held my attention and I did actually enjoy it very much.
This "Monster Mash Up" genre in general sort of intrigues me. I only hope that it compels readers to read the original classics as well. In all honesty, I didn't feel it necessary that Wuthering Heights was written into this, as it was already a dark, beautiful and haunting tale. And at times this author of Wuthering Bites did nothing to add more to the atmosphere.
I'm a huge, huge fan of Wuthering Heights. So this didn't change my love for it one bit. If anything, it made me want to rush to my bookshelf and read my old original copy once again. If anyone reads this, I do highly recommend reading "Wuthering Heights" as well, lest you miss out on a truly great classic.
If I were to judge this as a completely stand alone piece and not compare this to Wuthering Heights (and I'm sorry, but I have to compare because that's what it's meant for), I would almost say that this is one of the best vampire pieces I've read in awhile.
I'm rather surprised honestly that it seems this book hasn't been getting a little more recognition than I feel it should.
I give it 4 stars. A pretty great rating from me.
May 13, 2020
Was this asked for? No.
Is this a groundbreaking work of literature? No.
Was it decently enjoyable for someone who LOVES Wuthering Heights? Sure!
**Minor spoiler I guess?**
My biggest issue with this book is that the description of the book flat out tells you that Heathcliff is part vampire - but the reader doesn’t “find out” until almost 300 pages in... so there is all this buildup on whether or not Heathcliff is a vampire, even though you already know from the book description! There is also minimal discussion on Heathcliff’s parents, and I had hoped Cathy would have actually risen from the grave in this retelling.
All in all, while it isn’t something I would reread I did have fun with it!
Is this a groundbreaking work of literature? No.
Was it decently enjoyable for someone who LOVES Wuthering Heights? Sure!
**Minor spoiler I guess?**
My biggest issue with this book is that the description of the book flat out tells you that Heathcliff is part vampire - but the reader doesn’t “find out” until almost 300 pages in... so there is all this buildup on whether or not Heathcliff is a vampire, even though you already know from the book description! There is also minimal discussion on Heathcliff’s parents, and I had hoped Cathy would have actually risen from the grave in this retelling.
All in all, while it isn’t something I would reread I did have fun with it!
October 10, 2011
"Wuthering Bites" is an awesome Halloween-time read. Wuthering Heights has always been one of my favorite books and, in my opinion, the addition of vampires makes it even better! I have read other beastly versions of classics, such as "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" but they just don't compare to this one.
In this book, I really liked that the presence of the "beasties" in the story are so prominent. The addition of vampires actually changes the story slightly, unlike others I've read (in which a zombie attack is tossed in occasionally and all else is exactly the same as the original). This book kept me interested from cover to cover; not just because it is a spinoff of one of my favorite classics, but because it kept me guessing what the fate of the main characters would be. I was always wondering who might be taken by a vampire next, and who might possibly be a vampire in disguise.
This book was well written, and it's clear that some thought was put into it. I was thoroughly impressed, and I'll be reading it again.
In this book, I really liked that the presence of the "beasties" in the story are so prominent. The addition of vampires actually changes the story slightly, unlike others I've read (in which a zombie attack is tossed in occasionally and all else is exactly the same as the original). This book kept me interested from cover to cover; not just because it is a spinoff of one of my favorite classics, but because it kept me guessing what the fate of the main characters would be. I was always wondering who might be taken by a vampire next, and who might possibly be a vampire in disguise.
This book was well written, and it's clear that some thought was put into it. I was thoroughly impressed, and I'll be reading it again.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 25, 2015
I didn't enjoy this mash-up as much I liked Jane Slayre: The Literary Classic with a Blood-Sucking Twist, which I also recently read. It was a fun read, but the vampire elements could have been incorporated in a more thorough way. Some of them, especially toward the end, felt very tacked-on. In a really good mash-up, we don't see the seams.
January 21, 2022
Aww man, I really wanted to love this. I feel like books like this can be great if they EITHER don't take themselves seriously OR take themselves very seriously. Unfortunately, this book falls somewhere in between. It's Wuthering Heights with rare, spare, and fairly meaningless details about vampires superimposed upon it. If you love Wuthering Heights as much as I do, you might still enjoy the characters and dialogue that are mostly identical to the original, but you should probably just reread Wuthering Heights instead.
June 25, 2011
I found this version better than the original. I guess because the characters in the original were so obtuse. The vampire twist made more sense to the characters once added into their overall personalities. I really enjoyed this version and laughed out loud on occasion.
