Review of The Becoming The Untold Story of Heathcliff

[Alice Heritage]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Becoming The Untold Story of Heathcliff" by LillianKarp.]

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1 out of 4 stars

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Emily Brontë completed only one novel in her short life - but what a novel it was. In her classic Wuthering Heights she also created an iconic anti-hero of English literature. Yet although the book pivots around him, Heathcliff's point of view is principally absent.

He even disappears mysteriously from Wuthering Heights for some years. In the novella The Becoming: The Untold Story of Heathcliff, author Lillian Karp picks up the story on the night when Heathcliff runs away after learning of his beloved Catherine's acceptance of Edgar Linton's proposal. Karp imagines the events leading up to Heathcliff's return to Wuthering Heights as a rich man seeking to settle a few scores.

He first rides to Liverpool, which seems fitting enough. Finding it hard to breathe in the city after the moors, he is attracted to the docks by the fresher sea air. The next thing he knows, he is being rudely awakened on the deck of a ship, very much the worse for drink and drugs. What adventures await him in Africa and the Caribbean? How will he make the fortune that enables him to return?

In ruminating about his passionate love Catherine and his milquetoast rival, he reflects: "Edgar Linton can never keep her love. Her life's flame will turn him to ash. He is no match for her fire." (The Becoming: The Untold Story of Heathcliff by Lillian Karp, p.12.) This stunning image rings true to the way the original Heathcliff talks. The way the author adopted the style of the period was enjoyable on some level. She appears to have researched it and imagined the settings vividly.

Unfortunately, however, these positives did not work hard enough to earn a star, so that my rating is one out of four stars, as low as we can go. This was because the shortcomings heavily outweighed the strengths of this work. I will enumerate these below.

First, the style involves too much showing and not enough telling, as exemplified by this quote from when Heathcliff feels set aside in favour of Edgar. "Perplexed and seething with anger, he ran away from the disheartening scene his face beclouded in double darkness." (Ibid., p.10.) The reader can already guess from the actions and words that Heathcliff is perplexed and seething and that the scene is disheartening. At first glance, this seems similar to the original Wuthering Heights, but there, the tale is told by various narrators. The narrator here is omniscient.

Second, as that quote also shows, too many adjectives are used, and the style is overblown in general. Third, however, highfalutin language clashes with utter vulgarity. Books can vary in register, of course, but this wasn't handled carefully enough here, making for jarring contrasts. In that vein, fourth, the graphic content runs the gamut all the way up to bestiality. Because it is poorly integrated into the plot, it feels gratuitous.

Speaking of the plot, fifth, the climax is a major let-down. The characters involved are something of a redeeming feature. One of these is Delia, a lady Heathcliff meets in Barbados. Although she was well drawn with an intriguing backstory, this takes up too much space in a book that is only 66 pages long. Therefore, sixth, the narrative plods through irrelevant detours while scrambling over major plot points. An editor could suggest improvements to the pacing. In that connection, seventh, the manuscript cannot have been professionally edited, as it is full of punctuation and spelling errors. An editor could also ensure the Emily Brontë poems are cited correctly, which is currently not the case, enlightening as it is to consider how they apply to Heathcliff.

All of the above problem areas detracted from my enjoyment even as I always welcome imaginative takes on Emily Brontë's work. The descriptor for the one-star rating is "recommend against reading it", but the target audience is Wuthering Heights fans. The rendition of Heathcliff's character is somewhat true to the original, so with reservations I could recommend this to those who like to read Brontë spin-offs and racy historical fiction. Readers would need an open mind and above all a strong stomach.

Although I cannot quite say this was so bad it was good, I do wonder if the author wrote it tongue-in-cheek. It did make me laugh at times, but it made me cringe more. It's not that I can't tolerate graphic content at all, but this needs to be better integrated. This did read like an early draft, so hopefully the author might work on it some more. The characters and scenarios did have potential.

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The Becoming The Untold Story of Heathcliff
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[Aisha Yakub]

Thank you for the honest feedback.

[Alice Heritage]

Thank you for the honest feedback.

I hope I was somewhat constructive, but there is plenty to improve in that novella!

[Manang Muyang]

That is the danger of daring to emulate a master. But the author can try again. Even Harper Lee couldn't match her To Kill a Mockingbird. Or so they say. I have yet to read Go Set a Watchman.

[Alice Heritage]

That is the danger of daring to emulate a master. But the author can try again. Even Harper Lee couldn't match her To Kill a Mockingbird. Or so they say. I have yet to read Go Set a Watchman.

Some of the ingredients were there. It was a brave attempt and as you say, the author could try again. I have also not read Go Set a Watchman, but perhaps masterpieces come once in a lifetime. Still the lack of a sequel//inter-quel to Wuthering Heights remains tantalizing ...

Thank you for your comment!

[Ceeco2002]

Your review exposes this book thoroughly and I'm glad I read it before picking this book. This isn't a book I'd enjoy as it still has a lot of work to be done on it. Thanks for your sincere review!

[Alice Heritage]

Your review exposes this book thoroughly and I'm glad I read it before picking this book. This isn't a book I'd enjoy as it still has a lot of work to be done on it. Thanks for your sincere review!

Yes, it's in quite a rough state still, so I'm glad my review was useful. Thanks for stopping by!

[Judy_Akha]

Wuthering Heights is one of my favorite books, and Heathcliff is my favorite character. Remembering his words "Terror made me cruel," Heathcliff was a majestic mix of evil and good. This book seems very disappointing. Thanks for your detailed and honest review. I enjoy reading it.

[Alice Heritage]

Wuthering Heights is one of my favorite books, and Heathcliff is my favorite character. Remembering his words "Terror made me cruel," Heathcliff was a majestic mix of evil and good. This book seems very disappointing. Thanks for your detailed and honest review. I enjoy reading it.

Exactly - who would have acted differently from Heathcliff if they had been so poorly treated and misunderstood? This book did not have the depth of the original, sadly.

Thanks for stopping by!

[Ruth Frances A]

In my younger years, I read Wuthering Heights and was smitten. Heathcliff was a disappointment and I understood the decisions taken by Catherine. This review has answered some questions I have always asked. Where did Healthcliff disappear to? How did he reappear? Perhaps I will read the book, just for curiosity and because I am a fan of such stories. Thank you for the pointers.

[Alice Heritage]

In my younger years, I read Wuthering Heights and was smitten. Heathcliff was a disappointment and I understood the decisions taken by Catherine. This review has answered some questions I have always asked. Where did Healthcliff disappear to? How did he reappear? Perhaps I will read the book, just for curiosity and because I am a fan of such stories. Thank you for the pointers.

Yes, I mean although it left something to be desired in the execution, the author did come up with an interesting idea and there were signs of research. But the story was quite an adventure.

[Soraya Bayah]

Your deliberate work is evident in your review, and the frustration you felt seeps out of the text. I was entirely indulged in the review and felt disappointed for the story to have such major drawbacks. I certainly hope the author considers bettering her book. Thank you for the exquisite review!

[Alice Heritage]

Your deliberate work is evident in your review, and the frustration you felt seeps out of the text. I was entirely indulged in the review and felt disappointed for the story to have such major drawbacks. I certainly hope the author considers bettering her book. Thank you for the exquisite review!

Although the book was indeed disappointing, the review was kind of fun to write! Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for stopping by.

[honeybear_11001]

Interesting review. Honest and precise.