The Moonstone - Collins' Collection

Wilkie Collins

Harper Collins Publishers

2011

640 páginas

21h 20m

ISBN-13: 9780451521675

Widely regarded as the precursor of the modern mystery and suspense novels, The Moonstone tells of the events surrounding the disappearance of a mysterious (and cursed) yellow diamond. T. S. Eliot called it 'the first, the longest, and the best of modern English detective novels'. It contains a number of ideas which became common tropes of the genre, including a crime being investigated by talented amateurs who happen to be present when it is committed, and two police officers who exemplify respectively the 'Scotland Yard bungler' and the skilled, professional detective.

Resenhas (1)

4 (Muito bom)

Surprisingly long for a relatively short book.

This is a bit so long book that feels like a one thousand page one. The reading doesn't flow easily, the beginning feels long and dragged (as well as troubled) and the choice of narrative downstairs seem to help. Collins chose to narrate the story via several narrators. I mean, several. "Lots" of characters have a say in the telling of this story, and just as the reader is getting used to the style and point of view, then the narrator changes and we have to familiarize ourselves from scratch. The story picks up towards the end, becoming one of those that's hard to put down, but even that doesn't last. The end doesn't satisfy. It may have been the first (?) investigation story in the history of English literature and it has its merits, but definitely not the best or gripping book of this genre I've read.