October 21, 2015
Hmmm not bad, but not great. This is virtually word for word Wuthering Heights, only with Vampires thrown in.
Heathcliff is part Vampire, because of his mother,
There;s not much to say, apart from, if you want to read it, borrow it from the library,, glad I did
Heathcliff is part Vampire, because of his mother,
There;s not much to say, apart from, if you want to read it, borrow it from the library,, glad I did
August 28, 2011
I mash-up? Letto uno, letti tutti!
L’esperienza (non del tutto negativa, direi, anzi!) fatta con Pride and Prejudice and Zombies mi ha portata a voler leggere altri mash-up per verificare a che punto i contaminatori si fossero spinti ad insozzare i capolavori della letteratura.
Seth Grahame-Smith prevedeva che dopo il suo primo tentativo collagistico altri avrebbero intrapreso la sua proficua strada. Ed infatti così è stato.
Devo dire che Pride and Prejudice and Zombies mi aveva gradevolmente sorpreso, ma la sorpresa in realtà non proveniva dal contaminatore Seth Grahame-Smith, bensì dalla stessa Jane Austen che risultava ancora più ironica con l’apporto degli immenzionabili (beh, un po’ di meriti a Grahame-Smith li possiamo anche concedere).
Avendo da poco scritto un articolo sugli adattamenti di Cime Tempestose per il cinema e la televisione, ho deciso di cimentarmi con la lettura di questo mash-up.
Ma subito mi ha un po’ indispettita la scelta di Sarah Grey e del suo editore di non dare a Cesare (cioè ad Emily Brontë) quel che era di Cesare. Sulla copertina infatti non compare il nome della scrittrice dello Yorkshire, autrice in realtà dell’8o% del libro, ma solo quello della contaminatrice. È vero che potrebbe essere stata una scelta dettata dalla delicatezza: la Grey forse non ha voluto sfruttare il successo della sua ispiratrice; tuttavia il fatto che Emily Brontë risulti uncredited pur avendo scritto quasi tutto il libro mi fa fremere di rabbia.
Non parliamo degli americanismi: i gotten non si contano; inoltre tutti i dialoghi e le prediche metodiste di Joseph in puro dialetto dello Yorkshire, che in Wuthering Heights danno un tocco di verismo al testo (mentre, al contrario Nelly Dean, essendo stata innalzata al ruolo di narratrice dalla Brontë parla un inglese impeccabile nonostante la sua estrazione sociale) sono stati semplificati, forse per renderli più comprensibili ai cugini a stelle e strisce… Bah!
Come al solito, l’aggiunta di contaminazioni macabre è piuttosto marginale, anche se in più rispetto a Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, i vampiri interagiscono (ohi, ohi!) con i personaggi della Brontë: a volte parlano, salutano cortesemente, qualcuno rivela addirittura il suo nome! Per il resto, comunque si limitano ad infestare la brughiera fra Wuthering Heights e Thrushcross Grange e ad essere i protagonisti dei racconti estemporanei di Nellie Dean a Mr Lockwood: dei brevi siparietti incollati forzatamente nella storia. Salvo poi attribuire qualsiasi morte avvenga nel romanzo ai vampiri, che dissanguano a volte lentamente, altre velocemente i malcapitati e che trasformano addirittura Cathy in una di loro.
Unica nota che rende interessante questa versione con collage horror di Wuthering Heights è, ancora una volta il mistero attorno alla figura di Heathcliff. Se già nel romanzo della Brontë questi aveva origini misteriose, in questo caso ci rende curiosi la sua ambiguità: sarà un vampiro o un cacciatore di vampiri? Essendo di origini zingare, infatti Heathcliff dovrebbe essere un eccellente ammazza-vampiri, stando alla Grey. Eppure intrattiene con i succhiasangue rapporti quasi cordiali e detesta il consumatissimo tè all’aglio, la bevanda più richiesta in quella zona infestata dell’Inghilterra (LizzyS, dobbiamo proporre questa nuova miscela alle ditte produttrici di tè?! – lo chiedo a te in quanto esperta, io da parte mia dico solo: “Bleah!”… ma forse sono diventata anch’io vampyre!).
