The MoonstoneWilkie Collins
Damn you, February, for being so short!! I can tell already that I won't meet January's numbers for my reading resolution. That's okay, because I packed in a whopper like The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins.
I wanted to read The Moonstone ever since my encounter with The Woman in White, which amazed and enraptured me. The Moonstone was almost equally compelling, although I must admit Woman's shoes are rather hard to fill.
The Moonstone follows the disappearance of a rather large diamond that had been taken by the British during their colonization of India. The diamond is taken to England, where it is hidden to avoid the curse that is said to befall those who have taken it unlawfully. Years later, the diamond is bequeathed to a young lady on her birthday. She doesn't have long to enjoy it, however -- she awakens the next morning only to find it stolen!
What ensues is the most entertaining investigation I've encountered in a long time. It's not all mystery, though -- a good love story is also thrown in for good measure, and the cast of characters feature some of the most memorable individuals I've encountered in awhile (I had to remind myself that they were only fictional). As for the whodunit, the suspects and motives are many, and Collins does an excellent job of maintaining pace and suspense while avoiding the expected. At times I thought certain elements became a little too far-fetched, but I was having too much of a good time to really care.
In a nutshell: Not as good as The Woman in White (although, to be fair, I didn't expect it to be), The Moonstone was great fun.
Bibliolatry Scale: 5 out of 6 stars
I wanted to read The Moonstone ever since my encounter with The Woman in White, which amazed and enraptured me. The Moonstone was almost equally compelling, although I must admit Woman's shoes are rather hard to fill.
The Moonstone follows the disappearance of a rather large diamond that had been taken by the British during their colonization of India. The diamond is taken to England, where it is hidden to avoid the curse that is said to befall those who have taken it unlawfully. Years later, the diamond is bequeathed to a young lady on her birthday. She doesn't have long to enjoy it, however -- she awakens the next morning only to find it stolen!
What ensues is the most entertaining investigation I've encountered in a long time. It's not all mystery, though -- a good love story is also thrown in for good measure, and the cast of characters feature some of the most memorable individuals I've encountered in awhile (I had to remind myself that they were only fictional). As for the whodunit, the suspects and motives are many, and Collins does an excellent job of maintaining pace and suspense while avoiding the expected. At times I thought certain elements became a little too far-fetched, but I was having too much of a good time to really care.In a nutshell: Not as good as The Woman in White (although, to be fair, I didn't expect it to be), The Moonstone was great fun.
Bibliolatry Scale: 5 out of 6 stars
9 comments:
I read this a few years ago. I thought it was pretty good. I still haven't read The Woman in White but now I really want to.
I read the Woman in White a few weeks ago and absolutely LOVED it! I also have the Moonstone on my bookshelf and am just waiting for enough free time to have a non-stop reading fest.
I have "The woman in white", but have not read it. I have not read one single bad review in all the years I have been blogging or been on reading groups. I am reading "The story of Edgar Sawtelle" with 562 pages, and have ARC books coming up so it will be a while before I can read it. Like you I have made a resolution to read 3 books a month or more, but no less. I'll see.
Have a wonderful week-end
After reading Drood by Dan Simmons (which is told from Wilkie Collins' perspective), both of these are on my TBR list. Thanks for the review.
I've put a review of Drood up at www.duskbeforethedawn.net.
Larry
Oh now you've gone and made me super excited to read "The Moonstone," which I've had on my shelf ever since I finished "The Woman in White." Honestly, I don't know what I'm waiting for - only that I'm already reading several things and I know if I start "The Moonstone" I'll read it at the exclusion of everything else. Oh, well! At least I know I'm in for treat. Of course, like you said, Collins never disappoints. =)
Oh I loved Woman in White and want to read this one too. If you like this story topic though, check out Robert Louis Stevenson's collection of short stories called The New Arabian Nights. One of the stories is The Rajah's Diamond. I love this collection.
I love this, so am glad you enjoyed it! The mystery and its solution are absurd but the characters a re wonderful, especially Gabriel and Miss Clack.
OK, that's it. I'm going to have to suck it up and finally read The Woman in White. Yes, I am hanging my head in shame that I've yet to read anything by Wilkie.
I loved both Moonstone and Woman, but I agree with you that Woman's better. But, this month, I just read No Name, and it was awesome!!! Not scary, but very suspenseful. He's definitely become one of my favourite authors. :)
Post a Comment