Date Finished: 05/12/2011
My Rating: 4/5
I do love a book that makes it difficult to get any housework done and, especially after Ulysses, The Woman in White was exactly that. I thought it was incredibly well constructed, and I loved the way that it was told using the narrative of the character best placed to explain that part of the story.
It says in the introduction to my copy that Wilkie Collins is often regarded as the inventor of the detective story. Interestingly (to me at least!), Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens were friends, and I'm sure I remember reading somewhere that the detective in Bleak House is considered one of the first literary detectives. I wonder if the two authors chatted about the idea that detectives would make good characters for their novels, and thereby inspiring a huge market that is still incredibly strong. The Woman in White certainly kept me guessing until almost the point of reveals. I say "almost", only because I wasn't reading it in 1860, and now detective novels are such a prominent part of modern literary culture that the reader today can probably guess what's coming slightly earlier than the reader of yore. Also, some of the important parts of the story just wouldn't be an issue in today's society, and they could clear part of the mystery up using modern science. However, all that said, it was a gripping, thrilling and frustrating story! Each narrative hinted at the story to come, saying things like 'if only I knew then what I know now'. It just made me want to know immediately what they knew now!
The other sign of the times is the attitude towards women. Of the two half-sisters, the strong-minded, intelligent, dependable one is ugly. The helpless, delicate and generally more wishy-washy sister is the pretty one. Still, the book was written 150 years ago, and the fact that there is a central, resourceful and clever female character is a good thing, ugly or not. Besides, had women not been making their mark in the world, we would have missed out on sentences like this: "Being, however, nothing but a woman, condemned to patience, propriety, and petticoats for life, I must respect the house-keeper's opinions, and try to compose myself in some feeble and feminine way."
Anyway, I loved it, and not just because I got to use the phrase 'readers of yore' in my review. It maintained the feeling of suspense all the way through, and I just couldn't seem to get to the answers to the questions that were raised soon enough.
So, who should read this book? Anyone who loves a good mystery story. I would be surprised if it disappointed.
Next book: The Secret History, Donna Tartt
