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Open book with a fall leaf covering the left page.
Open book with a fall leaf covering the left page.
Photo by Ksenia Makagonova from Unsplash
Texas | Culture > Entertainment

Your Fall Book Club Needs This Classic

Kendall Meachum Student Contributor, University of Texas - Austin
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Texas chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

It’s officially October, which means it’s time to throw on a pair of fuzzy socks, make yourself a cup of hot chocolate, and put on a relaxing fall-coded album (my current favorite is the Cosmic Selector Vol. 1 by Lord Huron). Fall also means it’s time to plan your first fall book club or decide what novel to curl up with by the fireplace. Even though reading itself is always relaxing, deciding which book to move from my “TBR” to “currently reading” is anything but.

However, something about the weather cooling down always makes me want to read a book full of truly horrible people continuously making worse decisions than the last. All in the name of “love,” of course. Wuthering Heights is truly one of the most intense, insane, and compelling books ever written. With destructive passions, gothic estates, ghostly encounters, and a truly terrifying antagonist (or love-interest, if that’s how you want to refer to Heathcliff), Wuthering Heights sets the dark, gothic vibe that I expect for any good Autumn season.

Wuthering Heights is a 200-year-old Gothic novel written by Emily BrontĂ«. Despite its age, the novel possesses that special kind of family drama and twistedness that feels timeless. Starring Catherine Earnshaw and her star-crossed lover Heathcliff (who, like I mentioned, is also the book’s antagonist, but a lot of people aren’t ready for that conversation), Wuthering Heights is ultimately a love story, just not in the way you might be used to. 

Without giving away any “spoilers” for this book (which was published in 1847), Catherine and Heathcliff’s relationship is not exactly a cozy love story. In fact, calling their relationship a romance almost seems to glorify how horrible it is. The two harbor a twisted obsession for the other, one that transcends their entire lives (and even beyond it). Love is not depicted as a healing force, but as a passionate and destructive one. 

And yet, this twisted and haunting love story leads to some of the most beautifully romantic quotes that I have ever read. When discussing Heathcliff, Catherine at one point states, “He’s more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.” Later in the book, Heathcliff begs Catherine, “Be with me always – take any form – drive me mad! Only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! it is unutterable! I can not live without my life! I can not live without my soul!” Now, the actual context of these quotes (still not giving any spoilers) might make them seem a little less romantic and a bit more insane, but that doesn’t make them any less beautiful.

If the love story isn’t enough to convince you to read the book, then maybe the incredible (if unconventional) writing style will. The book is told primarily through the perspective of a judgmental (and refreshingly responsible) former servant of the Earnshaw family, who is telling the story of the family to an outsider unfortunate enough to have moved in next door to Wuthering Heights. The novel spans generations and ties in additional, engrossing themes of the cycle of abuse and the all-consuming nature of revenge. Emily BrontĂ« was not trying to write likable characters; she was trying to write compelling ones. The characters are (glaringly) flawed, and because of that, they feel fully fleshed out and real. 

Finally, if you’re still not convinced, there is absolutely no better reason to read a book than to be able to intellectually engage in some internet controversy. The upcoming Wuthering Heights movie has been completely engulfed by. Featuring a soundtrack by Charli XCX (not exactly giving 1800s), Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff (who is described as ‘dark-skinned’ multiple times in the novel), and a casting director who said there was “no need to be accurate” to the book, every facet of the upcoming movie (which will hit theaters on Valentine’s Day) has been hotly debated across social media.

While you are more than free to watch the movie without reading the book, or engage in internet controversy without having dedicated any time to the source material, where’s the fun in that? Especially when reading Wuthering Heights is such a trip in and of itself.

So put on a cute fall playlist, throw up your fuzzy socks, and get excited to read a dark, twisted, terrifying “romance” that also has ghosts. What more could you want?

Kendall Meachum

Texas '28

Kendall Meachum is a writer for the Her Campus at Texas Chapter. She writes about campus life, current issues affecting women in college, and anything book-related.

Beyond Her Campus, Kendall works as a news reporter for the Daily Texan, the official student newspaper at the University of Texas. She is currently a sophomore at the University of Texas, majoring in Government and Plan II.

In her free time, Kendall enjoys reading anything written by Emily Henry, playing the New York Times mini games, doodling flowers, and complaining about how expensive thrift stores have gotten. She loves long walks, the color green, and changing her ranking of Taylor Swift albums based on whatever mood she is feeling.