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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
There is no denying the craft in the writing of The Woman in White. Once you get through the slightly archaic language, the writing is compelling and paints a clear picture of the characters and the plot. Every time the perspective shifts you really feel the new voice and the way that each character's limited awareness of the wider plot affects how they write is really interesting.
My main gripe is that the pace was so slow. I understand that is was written for a periodical and that's why it's so long but it could have been 400 pages easily without losing any value. I also thought that the plot was a little obvious although it was well threaded through.
Count Fosco was the stand out best character and the only one that felt like a fully fleshed out character whilst the rest where a little two dimensional. The main thing I couldn't comprehend, and this may have been more obvious in the 1800s, is why on earth Walter fell in love with Laura. She was a bland character who barely interacted with him and who's only personality trait seemed to be being pretty and frail. I found it hard to believe Walter would go to such lengths and put his life at risk multiple times just for her. Marian had a lot more potential as a character but I think she got lost in Collin's sexism and every time in her narrative she thought about how weak and pathetic and annoying women are I wanted to scream.
That said it was still a gripping story and I enjoyed reading it.
The essay by Julian Symons on Wilkie Collins at the end of the book was too long and also an incredible biased and opinionated piece which in my opinion does not belong in a Penguin classic.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
4.75/5
This is an incredible book which kept me enthralled throughout every one of its 783 pages
This is an incredible book which kept me enthralled throughout every one of its 783 pages
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Started out very promising but became tedious, though I liked the fractured narrative device with different characters providing their first-person recollections. Count Fosco and his wife were a lot of fun in a way that Percival was not. Was there ever a duller villain than Sir Percival Glyde?
In this book, we learn that "because Dad wanted me to" is not a good enough reason to marry.
I’m glad I read The Moonstone before this one. If I’d read this one first, I don’t think I would have tried another Collins book. The slow pace and excruciatingly detailed writing style bothered me not at all when reading The Moonstone—in that book, the style seemed to suit the long, storied history of the missing gem.
Here, however, I was squirming in my seat for the first half of the book, hoping that something would happen soon, other than feminine hand-wringing. I’m glad I hung in there, though, because the ending made it worth the journey.
There are some nifty plot twists, and I really had to know if everyone who deserved a comeuppance got one. I would have been delighted with more comic relief, but I had to settle for the world’s most annoying hypochondriac, Frederick Fairlie, in that regard.