Una contaminazione superflua per un romanzo che già conteneva scene altamente sanguinarie… Heathcliff secondo me era già un po’ vampiro nella versione Brontë, leggete questi esempi, tratti dalla versione non contaminata:
Non gli avrei mai proibito di godere della sua compagnia, almeno finché lei avesse mostrato di gradirla. Non appena Cathy se ne fosse stancata, gli avrei strappato il cuore e avrei bevuto il suo sangue! (Cime Tempestose cap. XIV)
Heathcliff si lasciò cadere con lei sul divano più vicino, e quando mi affrettai ad avvicinarmi per vedere se Catherine fosse svenuta, si rivoltò contro di me digrignando i denti, con la bava alla bocca come un cane idrofobo, e la strinse a sé con avida gelosia. Mi parve di non trovarmi in compagnia di una creatura della mia stessa specie; sembrava che anche se gli avessi parlato non sarebbe stato in grado di capirmi, pertanto rimasi in disparte, tenni a freno la lingua, in preda a una grande perplessità. (Cime Tempestose cap. XV)
Batté la testa contro il tronco nodoso; poi arrovesciati gli occhi si abbandonò a grida che nulla avevano di umano ma erano quelle di una bestia feroce, trafitta a morte da lance e coltelli. (Cime Tempestose cap. XVI)
"È un predatore di tombe o un vampiro? ", pensai tra me. Mi era capitato di leggere di simili laidi demoni incarnati. Ma poi riflettei e ricordai come avessi avuto cura di lui durante l'infanzia; come lo avessi veduto crescere fino all'adolescenza, rimanendogli accanto per quasi tutta la sua vita; e mi resi conto che si trattava di un'assurda sciocchezza il lasciarmi dominare da quella sensazione di orrore. (Cime Tempestose cap. XXXIV)
[I brani tradotti sono tratti da Emily Brontë Cime tempestose edizione Newton Compton 1993 traduzione di Mariagrazia Oddera Bianchi]
L’esperienza (non del tutto negativa, direi, anzi!) fatta con Pride and Prejudice and Zombies mi ha portata a voler leggere altri mash-up per verificare a che punto i contaminatori si fossero spinti ad insozzare i capolavori della letteratura.
Seth Grahame-Smith prevedeva che dopo il suo primo tentativo collagistico altri avrebbero intrapreso la sua proficua strada. Ed infatti così è stato.
Devo dire che Pride and Prejudice and Zombies mi aveva gradevolmente sorpreso, ma la sorpresa in realtà non proveniva dal contaminatore Seth Grahame-Smith, bensì dalla stessa Jane Austen che risultava ancora più ironica con l’apporto degli immenzionabili (beh, un po’ di meriti a Grahame-Smith li possiamo anche concedere).
Avendo da poco scritto un articolo sugli adattamenti di Cime Tempestose per il cinema e la televisione, ho deciso di cimentarmi con la lettura di questo mash-up.
Ma subito mi ha un po’ indispettita la scelta di Sarah Grey e del suo editore di non dare a Cesare (cioè ad Emily Brontë) quel che era di Cesare. Sulla copertina infatti non compare il nome della scrittrice dello Yorkshire, autrice in realtà dell’8o% del libro, ma solo quello della contaminatrice. È vero che potrebbe essere stata una scelta dettata dalla delicatezza: la Grey forse non ha voluto sfruttare il successo della sua ispiratrice; tuttavia il fatto che Emily Brontë risulti uncredited pur avendo scritto quasi tutto il libro mi fa fremere di rabbia.
Non parliamo degli americanismi: i gotten non si contano; inoltre tutti i dialoghi e le prediche metodiste di Joseph in puro dialetto dello Yorkshire, che in Wuthering Heights danno un tocco di verismo al testo (mentre, al contrario Nelly Dean, essendo stata innalzata al ruolo di narratrice dalla Brontë parla un inglese impeccabile nonostante la sua estrazione sociale) sono stati semplificati, forse per renderli più comprensibili ai cugini a stelle e strisce… Bah!
Come al solito, l’aggiunta di contaminazioni macabre è piuttosto marginale, anche se in più rispetto a Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, i vampiri interagiscono (ohi, ohi!) con i personaggi della Brontë: a volte parlano, salutano cortesemente, qualcuno rivela addirittura il suo nome! Per il resto, comunque si limitano ad infestare la brughiera fra Wuthering Heights e Thrushcross Grange e ad essere i protagonisti dei racconti estemporanei di Nellie Dean a Mr Lockwood: dei brevi siparietti incollati forzatamente nella storia. Salvo poi attribuire qualsiasi morte avvenga nel romanzo ai vampiri, che dissanguano a volte lentamente, altre velocemente i malcapitati e che trasformano addirittura Cathy in una di loro.
