You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
Really a lot of fun...a bit over-written at times and certainly a product of its time, but fun. And it makes me want to read Robinson Crusoe.
Another classic I was surprised to love so much. A beautiful and intriguing story. I've recommended this one to lots of people.
This was a fun, light read. If you're looking for a crazy chase of a mystery, this is not it unless you're a big fan of Scooby Doo. I'm fairly certain this is where the masked villains of the delightful cartoon started out.
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Colonisation
Minor: Death, Suicide
What a perfectly satisfying story - I was racing through to the end. Collins' work epitomises the best of the Victorian novel and the (then incipient) detective genre. I do not have anything particularly profound to say about Collins' social enlightenment, except to say that I didn't read his women as particularly subversive. Take Rachel Verinder's charming impetuousity and tendency to lapse into emotional outbursts- I'm fairly certain that is a trope of 19th century English writing, as was Rosanna Spearman, the doomed female servant. What I did find subversive, and more importantly interesting, were Collins' narratives of the story by servants and the middle class.
Another thing Collins seems to get disproportionate approbation for, is his attitudes towards the Hindu brahmins. They're certainly the most one-dimensional characters in the story, inserted as threat rather than as fully-realised persons, and, well, if it's the most disagreeable characters in his story that say the most egregiously racist things, Collins certainly doesn't attack this in his exposition. Despite that, a cool ending, probably. (It makes you wonder how much conflict could have been avoided if the white people had just made their damn reparations in returning the diamond!)
Another thing Collins seems to get disproportionate approbation for, is his attitudes towards the Hindu brahmins. They're certainly the most one-dimensional characters in the story, inserted as threat rather than as fully-realised persons, and, well, if it's the most disagreeable characters in his story that say the most egregiously racist things, Collins certainly doesn't attack this in his exposition. Despite that, a cool ending, probably. (It makes you wonder how much conflict could have been avoided if the white people had just made their damn reparations in returning the diamond!)
This book is my first Wilkie Collins book, and i loved it! I'll admit, it took me far longer than it should have, and i complained a lot about how dry and painful it was to get through. However, looking back on it, its a classic 19th century mystery, and is so well written.
He write it in segments, each character lending themselves to the position of narator for the events they witnessed. This, although worked well, was slightly annoying when reading pages and pages of characters i dont like. But, for the most part i liked all the characters and found the ending interesting!
He write it in segments, each character lending themselves to the position of narator for the events they witnessed. This, although worked well, was slightly annoying when reading pages and pages of characters i dont like. But, for the most part i liked all the characters and found the ending interesting!
Currently studying a Victorian Literature module as part of my degree, the books I have read so far have been underwhelming to say the least. When it came to reaching 'The Moonstone' and the required reading list, I was preparing myself for 500 pages of plain boredom. I couldn't have been more wrong.
What first struck me about the novel, although published in 1868, was how modern Collins' writing was, never failing to maintain my interest as I made my way through the novel. It is certainly much longer than the average detective novel, yet it manages to sustain interest by means of its multiple narrators and its twists and turns. Although its length could be a downfall, not a word was wasted on anything that didn't advance the plot and lead us towards the unraveling of the mystery.
Rather than merely turning the pages for the sake of 'getting the book over and done with', this book was a true page turner, only wanting to read more to unravel the mystery of the moonstone.
What first struck me about the novel, although published in 1868, was how modern Collins' writing was, never failing to maintain my interest as I made my way through the novel. It is certainly much longer than the average detective novel, yet it manages to sustain interest by means of its multiple narrators and its twists and turns. Although its length could be a downfall, not a word was wasted on anything that didn't advance the plot and lead us towards the unraveling of the mystery.
Rather than merely turning the pages for the sake of 'getting the book over and done with', this book was a true page turner, only wanting to read more to unravel the mystery of the moonstone.
adventurous
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Recognized as the first mystery novel, Willie Collins gains the attention of the reader through the views displayed by several characters in the form of a memoir or rather the report of the character regarding the events of the crime. Its very long and gets tedious at times but it's worth waiting till the end.
There is a lot of repetition among the dialogues of characters and that's because the book was first published as a serialized story in the newspaper when it was being written.
There is a lot of repetition among the dialogues of characters and that's because the book was first published as a serialized story in the newspaper when it was being written.