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A review by etinney
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
3.0
3 out of 5 stars
Oops this book took me way longer to read than expected. Though this is partially my fault for being distracted by Netflix and refusing to read more than one book at a time.
Being the first "sensation novel" written by a white guy in 19th century, I knew this was not going to be the most action-packed or most forward-thinking story. For every strong independent woman (Marian- who was apparently ugly and unmarriable), there were five infantilized women who were helpless to the men around them. However, my reading pace was definitely slowed by the different narrations. The first and third thirds of the book dragged for me. The second part of the book went the most quickly for me, and I actually was intrigued and a bit creeped out by the events. After finishing, I realized that Walter's voice was the most boring throughout the novel. Collins did a great job of giving the characters distinct voices, but Walter's voice focused more on telling rather than showing. I became frustrated with how bored I was throughout his narrative, especially at the end.
The ending was the most unbelievable part for me. Besides everything wrapping up incredibly neatly and conveniently, the story had almost a Disney movie type ending for me (complete with me imagining every character at the end going "YAY!" while jumping the air simultaneously). It ruined the mood that was built throughout the entire story and that is what lowered my rating by about half a star.
Overall, it is one of the more interesting classics I have read but definitely not a favorite of mine.
Oops this book took me way longer to read than expected. Though this is partially my fault for being distracted by Netflix and refusing to read more than one book at a time.
Being the first "sensation novel" written by a white guy in 19th century, I knew this was not going to be the most action-packed or most forward-thinking story. For every strong independent woman (Marian- who was apparently ugly and unmarriable), there were five infantilized women who were helpless to the men around them. However, my reading pace was definitely slowed by the different narrations. The first and third thirds of the book dragged for me. The second part of the book went the most quickly for me, and I actually was intrigued and a bit creeped out by the events. After finishing, I realized that Walter's voice was the most boring throughout the novel. Collins did a great job of giving the characters distinct voices, but Walter's voice focused more on telling rather than showing. I became frustrated with how bored I was throughout his narrative, especially at the end.
The ending was the most unbelievable part for me. Besides everything wrapping up incredibly neatly and conveniently, the story had almost a Disney movie type ending for me (complete with me imagining every character at the end going "YAY!" while jumping the air simultaneously). It ruined the mood that was built throughout the entire story and that is what lowered my rating by about half a star.
Overall, it is one of the more interesting classics I have read but definitely not a favorite of mine.