طبع داستان‌های پلیسی کششی دارد که خواننده را پی خود می‌کشاند. به نظرم لفت و لعاب داستان بی مورد زیاد بود و ترجمه هم چندان که تعریف می‌کردند تحفه‌ای نبود. ضمنا سلسله علل در داستان چندان منطقی نبود و یخ و بی‌مزه بود

It took me about seven months to finish this book. I listened to it at night on Kindle via text-to-speech. "The Moonstone" is a mystery involving the theft of an enormous Indian diamond called The Moonstone which is fated to be cursed. The mystery is who stole it the night of Miss Rachel Verinder's birthday. She had shortly received the diamond as a bequest from a deceased uncle, carried by the dashing young Mr. Franklin Blake on his travel to England.

According to Wikipedia, this is the first English detective novel. It's also an interesting use of the Epistolary format, including varied narratives, most interestingly that of the Gabriel Betteridge, the trusted house steward of Lady Verinder, Rachel's mother. I don't know if Collins intended for Betteridge's point of view to be so hilarious but it was. Most hilarious is his obsession with the novel Robinson Crusoe. He takes the same amount of inspiration and guidance from this book that people might take from The Bible. He's also really opinionated and not afraid to express his opinion. Miss Clack's narrative is more ironicly humorous. She is a very puritanical woman who is constantly trying to foist off her Christian pamphlets on others, but demonstrates few Christian virtues in other ways.

Interestingly enough, the true detective, Sergeant Cuff, seems to have the smallest narrative. I can't help but think this was done on purpose. If he was around to solve the mystery for most of the book, I think it would have ended a lot sooner. I liked his appreciation for roses, not quite what you would expect from a gruff police investigator.

What is sad is the narrative of Rosanna Spearman, a misunderstood and unfortunate young woman who was unlucky enough to fall in love with a man who was completely unattainable in every way, despite her efforts to protect him from what she viewed as his own crime. This part made me feel deeply for Rosanna, merely a victim of chance and circumstance.

Franklin Blake is a character that one is automatically predisposed to believe the worst about. He's the definition of 'amiable rogue' and 'dilettante.'. However, he is revealed to have a depth of character that one wouldn't expect at first glance.

Miss Rachel Verinder herself has no narrative, but she is seen through the eyes of other characters. I felt that she was probably the least interesting of the major characters. She reads as quite typical of a young woman of her class, but she is clearly a decent and kind woman.

There is a bit of a romance in the story that I found sweet and appealing, not distracting. It ties into the story and it reveals much about two of the characters.

To be honest, I probably could have gleaned a lot more from this book if my reading had not been so episodic. However, I do appreciate Collins' skill with writing a clever detective story, and his use of so many narratives, having done so cohesively. While each narrator has a different voice, it all comes together very pleasingly. He seemed to take a lot of time develop the characters, even the less important ones.

Social issues I felt that this novel touches on (My opinion, mind you, since I made an effort not to read up on The Moonstone before writing my review.):

*Social Strata--Boundaries between the social classes and where they intersect intimately in some ways, but most doors are largely closed between the classes. You do see that the middle class seems to be absorbing the upper class as society changes.
*The roles of women in society
*The change in society in which the landed gentry's way of life is dying in favor or the middle class development.
*Imperialism and appropriation of treasured objects from colonized lands

Readers who want a more thorough and expert analysis of this book can look to these resources:

The Moonstone Wikipedia page

SparkNotes The Moonstone page

La Pietra di Luna si presenta già dal titolo come una storia intrigante.
Cos'è e che poteri ha questa pietra? Effettivamente nelle prime pagine è lei ad essere la protagonista. Il narratore torna indietro di qualche decade raccontando un episodio apparentemente disconnesso dalla storia centrale ma in realtà decisamente rilevante per comprenderne alcuni aspetti.
Da qui parte la narrazione.

Così come in La Donna in Bianco, ancora una volta Collins si dimostra un gran maestro nel sapersi muovere tra una moltitudine di narratori, sono almeno quattro o cinque in questo caso, se non sbaglio.
Si passa dal primo narratore, il maggiordomo Mr Betteredge che come gli altri personaggi della storia avrà il compito di fornire una sua versione dei fatti, a Drusilla Clack - altra testimone e 'amica di famiglia' - alla quale segue la narrazione dell'avvocato Mr Bruff fino a chiudere il cerchio con la testimonianza conclusiva apportata sempre dal maggiordomo.