Unica nota che rende interessante questa versione con collage horror di Wuthering Heights è, ancora una volta il mistero attorno alla figura di Heathcliff. Se già nel romanzo della Brontë questi aveva origini misteriose, in questo caso ci rende curiosi la sua ambiguità: sarà un vampiro o un cacciatore di vampiri? Essendo di origini zingare, infatti Heathcliff dovrebbe essere un eccellente ammazza-vampiri, stando alla Grey. Eppure intrattiene con i succhiasangue rapporti quasi cordiali e detesta il consumatissimo tè all’aglio, la bevanda più richiesta in quella zona infestata dell’Inghilterra (LizzyS, dobbiamo proporre questa nuova miscela alle ditte produttrici di tè?! – lo chiedo a te in quanto esperta, io da parte mia dico solo: “Bleah!”… ma forse sono diventata anch’io vampyre!).
Una contaminazione superflua per un romanzo che già conteneva scene altamente sanguinarie… Heathcliff secondo me era già un po’ vampiro nella versione Brontë, leggete questi esempi, tratti dalla versione non contaminata:
Non gli avrei mai proibito di godere della sua compagnia, almeno finché lei avesse mostrato di gradirla. Non appena Cathy se ne fosse stancata, gli avrei strappato il cuore e avrei bevuto il suo sangue! (Cime Tempestose cap. XIV)
Heathcliff si lasciò cadere con lei sul divano più vicino, e quando mi affrettai ad avvicinarmi per vedere se Catherine fosse svenuta, si rivoltò contro di me digrignando i denti, con la bava alla bocca come un cane idrofobo, e la strinse a sé con avida gelosia. Mi parve di non trovarmi in compagnia di una creatura della mia stessa specie; sembrava che anche se gli avessi parlato non sarebbe stato in grado di capirmi, pertanto rimasi in disparte, tenni a freno la lingua, in preda a una grande perplessità. (Cime Tempestose cap. XV)
Batté la testa contro il tronco nodoso; poi arrovesciati gli occhi si abbandonò a grida che nulla avevano di umano ma erano quelle di una bestia feroce, trafitta a morte da lance e coltelli. (Cime Tempestose cap. XVI)
"È un predatore di tombe o un vampiro? ", pensai tra me. Mi era capitato di leggere di simili laidi demoni incarnati. Ma poi riflettei e ricordai come avessi avuto cura di lui durante l'infanzia; come lo avessi veduto crescere fino all'adolescenza, rimanendogli accanto per quasi tutta la sua vita; e mi resi conto che si trattava di un'assurda sciocchezza il lasciarmi dominare da quella sensazione di orrore. (Cime Tempestose cap. XXXIV)
[I brani tradotti sono tratti da Emily Brontë Cime tempestose edizione Newton Compton 1993 traduzione di Mariagrazia Oddera Bianchi]
August 24, 2020
Life is too short to take things too seriously.
The Bronte sisters are my hands-down favorite authors of all time. In high school and college, I read Wuthering Heights annually. When the "quirk classic" (or what i used to call Monster Mash) books started coming out, I jumped at the chance to reread my favorite classics in a new (silly) light. I love Wuthering Bites....and honestly, of all the quirk classics I think this one fits the best!
The Bronte sisters are my hands-down favorite authors of all time. In high school and college, I read Wuthering Heights annually. When the "quirk classic" (or what i used to call Monster Mash) books started coming out, I jumped at the chance to reread my favorite classics in a new (silly) light. I love Wuthering Bites....and honestly, of all the quirk classics I think this one fits the best!
May 14, 2019
Wuthering Bites. The name alone promised a rollicking retell of a classic story. In reality, the story schlepped along without any real excitement or purpose. I wanted to bail out long before I got halfway, but I was curious if the author would inject any style into the writing. I did finish but it was a chore.
March 23, 2018
I wouldn't allow myself to read this until I skimmed Wuthering Heights (the original). It was quite interesting to see how the author kept some of the same prose and grammar and context but changed the elements to be more fantastical!
September 19, 2020
was surprised by how much i liked it
June 27, 2021
CW: incest (cousins, adopted), era-typical misogyny, use of anti-romani g-slur, child neglect, child abuse
i have literally never read wuthering heights but this heathcliff dude is off the walls insane in this
i have literally never read wuthering heights but this heathcliff dude is off the walls insane in this
July 17, 2022
This.....Was....oh god so good. An absolute favorite of mine for sure. I read it in a few hours only because I could not put it down.
