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The Moonstone

The Moonstone

List Price: $19.98
Your Price: $13.59
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: No CATEGORIZATION for this unique novel.
Review: Whatever I say would not be enough to make you understand how I loose myself when reading this detective story.Actually this was my first try at a book written in that manner. But more or less I know Holmes' way of presenting crime and mysterious events. Moonstone goes far beyond the limit of these cliche detective scope and reaches to your hearts with its seven different characters;all narrating their own side of the story centering on an oriental myth of a sacred gem. There is the historical background, the emotional diologues, and finally the inevitable conciseness in language while dictating the action, just like in all detective stories. Wilkie Collins' touch can be seized when you go deep into characters such as Ezra Jennings. There is lot of things to be explored and make fun of! Don't be afraid of the length and page number:). When you follow the moonstone in its journey to home, you WILL DISCOVER OTHER THINGS SUCH AS LOVE, HUMAN SUFFERING other than the war given for the priceless Indian DiamOnd.
Best Wishes On Your Journey Whoever You Are Wherever You ARE!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The First and Only Detective Novel
Review: I am not usually a big fan of detective novels. I find that the Sherlock Holmes stories, while entertaining, do not give the reader enough of a hint as to what is going on. The Moonstone on the other hand, on which the Sherlock Holmes stories are based, is entertaining to the end, and the reader is let in on what is happening most of the time. When this is not the case, the mystery just gets better. Towards the middle the book does get slow, but that is made up for by the excelent beginning and finish. The language also tends to get a bit tedious, but the captivating storyline makes up for it all. It is a smart, and at times very funny detective novel that I am very happy to have read

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Classical Introduction to the Field
Review: Wilkie Collins is best remembered for two books: "The Moonstone" and "The Woman in White". Both of them are great achievements in the mystery field. The narration style is unique and the plot is well developed around the tale of the diamond. Keeps you right on the edge until the very end. It is strongly recommended.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The Moonstone still rocks!
Review: I surprised was discover how good this "sensation novel" still is. The characters are treated with deep interest and affection by the author, and the plot is, of course, a classic in the field. Collin's leisurely Victorian style is a welcome change from the usual contemporary "buy it at the grocery store" bloody thriller.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Almost Excellent Compared to 'The Woman in White'
Review: I say The Moonstone is 'almost' excellent because I've read The Woman In White, which is by far a superior novel. If Wilkie Collins had not written The Woman In White, I would say that The Moonstone is an excellent book, but the author has surpassed that. The Moonstone is an interesting crime novel where the narrative changes several times throughout the novel. This is a very interesting technique that keeps you turning the pages to see what the next character will have to say about the mysterious disappearance of the Indian Diamond, the Moonstone. Wilkie Collins has created a very interesting and diverse set of characters. Definately recommended.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Nice, but not great.
Review: Much can be said for Wilkie Collins's "The Moonstone". The setting is drawn with a fine hand, and the characters are endearing from the outset. It also begins with a compelling setup which holds the reader's interest and curiousity. The combination of British conventionality in the 1800's--so delightful to read about now that it is safely far away--and the looming spectre of an Asian curse are irrestistible ingredients which seem to bode well for the coming tale.

Much of the writing is satiric, sometimes falling away into almost slapstick humor, which detracts from any deadly seriousness. Examples of this range from the outspoken sententiousness of Miss Clack to the "Robinson Crusoe"-thumping tendencies of Betteredge. These elements add color and life to what would otherwise be a ponderous text.

Unfortunately, "ponderous" sums up "The Moonstone" pretty well. There really is no reason for it to be so long, and most of this length is filled with conversations and descriptions which are simply extraneous and even dull. This becomes painfully clear by the end, when it turns out that the solution to the mystery of the stolen Moonstone is absurdly simple. It is a disappointingly deus ex machina conclusion which rendered all the buildup unnecessary. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has had similar endings to his stories in the past, but those stories were less than a tenth of the length of this novel. As a short story, "The Moonstone" would probably have fared much better.

It is also unfortunate that the most important characters in the story, namely Rachel Verinder and Franklin Blake, are some of the least developed in comparison to others. Rachel is likable, and as an 18th century female character, as strong as any feminist could wish, but she remains at a distance from the reader and it is hard to care about her. Franklin Blake is also likable, but mostly flat. Ironically it is Godfrey Ablewhite, who appears simplistic in the beginning, who displays more dimensions of personality.

As far as execution is concerned, "The Woman in White" is far superior to this novel, and highly recommended to anyone interested in a suspenseful Gothic-style thriller. "The Moonstone" makes for a pleasant read, but with so many good books out there, should be reserved for a rainy day.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Engrossing and entertaining
Review: I just finished reading this book for the first time, and found it engrossing and entertaining. The characters are good company, without exception, and their voices are varied and well-drawn. I can see why it was such a smash hit when first serialized.

