tjwallace04's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-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
4.25
I have to admit that I was a little bit nervous about reading "The Moonstone." For one thing, I have read several other books by Wilkie Collins in the past year that were mediocre: "The Dead Secret" and "Basil" (oh my gosh, "Basil" is such a bonkers book). Secondly, I decided to listen to "The Moonstone" as an audiobook, and my version was 20.5 hours long. I sometimes get frustrated with long audiobooks (cough cough, Dracula, cough) and just.want.them.to.be.over.
Well, I am happy to report that I really enjoyed "The Moonstone." It kept my attention from beginning to end, and while I do think it could have been somewhat shorter, I was thoroughly entertained throughout. The story was not quite what I was anticipating. I was expecting more exotic locations and supernatural occurrences related to the mysterious, storied diamond. But "The Moonstone" is more of a straightforward mystery, set firmly in England. And I learned that it is considered to be among the first detective novels ever written, which is cool in and of itself. I can't say that I found the eventual resolution of the mystery very satisfying, (view spoiler), but I still enjoyed the ride.
In my opinion, The Moonstone's real strength is in its characters, particularly two of the main narrators: Gabriel Betteredge and Drusilla Clack. Betteredge, a loyal and keen-eyed servant, is lovable and hilarious, and Clack, a judgemental religious fanatic, is awful and hilarious, and I really couldn't get enough of either of them. Clack's character, especially, still felt so relevant today. The novel revolves around Rachel Verinder, the inheritor of the titular moonstone. She isn't given a narrative voice, but I also found her very interesting. Her actions and opinions felt much more modern than I would have expected from a book published in 1868. She is not the helpless, fainting heroine of some Victorian novels. She has attitude and sass and strong convictions.
Finally, I was pleasantly surprised by how Collins shows a lot of sensitivity and respect to both class divisions and other cultures, another element that makes this book feel ahead of its time. Betteredge, the steward, is really the main voice of the story, and Roseanna is another servant character who is given a lot of page time and treated with respect rather than as comic relief or easy villain.
Overall, "The Moonstone" was a fun read, and and now, to honor dear Gabriel Betteredge, I feel like I should read "Robinson Crusoe." Maybe in 2024. 😅
Well, I am happy to report that I really enjoyed "The Moonstone." It kept my attention from beginning to end, and while I do think it could have been somewhat shorter, I was thoroughly entertained throughout. The story was not quite what I was anticipating. I was expecting more exotic locations and supernatural occurrences related to the mysterious, storied diamond. But "The Moonstone" is more of a straightforward mystery, set firmly in England. And I learned that it is considered to be among the first detective novels ever written, which is cool in and of itself. I can't say that I found the eventual resolution of the mystery very satisfying, (view spoiler), but I still enjoyed the ride.
In my opinion, The Moonstone's real strength is in its characters, particularly two of the main narrators: Gabriel Betteredge and Drusilla Clack. Betteredge, a loyal and keen-eyed servant, is lovable and hilarious, and Clack, a judgemental religious fanatic, is awful and hilarious, and I really couldn't get enough of either of them. Clack's character, especially, still felt so relevant today. The novel revolves around Rachel Verinder, the inheritor of the titular moonstone. She isn't given a narrative voice, but I also found her very interesting. Her actions and opinions felt much more modern than I would have expected from a book published in 1868. She is not the helpless, fainting heroine of some Victorian novels. She has attitude and sass and strong convictions.
Finally, I was pleasantly surprised by how Collins shows a lot of sensitivity and respect to both class divisions and other cultures, another element that makes this book feel ahead of its time. Betteredge, the steward, is really the main voice of the story, and Roseanna is another servant character who is given a lot of page time and treated with respect rather than as comic relief or easy villain.
Overall, "The Moonstone" was a fun read, and and now, to honor dear Gabriel Betteredge, I feel like I should read "Robinson Crusoe." Maybe in 2024. 😅
laurenjpegler's review against another edition
DNF at 299. This book is soooooo boring and the audiobook on Youtube is shite :)
Might try and come back to the last 300 pages later on in the month on my days off. I don’t want to DNF it, so we’ll see.
Might try and come back to the last 300 pages later on in the month on my days off. I don’t want to DNF it, so we’ll see.
karaklos's review against another edition
4.0
When I started The Moonstone I immediately thought I was going to hate it. The opening of the story with the Indian legend of the moonstone was not piquing my interest. Fortunately the servant Gabriel Betteredge took over and things improved greatly.
The moonstone is a diamond stolen by a Brit and given to his niece Rachel on her birthday to cause trouble. The diamond is worth 20,000£ in the mid 1850’s which seems like an extraordinary sum for the time. Rachel pins the diamond like a brooch to her dress (someone needs to explain to me how this was possible with such a large diamond). The moonstone is subsequently stolen and her cousin Franklin asks everyone present at the time to give their full accounting of the day to track down the thief.
The book is divided into individual character narratives which provides unreliable pieces of the puzzle, drawing out the story. The character development was done really well with many funny lines and thoughts; however, the individuals had so much nonsense in their narratives that it became boring at times.
The mystery is quite good and I especially enjoyed the Sergeant Cuff character. I couldn’t figure out why he was retired from the story halfway through.
The story was unnecessarily long with uneven pacing. There were parts that were slow and mundane and others I zipped through.
Despite the many lines of men giving their opinion of women being senseless creatures, Collins portrayed the women in the story as smart, observant, and more knowledgeable than the men. Anyone with dark skin in the story was immediately not trustworthy to the characters; however, Collins made them sympathetic characters and showed their worth.
Now I have to read Robinson Crusoe.
The moonstone is a diamond stolen by a Brit and given to his niece Rachel on her birthday to cause trouble. The diamond is worth 20,000£ in the mid 1850’s which seems like an extraordinary sum for the time. Rachel pins the diamond like a brooch to her dress (someone needs to explain to me how this was possible with such a large diamond). The moonstone is subsequently stolen and her cousin Franklin asks everyone present at the time to give their full accounting of the day to track down the thief.
The book is divided into individual character narratives which provides unreliable pieces of the puzzle, drawing out the story. The character development was done really well with many funny lines and thoughts; however, the individuals had so much nonsense in their narratives that it became boring at times.
The mystery is quite good and I especially enjoyed the Sergeant Cuff character. I couldn’t figure out why he was retired from the story halfway through.
The story was unnecessarily long with uneven pacing. There were parts that were slow and mundane and others I zipped through.
Despite the many lines of men giving their opinion of women being senseless creatures, Collins portrayed the women in the story as smart, observant, and more knowledgeable than the men. Anyone with dark skin in the story was immediately not trustworthy to the characters; however, Collins made them sympathetic characters and showed their worth.
Now I have to read Robinson Crusoe.
lise_haag's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
hello_sweetie11's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
3.25
It’s a good read, but slow and not what I love in a mystery. But I would have loved it back when it was published! I liked the different views. But wow what women had to endure.
greyeyedathena's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
raalux's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
4.75
A wild ride of a book, full of colourful characters and engaging plot twists. I really enjoyed it!
gossamerchild's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
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
3.0
isssa132's review against another edition
4.0
if someone drugged me with opium without my knowing maybe i wouldn’t steal a diamond, but who’s to say!!!