Reviews

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, Fiction by Wilkie Collins

janey's review against another edition

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4.0

A fun read filled with colorful characters and much intrigue. I find it slightly pathetic that Laura, who inspires such devotion from Marion and Walter, has pretty much no personality or distinguishing characteristics. I guess everyone loves her because in the best of times she is a pretty blob and in the worst of circumstances she has all the intelligence of a child or a dog.

jackslynn's review against another edition

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3.0

First half of the book gets 4 stars, second half gets 2. And that's being generous. I was able to ignore Collins' dismissive attitude towards the courage and strength of women for awhile, but by page 400 I was done. Our main female characters are a woman who is portrayed as intelligent and strong but is regularly apologizing for being a woman. Oh, she's also ugly. Because to Collins you can't be strong and pretty. You have to have a mustache to balance it out. Our second character, Miss Fairlie, is so completely worthless and pitiful that I hoped she would die. I swear she spent half the book in a faint or feeling the vapors. But she was pretty and everyone loved her. She had the intellect of a small child so it makes perfect sense that Marian and Walter were treat her as such. I love to read the classics so I have great patience for the differences in generational sensibilities but this was beyond aggravating.

yonic_boom's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

schnauzermum's review against another edition

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5.0

So enjoyed rereading this. Brilliantly plotted and the multiple narrators are very well done.

andyd95's review against another edition

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dark informative mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

cpruskee's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious tense 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? No

5.0

thaurisil's review against another edition

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4.0

I was not expecting this at all. It's a little low brow, but it's suspenseful, and the characters are beautifully drawn. Pesca, Mr Fairlie and Fosco are my favourites – their appearance, speech and behaviour are all so unique and fantastically painted. The shifting narrators, each with their own style and tone, adds an additional element of liveliness, humour and irony.

deekaykay's review against another edition

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2.0

Not what I remembered from my grad school exams. Boring, repetitive, and hackneyed compared to The Moonstone. The seeds of Collins' downfall already evident! But clearly the Victorians felt differently, if the existence of "Woman in White" perfume and umbrella stands is any evidence.

kimouise's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced

4.25

michaila3's review against another edition

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4.0

most of this was good but it was SO HARD to get through the older sister’s pov chapters…literally it took me months. walter my beloved <3