Book club books - Rob Lowe Memoir and 'Wuthering Heights'

Secrets I Only Tell My Friends, Rob Lowe (3)

Our book club was unanimous in our view that this book was an enjoyable, fast-paced read.  We held back a little on the rating as it read like a People magazine: enjoyable but not exactly to be classified as literature.  Mr. Lowe has a remarkably upbeat voice as he discusses his professional career and describes his frankly shocking number of encounters with famous people.  Part of the fun of the book is re-living the 80’s from his perspective of an innocent young actor becoming an icon of our young adulthood.  It is also enjoyable to see him tackle his demons and work his way into a reinvigorated career and very happy (and appreciated) family life.  The title is interesting as he is telling secrets concerning many iconic actors, but he definitely does not ‘open the kimono’ fully.  His writing style is somewhat detached and disassociated.  You get the impression that you are reading about events, but have been held at arms length from his emotions.  That is certainly his prerogative, and somewhat his point as he says he fights the urge to always be ‘the actor’.

Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte (4)

Of the sisters Bronte, the majority of us prefer Charlotte’s ‘Jane Eyre’ with Jane, an original strong woman character. While an exquisitely written classic, ‘Wuthering Heights’ has the slight problem of lacking any likable characters!  The main character, Heathcliff, is extremely unpleasant, spending the majority of his life making innocent people miserable.  It’s a testament to Emily’s writing that we can see into and beyond the characters and can appreciate the book without liking them.  It’s quite shocking to think of a young woman of her background in the mid 1800’s creating these real, yet disturbing characters.  I read this book in my teens and thought, as an adult, I would appreciate the love story of Heathcliff and Catherine more.  This was the case.  As a teen, I could not understand how Catherine could choose money and position over her love and best friend (ah, the innocence of youth!).  While I still dislike the choice, I do understand the factors of society and history that would simply make the choice of Heathcliff impossible.  This, of course, drives his anger and frustration of not being the ‘heir’, and makes his actions more understandable if no less abhorrent.  You do see some of Emily’s femininity and youth coming through at the end with a slightly happy and succinct ending than you would expect. Overall, ‘Wuthering Heights’ is an excellent, though dark, classic similar to those by Thomas Hardy.