With all respect to him, I'd caution other readers regarding Mr. Hilgers's review, which is littered with factual errors. One of the most egregious is his claim that Sergeant Cuff is "an obvious copy" of Sherlock Holmes--the latter did not appear in print until almost 20 years after "The Moonstone" was published.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Vengeance of the Yellow Diamond
Review: Clearly written and sprinkled with the vivid eccentricities of Victorian England at its apex, "The Moonstone"--hailed even today as the archetype of the modern detective novel--has been imitated and imitated to the point that it's begun to show its age. Through no fault of its own, its seminal reliance on unforseen plot turns and carefully hidden clues might seem relatively old hat these days. But when first published in 1868, "The Moonstone" was utterly and indisputedly new. Some critics thought it monsterous. Others found it's gentle skewering of Victorian mores a little too shocking. Public opinion, however, granted "The Moonstone" almost instant acclaim.

Take, for instance, the "cliche" around which the plot thickens: Explorers in the heart of the Himalayas find and then steal a huge diamond from the face of a Hindu (in the novel, it's quaintly spelled "Hindoo") statue. Accordingly--and a little bit like the famed sapphire, "The Star of India"--what might be a curse, and what might also be its pursing Hindu claimants, follows the diamond from owner to owner until a beautiful 19-year-old woman, Rachel Verinder, receives it as a birthday present.

If, in a movie, that young beauty was played by, say, Tori Spelling, we'd all be anticipating the grisly details of a rich prepster's murder at an illicit high school keg party, and lots of techno music, some sort of sado-machochism scene and a gang of French guys with long hair, black leather pants, and plenty of flash overall. But here that's really not the case--because the very night Rachel Verinder receives the diamond...it disappears. In other words, "The Moonstone" surrounds itself with one of the richest and most intriguing plots in classic fiction. Which isn't to say it's devoid of any flashiness.

Not surprisingly, the detective, an enigmatic Sergeant Cuff, shambles onto the consequent fracas within the Verinder household. He's kind of a cross between the inscrutable Sherlock Holmes--an obvious copy of the original--and the always underestimated Columbo. Seeing things that not even the reader notices, Cuff expertly analyzes the case as his focus ranges through a rogue's gallery of potential theives.

Did Rachel "steal" her own diamond, believing that she can outwit the diamond's accursed pursuers? Or did her fiance-wannabe, the young dark and dashing Mr. Ablewhite, take the diamond in order to protect the woman he loves from the curse? Or how about likely-suspect Rosanna--a former prostitute who is in love with another of Rachel Verinder's admirers, Mr. Franklin Blake? Maybe she took the Moonstone because she wishes so badly to impress the object of her heart.

Like an immense parlor game--brought to our attention by the once-novel device of "testimonies" from major characters--"The Moonstone" gathers from one mannerly outrage to another until, in a quite mannerly conclusion, it rises from the quicksand of a thoroughly enticing plot, its yellow pallor luminescently taking victim after victim into its solipsistic spell.

Unlike many novels of what is sometimes termed the Regency period of English literature, Collins, like most novelists and artists of the day, anticipates the breakdown of the Victorian ethic. Like Cervantes, who wrote of the dying Age of Chivalry in a lighthearted way, Collins takes the mores of the day to task on nearly every page. Rachel, who is by no means the dispassionate and meek beauty she should be, is a thoroughly modern Millie compared to the average upper class woman of the times. Franklin Blake, a world traveller, has seen and heard enough in his lifetime to see through many of the suffocating rules and sanctions, and is eternally suspicious because of it. Mrs. Merridew, one of Rachel's guardians, is perhaps the most comical character. When she begins going through the Verinder household, concealing religious phamplets in the plants, among the loose papers in the library and even under the napkins surrounding the dinner table, you can't help but laugh a little--especially when every little twinge of eroticism or morally-electric curiosity she might feel is interpreted in light of her quest to bring everyone around her straight to Jesus. Eloquently a period piece, this popular entertainment from the last days of the Age of Dickens is also pompously rich in Victorian detail and fraught with the cups and teaspoons of life among the privileged in an era where refinement was everything. Clearly delineated characterizations and strong period detail, however, seem somewhat laughable when we look into "The Moonstone" from our period. Yet with a willful suspension of disbelief, most readers will find that Wilkie Collins' "The Moonstone" exercises the "intrigue muscle" quite nicely.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A gothic, male Austen, almost
Review: A gothic, male, version of any Austen novel you care to read. Dark, brooding, sensuous and sensual, with brief lesbian undertones. Many delicate touches but a gripping (if nowadays predictable) mystery tale, which also points up certain Victorian values regarding people, especially those set apart from middle and upper class sets. A wonderful, imaginative book, which has left me thinking about it ever since.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A truly colossal book
Review: I picked this book up in France after not having read an English book for two weeks, because I thought I would be desparate enough to work through it. Much to my surprise, it has become among my ten or so favorite books (out of--well, out of a lot more than that). The plot is intricate and well-planned, and the characters much funnier--consider the downfall of the evangelical cousin--and more humanly sympathetic than those of Collins' contemporary Dickens--there are NO Little Nells here, and the book is better for it.


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