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aliwhaley's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
slow-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
3.5
This book is well plotted with plenty of twists and turns and red herrings to keep you guessing, but why is the middle section so boring?
Weirdly, I think it suffers from over-thinking. I think Wilkie Collins was so determined to make sure there were no plot holes, and make sure that everything was explained and justified, that reading the tightly woven plot is like wading through mud.
E.g The time elapsed from deciding to give Franklin laudanum to actually doing it must be at least 50 pages, and all because Collins is double-securing all the explanations. There’s a whole paragraph on why Ezra doubles the dose from 20 to 40mg. WHY?!
It is a good book, it’s interesting to see how the detective genre began, especially with tropes like the detective’s sidekick narrator (Hastings / Dr Watson / Betteredge) represented here.
Also, I was surprised to see that (amongst all the casual racism / colourism and stereotyping in the book) Collins does at least acknowledge that English colonisers stealing diamonds from Indian people (and religious shrines) is a bad thing, and makes a curse stem from that crime.
I was surprised that the ‘happy ending’ was the diamond returning to India. I thought the book would resolve with Rachel getting her birthday diamond back. I was happy to see that the diamond went back to it’s shrine, although I think Collins had it return to India so that the curse would end, not so that the religious Indian people would have their shrine restored and their property back.
There is also something to be said for the characters. They were comedically larger than life in some places but that injected some humour into the book. I very much enjoyed Betteredge’s reliance on Robinson Crusoe. I got that the religious Miss Clack was a caricature intentionally, and that we were meant to hate her, but once that joke got old I found her chapters stopped me from wanting to pick the book back up.
Something I learnt from this book was about the existence of ‘visiting cards’ / ‘calling cards’ - a card that you leave at someone’s house if you call for them and they’re not in. I think this is where the criminal ‘calling card’ comes from
Weirdly, I think it suffers from over-thinking. I think Wilkie Collins was so determined to make sure there were no plot holes, and make sure that everything was explained and justified, that reading the tightly woven plot is like wading through mud.
E.g The time elapsed from deciding to give Franklin laudanum to actually doing it must be at least 50 pages, and all because Collins is double-securing all the explanations. There’s a whole paragraph on why Ezra doubles the dose from 20 to 40mg. WHY?!
It is a good book, it’s interesting to see how the detective genre began, especially with tropes like the detective’s sidekick narrator (Hastings / Dr Watson / Betteredge) represented here.
Also, I was surprised to see that (amongst all the casual racism / colourism and stereotyping in the book) Collins does at least acknowledge that English colonisers stealing diamonds from Indian people (and religious shrines) is a bad thing, and makes a curse stem from that crime.
I was surprised that the ‘happy ending’ was the diamond returning to India. I thought the book would resolve with Rachel getting her birthday diamond back. I was happy to see that the diamond went back to it’s shrine, although I think Collins had it return to India so that the curse would end, not so that the religious Indian people would have their shrine restored and their property back.
There is also something to be said for the characters. They were comedically larger than life in some places but that injected some humour into the book. I very much enjoyed Betteredge’s reliance on Robinson Crusoe. I got that the religious Miss Clack was a caricature intentionally, and that we were meant to hate her, but once that joke got old I found her chapters stopped me from wanting to pick the book back up.
Something I learnt from this book was about the existence of ‘visiting cards’ / ‘calling cards’ - a card that you leave at someone’s house if you call for them and they’re not in. I think this is where the criminal ‘calling card’ comes from
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder and Racism
hashputin's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-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? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Religious bigotry, and Sexism
Moderate: Terminal illness, War, Murder, and Addiction
morenowagain's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Terminal illness, and Suicide
Moderate: Classism, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Murder
tmickey's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Death of parent
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Chronic illness
tallbox's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Colonisation, Xenophobia, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Murder, Death, and Classism
ticianeaneane's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Murder, and Drug use
kerrence30's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Like any whodunnit the cast is varied as to give a wide scope of possibility. Don’t be fooled into thinking this means the disparities in the cast are accepted by eachother. Enough twists and turns to make you second guess the ending, and enough depth to the main characters to interest. Be warned due to the time this was written there is some horrible casual racism and sexism.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Body shaming, Ableism, Chronic illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Colonisation, Dementia, Drug use, Murder, Sexism, Terminal illness, Cancer, Misogyny, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Pregnancy
ginameix's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Drug abuse, Murder, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, and Terminal illness
Minor: War
Instances of sexism, classism, and racism are of the time for Victorian England and at times the book is even less racist and sexist than its contemporaries.illectum's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Księżycowy Kamień Wilkiego Collinsa, powszechnie uznawany za pierwszą powieść detektywistyczną, jest nie tylko dziełem o znaczeniu historycznym, ale także dziełem wykraczającym poza społecznie przyjęte normy, kunsztownie kreując ówcześnie niepowszechnie znany gatunek — kryminał.
Księżycowy Kamień to z pewnością pierwsza w pełni ukształtowana powieść detektywistyczna, która w swej wielkości zawiera również mniejsze wspaniałości — ogromną ilość podejrzanych, w powłoce codzienności ukryte wskazówki oraz ślady, próby odtwarzania zbrodni, niekonwencjonalną medycynę, uprzedzenia, miłość.
W swym geniuszu, Wilkie Collins połączył detektywistyczny zmysł Agathy Christie z krytycznym, skupiającym się na społecznych różnicach spojrzeniem Jane Austen.
Ponadto, Księżycowy Kamień jest powieścią o trzykrotnie większej ilości stron od przeciętnej powieści kryminalnej, a mimo to wzbudza zainteresowanie od najwcześniejszych stron i zachowuje wiarygodność pomimo licznych zwrotów akcji. W niezrównanej elegancji stylu Collins zakluczył desperację, smierć, wiarę.
Została tutaj zawarta nie tylko klasyka kryminału, lecz także kontrast zachodniego życia wykwintnej XIX-wiecznej socjety z nieokiełznaną wiarą orientu.
Księżycowy Kamień to z pewnością pierwsza w pełni ukształtowana powieść detektywistyczna, która w swej wielkości zawiera również mniejsze wspaniałości — ogromną ilość podejrzanych, w powłoce codzienności ukryte wskazówki oraz ślady, próby odtwarzania zbrodni, niekonwencjonalną medycynę, uprzedzenia, miłość.
W swym geniuszu, Wilkie Collins połączył detektywistyczny zmysł Agathy Christie z krytycznym, skupiającym się na społecznych różnicach spojrzeniem Jane Austen.
Ponadto, Księżycowy Kamień jest powieścią o trzykrotnie większej ilości stron od przeciętnej powieści kryminalnej, a mimo to wzbudza zainteresowanie od najwcześniejszych stron i zachowuje wiarygodność pomimo licznych zwrotów akcji. W niezrównanej elegancji stylu Collins zakluczył desperację, smierć, wiarę.
Została tutaj zawarta nie tylko klasyka kryminału, lecz także kontrast zachodniego życia wykwintnej XIX-wiecznej socjety z nieokiełznaną wiarą orientu.
Content Warnings
Minor: Murder and Suicide
epellicci's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I found The Moonstone a very enjoyable read. I loved the division of the story into personal accounts by a handful of lead characters. It helped to keep a fairly long book feeling fresh and manageable, while the feelings and suspicions of each 'author' added to the suspense. Collins successfully twists together the threads of the story that you can see coming and those that take you completely by surprise so that you remain gripped by the mystery.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder and Racism