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A review by raineachreads
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I wish I could have read this book when it first appeared. Waiting for it to be printed instalment by instalment must have really added to the suspense. Not so dissimilar to weekly television shows today. That being said listening to the audiobook narrated by Ian Holmes was a pretty good alternative!
‘The Woman in White’ is a tale of mystery, suspense and I think could be classed as a gothic thriller. It is a long book and while the writing is verbose in places Collins has created a world that really does come to life. A friend of Charles Dickens there is similarities in both their work. Without giving too much away the book creates a mystery- who is the woman in white and what is her importance- telling the story through various sources from diaries, letters, accounts and retellings. The two main figures Laura and Walter are a bit weak and I struggled to like them, yet their foil Marian and Count Fosco were fascinating characters that really carried the tale.
This is not a book I would have normally read (in fact I’ve avoided it for some time) but as it’s part of the BBC top 100 books and I’m down to the last 15 on the list it was time to pick it up. I’m really glad I did and will definitely read it again at some point to see what clues I might have missed in the first reading.
‘The Woman in White’ is a tale of mystery, suspense and I think could be classed as a gothic thriller. It is a long book and while the writing is verbose in places Collins has created a world that really does come to life. A friend of Charles Dickens there is similarities in both their work. Without giving too much away the book creates a mystery- who is the woman in white and what is her importance- telling the story through various sources from diaries, letters, accounts and retellings. The two main figures Laura and Walter are a bit weak and I struggled to like them, yet their foil Marian and Count Fosco were fascinating characters that really carried the tale.
This is not a book I would have normally read (in fact I’ve avoided it for some time) but as it’s part of the BBC top 100 books and I’m down to the last 15 on the list it was time to pick it up. I’m really glad I did and will definitely read it again at some point to see what clues I might have missed in the first reading.