Dyslexic, Perhaps?
But then, the person who wrote that article concluded it with this bit of wisdom by way of her nomination for the 100 Worst Books list:
To kick off, mine is Wuthering Heights – it has all the emotional depth of sixth-form poetry and I feel an intense desire to give all the characters a good slap and tell them to stop being so self-indulgent. Mysteriously, it’s considered a landmark of English literature by many people whose judgment I usually admire.
So clearly I shouldn’t be surprised if she uses words in a silly way. In fact I should be surprised that she’s writing for a major newspaper, that’s what I should be surprised at.
I myself truly loathe that book and I quite honestly remain at a loss to understand the value my high school English teacher found in it. Mock me if you will, but I personally place that book at the top of my `Worst Books I Was Forced to Read Because They’re “Classics”‘ list.
And don’t even get me started on _Jane Eyre_. Yeesh.
No, I won’t mock. Not unless you write an article for the Guardian saying as much, and then all bets are off!
I won’t mock partly because I didn’t like it in high school either. But have you tried it since high school? I’m beginning to think Wuthering Heights should be summarily taken off school reading lists, because I’ve talked to so many people lately who detest it, having read it exactly once at age 16 or 17. It’s not a novel for teenagers, and the aesthetic judgment of teenagers is not the last word on the subject. I know mine was no good at that age (whereas now, of course, it’s flawless).