Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

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

16 reviews

mimijaja's review against another edition

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dark mysterious
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

If you fancy GOTHIC tropes and atmosphere this definitely delivers!

I loved Mariane Halcombe and how Collins creates cinematic scenes, describing the fall of light and casting of shadows. He pays great attention to subtleties of character's expressions during dialogue. I was also surprised at times by the nuanced manner in which Collins depicted women's experiences, sisterhood, relationships and interactions with men that appeared in Mariane's passages. That said, Walter's place in the narrative as a white knight in shining armour spoilt the feminist potential of the story. The morality was also dubious. Also, I would say that the fatphobia throughout is pretty extreme. The representation of Italians was offensive but interesting as a snapshot of tolerant vs intolerant attitudes at the time.

I listened along to the audiobook as I read my paperback too which I can recommend. I was hooked! This was a pleasure to read and didn't feel at all like 600 pages.

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manilea's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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orndal's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This book is INCREDIBLY slow. Also count fosco is FAT FAT FATTIE. HIS FAT FACE FATTILY EATS CROISSANTS.

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reading_historical_romance's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0


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ok7a's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-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

4.5


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jessthanthree's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0


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sayhar13's review against another edition

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

4.0


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the_books_music_life's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging informative mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I didn't know what this book was about when I decided to read it. I had no idea it was a mystery or that I would enjoy as much as I did.

My only problems with this book are the ones I have with older books like this and it's mainly the way women are portrayed and treated. But, as I said I understand because of the time period. My other problem with older books like this is the rambling aspect. Two chapters of nothing but explanations and useless rambling could in all reality fit on 1 page. 

Despite the few issues I had, I rather actually enjoyed the two part mystery. Mystery one of who is the Woman in White is and later on the mystery involving Laura Fairlie were both on their own interesting but the way the author combined them was very well done. You have characters you like/love and characters you absolutely hate (if you read it you know who I mean) and it's done in a way that you have a real reason for disliking them. 

Anther problem I had with he book was some of the revels. I felt very confused by a couple of the big revels and had to look up what was actually happening because the language and hidden meaning completely flew past me.

I would recommend the audiobook. The narrator has a soothing voice that is honestly perfect for the story in my opinion.

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jos17's review against another edition

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

3.0

If 50% of the flowery language had been removed, I think this book would’ve been at least 30% shorter, something it would’ve benefited from.

I didn’t care about Walter’s love and only really got interested in the story after he left it. After that, I kept losing interest when things inevitably dragged on before a new plot point was introduced. Also, while the ending was more or less what I’d hoped for, I wasn’t exactly satisfied—maybe because it took too long to get there?

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lilytucker's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0


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