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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
The first detective novel ever! Big call! Written in 1871 it tells the tale a a precious gem with a checkered past. Rachel Verinder inherits the stone on her birthday and is its proud owner for less than one night. Was it the strange servant girl Roseanna, the travelling band of indians, Franklin Blake (Rachels love interest) or someone else?
A great classic written through several points of view. It has it all: sadness, tragedy, hilarity and a quirky detective who loves roses.
A great classic written through several points of view. It has it all: sadness, tragedy, hilarity and a quirky detective who loves roses.
Fascinating story and marvelous characters! Loved it all through, (although some people may have thought it boring and drawn-out.) Even better on the second reading.
When I finished The Woman in White by this same author a couple years ago, I was so delighted. My inner besotted gothic heroine was extremely satisfied with the book’s darkness and clever end. Then I found out Wilkie Collins had also written a novel that is credited as being the first modern mystery, at least as we understand the genre today. And indeed, I think the current reader of mysteries will find a lot of familiarity in style and how the plot progresses. This is basically setting up the era of Sherlock Holmes, though it isn’t as smart or dark as those classics. In fact, I would barely call this gothic. It doesn’t have that salacious and lurid backdrop, and the tortured love story is barely there. It’s also hard to get past the intense and pervasive xenophobia (ok, yes, Britain in the mid 1800s was not exactly the most woke place in history).
I can recommend this book as what it represents to a body of literature and a seminal piece in a genre, but I don’t know that I can recommend Moonstone on just its own merits. Not quite dark enough, not quite clever enough, pacing is atrocious. However, it is prettily written and the characters are adorably quirky and unique.
I can recommend this book as what it represents to a body of literature and a seminal piece in a genre, but I don’t know that I can recommend Moonstone on just its own merits. Not quite dark enough, not quite clever enough, pacing is atrocious. However, it is prettily written and the characters are adorably quirky and unique.
I did not enjoy it as much as I expected. It was definitely not a page-turner for me. I did not find the mystery interesting nor enjoyable.
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was my read for Victober and I enjoyed the book but not as much as The Woman in White, the only other Collins novel I have read. I enjoyed all the twists and turns of the plot as well as all of he interesting characters who populated the story. The thing that I most liked, however, was Collins' tongue-in-cheek (and at times, downright snarky) sense of humor. My main complaint and the reason I didn't give the book a higher rating is that sometimes Collins became rather wordy and long-winded with his explanations of events and it made the story drag in parts.
mysterious
slow-paced
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Didn't finish before class and don't have the motivation to finish it now
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism