"Here on Earth" by Alice Hoffman

Not sure what exactly I think about the idea of living author using plot from 150 year old classic, though premise actually sound intriguing - what would happen if "Wuthering Heights" main characters had opportunity to actually live together? We all remember Catherine and Heathcliff the way they were immortalized in Emily Brontë's unforgettable, dark and brooding novel but large part of their tragedy were obstacles that kept them apart - Alice Hoffman took difficult task to update this story for a modern times and reshape it as cautionary tale about obsession, violence and abusive relationship. No wonder it ended up recommended on Oprah's list as it inspires all sorts of discussions, particularly about where is the tipping point that makes a person break away from invisible cage. And how much right we as outsiders have to intrude into another person's private lives, even with the best of intentions.

Too reverential to Brontë to actually throw in some of her trademark magic realism, Hoffman uses famous literary ancestor only as a frame - wild, orphaned boy madly in love in his benefactor's beautiful daughter - but the rest of the story is completely hers. From than on, she weaves original story set in New England and since the main characters have to closely follow archetypal Catherine/Heathcliff couple, they don't really have logic or reasons - they are here to burn in a pyre, ignoring the world around them, going on without sleep, food or even another human contact. Perhaps the reason why Hoffman is much more successful with the whole palette of other, supporting characters is because they were her own creation and not limited by original literary model - almost everybody else is far more human, sympathetic or comprehensible in their actions and behaviours than main characters who suffer from being one-dimensional. Even with the best intentions, we can't really understand modern day Catherine/Heathcliff because they are not real people but symbols of self-destructive relationship - down to denial when it comes to facing violence that inevitably follows ("yes he can be dangerous but he is actually very emotional and it was me who provoked him, I deserve it") - but when we move on towards the other citizens of picturesque Jenkintown, description of them is much more believable and they are lovely. I have already noticed something about Alice Hoffman novels, a curious trait that I really enjoy her less prominent characters far more than the main ones. Worth praise for daring to give a new twist to a classic literary masterpiece, it is a curious homage that just might appeal to readers who recognize these kinds of situations.