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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A classic! Quite enjoyable! Engaging narrative style!
3.5 stars. Loved the humor and characterization, but as a detective story, no thanks. And the romance? I don’t have a stomach for love at first sight anywhere.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I know this took me forever to read, but it really is so good (And also it was originally serialized, so one could argue that reading it over 2 years is more authentic, lol). Not only is it the very first detective novel and doing so many (of what would become) well-known tropes and cliches first, it also employs them with truly great effect. Just some of the devices in here: a locked room murder, a seasoned detective who has an odd hobby (being obsessed with growing the perfect roses), disguises, 2 dramatic wills, using a child to follow a suspect/gather information, the detective suspecting himself, and so many more. All of this in a Victorian era novel that also features 2 love traingles. Also standout is the character work, including the gossipy caretaker Gabriel Betteredge, who reads and consults “Robinson Crusoe” like it’s the Bible. And underpinning the whole narrative is Collins’ idea that even British fine society is not safe from the evils caused by British imperialist plunder. Great stuff.
A slow start with a winding narrative that seems super pointless to begin with but is the ultimate ‘no way was that detail important’ twisting story! The original who-dunnit that clearly sets up half the tropes of the genre but it still had my audibly GASPING at various reveals.
I know a lot of people give it flack for the racism and yes, it’s true, ‘The Indians’ are considered ‘evil’ for the majority of the book but the messaging is actually very anti-colonialist and they are presented as evil only to the white narrators of the book but not by the author at all.
The switching narrators and different POVs to weave the events together was so fun, and seeing inside everyone’s heads was delightful. I just wish we had a section narrated by Rachel Verinder herself. This wasn’t just a detective novel, or a romance, or just a mystery, or just any one genre and I really rate it.
I know a lot of people give it flack for the racism and yes, it’s true, ‘The Indians’ are considered ‘evil’ for the majority of the book but the messaging is actually very anti-colonialist and they are presented as evil only to the white narrators of the book but not by the author at all.
The switching narrators and different POVs to weave the events together was so fun, and seeing inside everyone’s heads was delightful. I just wish we had a section narrated by Rachel Verinder herself. This wasn’t just a detective novel, or a romance, or just a mystery, or just any one genre and I really rate it.
like a horror movie but instead of "don't have sex, american teens" it's "don't steal priceless relics from indians, victorian brits"
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Excellent narration.
I thought this was a very suspenseful detective novel which makes clever use of multiple narrative perspectives. The 'whodunnit' was a little predictable but the method wasn't, so that kept me wondering. I was thrown at first by the casual racism expressed by pretty much all the characters but the ending, whereby the diamond is returned to its rightful owners, suggests to me that the book was intended to be a criticism of colonialism; it's very easy to assume that the views of the characters reflect the views of the author, however I don't think that was the case in The Moonstone.