December 3, 2022
Good but in a bad way
April 15, 2014
The mash-up genre, for better or worse (or much, much worse) is obviously here to stay. So seeing yet another entry into it no longer provokes a reflexive winch of pain from classic purists. This one, on the whole, isn’t so objectionable, perhaps because Brontë’s original work leaned so heavily towards melodrama that the addition of supernatural creatures doesn’t make it any more ludicrous.
Consider this: we are meant to accept that a well-born gentleman brings home a ruffian child of uncertain parentage. He then favors said child above his own son and his daughter, a gentlewoman of some refinement, takes a shine to this boy to the extreme of feeling him to be a kindred spirit. The son and orphan grow up with an intense hatred of each other, the former overt and the latter covert. The daughter falls madly in love with the thug but marries someone else because she can’t bear a life of degradation and poverty. Orphan boy goes away, comes back fabulously wealthy and spends the rest of his life seeking revenge against his enemies while they are alive and by proxy through their children when they are dead. When the love of his life dies, he becomes so embittered and anti-social that nobody except a few aged servants can stand him. Finally, years later, he dies as well on the dreary moors that was their home. Oh, and before he dies he imagines that her ghost is somehow haunting him.
This sort of thing smacks of daytime soap operas, the kind of plotlines that could be dragged out for years with all sorts of crazy elements thrown into them for the delectation of bored housewives. So why not have vampires and suggest that the anti-hero of the story is actually one in disguise? It’s no nuttier than anything else that was written.
Ms. Gray cleaves closely to the spirit and wording of the original novel. Her writing is very good and there are no real anachronistic touches that I can discern. Although mention of the vampire is on the first and last pages and continues to be heavily present throughout the novel, their inclusion suits the Gothic, lowering atmosphere of the moors very well. Credit also can be given to her for having a couple of her female characters decide to become slayers themselves (a nod to a certain television tiny blonde heroine), something decidedly against custom.
This is not a great novel (no mash-up ever is) but it is certainly better than the average.
Consider this: we are meant to accept that a well-born gentleman brings home a ruffian child of uncertain parentage. He then favors said child above his own son and his daughter, a gentlewoman of some refinement, takes a shine to this boy to the extreme of feeling him to be a kindred spirit. The son and orphan grow up with an intense hatred of each other, the former overt and the latter covert. The daughter falls madly in love with the thug but marries someone else because she can’t bear a life of degradation and poverty. Orphan boy goes away, comes back fabulously wealthy and spends the rest of his life seeking revenge against his enemies while they are alive and by proxy through their children when they are dead. When the love of his life dies, he becomes so embittered and anti-social that nobody except a few aged servants can stand him. Finally, years later, he dies as well on the dreary moors that was their home. Oh, and before he dies he imagines that her ghost is somehow haunting him.
This sort of thing smacks of daytime soap operas, the kind of plotlines that could be dragged out for years with all sorts of crazy elements thrown into them for the delectation of bored housewives. So why not have vampires and suggest that the anti-hero of the story is actually one in disguise? It’s no nuttier than anything else that was written.
Ms. Gray cleaves closely to the spirit and wording of the original novel. Her writing is very good and there are no real anachronistic touches that I can discern. Although mention of the vampire is on the first and last pages and continues to be heavily present throughout the novel, their inclusion suits the Gothic, lowering atmosphere of the moors very well. Credit also can be given to her for having a couple of her female characters decide to become slayers themselves (a nod to a certain television tiny blonde heroine), something decidedly against custom.
This is not a great novel (no mash-up ever is) but it is certainly better than the average.
December 24, 2012
I really wanted to love this but sadly I didn't. The original Wuthering Heights is one of my all-time favourite books and being a big fan of the vampire genre, I had high hopes for Wuthering Bites. In theory, it's a story that should work well as a vampire novel but for me, it fell somewhat flat. It started off ok but after about 80 or so pages I was really starting to struggle and the story was on something of a downward spiral by then. What I found surprising is that the book actually consists of much of Emily Bronte's original writing but with some lines and paragraphs rewritten by Sarah Gray to incorporate the vampire element. I had gone into it thinking that it was a completely fresh take on the original novel and was therefore a bit disappointed when this turned out to not be the case. I felt that the parts that were rewritten by Gray were not particularly great and did not fit comfortably alongside the original text and as a result, the vampire element of the story ended up looking completely out-of-place and did not pack the punch that it could and should have. Consequently, for me at least, Wuthering Bites did not really work as a vampire novel. I personally did not like the humour that was present throughout the novel either, as again I felt it that did not fit in with the tone of Emily Bronte's original writing and would probably have worked better had the novel been completely rewritten. Having said all that, I did finish it and it is not the worst book I have read but it is not a book that I will be reading again.
