The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins (read through DailyLit)
Read: because The Woman in White was so darn good. (Wordsworth Editions, 464 pages)
Rating: 7 out of 10 (finished 1/22/10)
Synopsis (from Barnes and Noble): The Moonstone introduces all the ingredients: a homey, English country setting, and a colorfully exotic background in colonial India; the theft of a fabulous diamond from the lovely heroine; a bloody murder and a tragic suicide; a poor hero in love with the heroine but suspected of the crime, who can’t remember anything about the night the jewel was stolen; assorted friends, relatives, servants, a lawyer, a doctor, a sea captain—suspects, all; and, most essentially, a bumbling local policeman and a brilliant if eccentric London detective. Adding spice to the recipe are unexpected twists, a bit of dark satire, a dash of social comment, and an unusual but effective narrative structure — eleven different voices relate parts of the tale, each revealing as much about himself (and, in one case, herself) as about the mystery of the missing Moonstone.
Overall Impression: Seriously — after reading the synosis, how can you not want to read this book?
I just love Collins’ writing style. Both The Moonstone and The Woman in White (which I read back in 2008) are written from the various perspectives of its characters. Collins pulls this off with great skill — his narration of the practical and loyal butler Gabriel Betteridge is just as convincing as the pious evangelical cousin Mrs. Clack who is written as well as the mysterious, opium-addicted Ezra Jennings. Every character has his or her own distinct style of speech, mannerisms, and way of looking at the world and the case of the Moonstone. I think “character” is missing from a lot of the mystery genre, but Collins does an amazing job with each and every narrator of his book. This is considered by many to be the first Detective Novel, although we come to find that the detective isn’t as successful as future detectives might be. I figured out the “whodunnit” fairly early on, but I couldn’t figure out how it was all accomplished until Collins laid it out at the end of the novel. The end of the novel makes you realize the fluidity of the definition of the word “science” in 1850s (there is a hilarious bit of comic relief during their experiment at the end of the novel, courtesy of Mrs. Merridew). There is quite a bit of suspense, and you end up liking most of the characters for both their strengths and their faults. I thought Ezra Jennings was the most memorable and interesting of characters, and wished he had appeared earlier on in the novel.
I have The Lady and the Law on my bookshelf — can’t wait to tackle another book from Collins.
Pros: Interesting unique characters, a solid mystery, and a freaking huge diamond. Sparkly!
Cons: Quite long (although, if you’re reading books in five-minute snippets in your email every day, any book seems long), questionable attitudes toward Indians (or, “the Hindoos,” if you prefer), and the detective wasn’t really all that detective-y.
Extras: Read it for free at DailyLit. Has anyone seen the BBC version of the movie? Just wondering if it’s worth watching.
Other books I’ve read by Wilkie Collins: The Woman in White
Cool! I got this and The Woman in White free for my Kindle (oh, Cori, you should so totally get a Kindle) and look forward to reading them soon. :)
(“Soon” should be interpreted as “any point within the next two years.”)
Oh, you should definitely read tWiW soon. It was so good!
I am having a hard time with the Kindle. I love the idea, but I just love the feeling of a book in my hands so much. I should get one for traveling! :)
I was all book-snobby about it at first. “I want to hold a book. I want the feel and smell of a book in my hands. I want something trees died for!”
But now, about two months later? I love real books too, but I think I prefer my Kindle. It’s so much easier to carry around and if I’m about to start a book but I don’t quite know what I’m in the mood for, I basically have an entire library at my disposal. It’s hard to carry around, say, 20 books just ’cause I’m not entirely sure what I want to read.
Plus you can get a lot of classic books for free or for very cheap. (I got the entire Anne of Green Gables series for $1 and they have all the Austen novels for free. There are more, too; those are just the first two I thought of.)
I definitely think it would be good for travel. If I still lived in a city where I had a commute on public transportation, I wouldn’t hesitate — much easier to carry around a Kindle instead of a big ol’ book.
Still, I’m kinda snobby. Hmmm. It’s a tough choice. Maybe I’ll find a friend whose Kindle I could borrow when I go to London in March. Give it a test run.
Wonderful review! I liked your ‘Overall Impression’ of the book :) ‘The Moonstone’ and ‘The Woman in White’ are two of my favourite books! Glad to know that you liked both of them.
I haven’t heard of Collins’ ‘The Lady and the Law’ before and so am looking forward to reading your thoughts on it. I have Collins’ ‘Armadale’ but haven’t read it yet.
I picked up the Lady and the Law at this awesome used bookstore in Chicago. It was recommended by a friend. I’ve seen a handful of reviews of Armadale — I’ll have to read that one too.
Looks really interesting!