September 12, 2015
[FULL REVIEW]
I’ll say that I enjoyed the overall story and I’m not sure how much of it was the original piece and how much was added. I know Catherine senior probably wasn’t bitten by a vampire in the original, but I’m not sure if Nelly was really shut up in Wuthering Heights for days. Part of the enjoyment of this novel was ruined for me because I kept thinking about this. I remember thinking Heathcliff was overdramatic and Cathy was a pain in the rear. It almost makes more sense to think of them as vampires and hunters. It was fun if nothing else.
I genuinely enjoyed the vampire bits of the book. I wasn’t sure if these were going to be Stephanie Meyer’s sparkly/sexy vampires or Bram Stoker’s evil/killer vampires and was glad it was the latter. It made them scary and it worked in this story. Some of them were more human than others and the things they did to people were atrocious. It was great. (Does that sound twisted?)
I’ll say that I enjoyed the overall story and I’m not sure how much of it was the original piece and how much was added. I know Catherine senior probably wasn’t bitten by a vampire in the original, but I’m not sure if Nelly was really shut up in Wuthering Heights for days. Part of the enjoyment of this novel was ruined for me because I kept thinking about this. I remember thinking Heathcliff was overdramatic and Cathy was a pain in the rear. It almost makes more sense to think of them as vampires and hunters. It was fun if nothing else.
I genuinely enjoyed the vampire bits of the book. I wasn’t sure if these were going to be Stephanie Meyer’s sparkly/sexy vampires or Bram Stoker’s evil/killer vampires and was glad it was the latter. It made them scary and it worked in this story. Some of them were more human than others and the things they did to people were atrocious. It was great. (Does that sound twisted?)
June 27, 2012
Not bad, not great.
It's a little dangerous to pick the amazing story of Wuthering Heights to base one's novel on it.
The darkness of Emily Brontë's characters is probably one of the reasons why it was picked to make them into vampires in a new story. However, Brontë's writing skills are so high that when you want to use her story, you have to try and reach her excellence... which was not the case in this vampire story.
I would say it was enjoyable enough as a casual reading, but loving the original so much, both for the settings and for the literary style, I've been a bit disappointed by this novel.
I also regret that the vampire characters do not really have any depth. I was expecting more complexity, more "romanticism" (in the literary meaning), which are the key of Brontë's novel... In Wuthering Bites, the story and the text are often flat and and sometimes clumsy...
However, you may want to pick this book for distraction.
It's a little dangerous to pick the amazing story of Wuthering Heights to base one's novel on it.
The darkness of Emily Brontë's characters is probably one of the reasons why it was picked to make them into vampires in a new story. However, Brontë's writing skills are so high that when you want to use her story, you have to try and reach her excellence... which was not the case in this vampire story.
I would say it was enjoyable enough as a casual reading, but loving the original so much, both for the settings and for the literary style, I've been a bit disappointed by this novel.
I also regret that the vampire characters do not really have any depth. I was expecting more complexity, more "romanticism" (in the literary meaning), which are the key of Brontë's novel... In Wuthering Bites, the story and the text are often flat and and sometimes clumsy...
However, you may want to pick this book for distraction.
April 28, 2011
I've read Wuthering Heights so I decided to give this book a try. To be honest Wuthering Heights was pretty hard for me to make it through and stay interested in so I was unsure of how this book would go. The addition of vampires is amusing but unnecessary. It is the slightly modernized terminology that is used that made this version easier for me to read.
I kept a copy of the original Wuthering Heights on hand and compared and contrasted the two as I read. All in all I liked it but doubt i'll probably read it again.
For those of you planning to read this or the original I recommend also watching the PBS version on Wuthering Heights. It's a 2 part mini series that I last saw on instant play on Netflix.
I kept a copy of the original Wuthering Heights on hand and compared and contrasted the two as I read. All in all I liked it but doubt i'll probably read it again.
For those of you planning to read this or the original I recommend also watching the PBS version on Wuthering Heights. It's a 2 part mini series that I last saw on instant play on Netflix.
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