Sono diverse le tematiche affrontate da Collins in quello che è uno dei romanzi più rappresentativi del genere sensation noveloltre che un precursore delle detective stories.
Una di esse è indubbiamente il rapporto tra la Gran Bretagna e il suo grande impero e come esso influenzi i rapporti interpersonali tra i diversi personaggi. A questo proposito, ho notato come spesso Collins tenda a rappresentare alcuni personaggi quasi come delle caricature con diversi aspetti ironici, sembra quasi prendersi gioco di coloro che nella storia mostrano un atteggiamento spiccatamente pro imperialista come Mr Betteredge, ad esempio. Sfumature di ironia si ritrovano anche nella raffigurazione di Drusilla Clack, cugina di Rachel, apparentemente pia devota ma in realtà rappresentativa di un falso perbenismo e una filantropia di facciata.

Oltre a ciò vengono affrontate, e non è una novità in Collins, anche tematiche di genere. La storia infatti sembra chiedersi quale sia il ruolo della donna nel rapporto uomo-donna e nella società, pensiamo in primo luogo alla relazione tra Rachel Verinder e Franklin Blake e il furto della pietra.

Da un punto di vista formale è interessante la figura del narratore o meglio dei narratori e del loro grado di affidabilità. Fino a che punto la testimonianza da loro fornita è riconducibile alla verità? Quali opinioni si costruisce il lettore? E soprattutto riesce quest’ultimo a farsi un quadro chiaro della situazione prima che essa venga svelata? Man mano che la storia prosegue sembra ci sia sempre più difficoltà a dipanare quella matassa che si è venuta a creare se non grazie all'aiuto dei personaggi stessi che con il concludersi della narrazione andranno ad aggiungere i pezzi mancanti di un grande e complesso puzzle.

Intrigante ed avvincente ma al tempo stesso leggero e con dei tratti ironici. Forse il libro da cui partire se ci si approccia per la prima volta a questo grande autore.

Primeiro achei que a desaparecida não estaria morta e iria surgir no instante decisivo para divulgar os enigmas do sumiço do diamante. Enganei-me.
Depois achei que a principal personagem feminina não passava de uma mimada birrenta. Enganei-me outra vez, afinal a miúda só estava a proteger o homem que amava.
Topei à légua o disfarce de um certo cavalheiro indiano que só podia estar atrás do diamante. Pois... novo engano.
Desconfiei a ponto de afiançar, a perfídia da personagem que se revelou ser a mais abnegada da narrativa. Novamente, engano vergonhoso...
Admirei a sagacidade do Sargento Cuff, e salvo pequenos deslizes que se perdoam aos melhores, desta vez acertei. Achei o mordomo Gabriel, a personagem mais divertida, mais curiosa e melhor caracterizada do livro, e não admito discórdia quanto a isso. (Quase me convenceu a ler Robinson Crusoé!)
O final dado ao diamante foi perfeito.

Em jeito de conclusão: suspeitei dos inocentes e não prestei atenção nenhuma aos potenciais criminosos. O bom deste meu talento para deslindar enredos policias, é que não há a menor possibilidade de passar por aquela situação chata de chegar ao final da história e já nada me surpreender.

One of my favorite novels I have read this year. The use of different people's characters telling the narrative was entertaining. My favorite was Miss Clack and her humorous attempts of Christian conversion. The plot at the time was unique and the use of opium in a way to solve the case. The ending tied up all the lose ends including the fate of the Moonstone diamond and the three Indians. I also look at Robinson Crusoe in a new light thanks to Betteredge's unique interpretation of it!

Che delizia, che delizia! Thrilleristi da quattro soldi che scrivete oggi le vostre misere storielle, con quei personaggi così dozzinali, così stereotipati, fate per favore lo sforzo di leggervi Wilkie Collins e imparate cosa vuol dire costruire un buon libro giallo, creare suspense, caratterizzare e rendere unici i personaggi, descrivere ambienti e situazioni in modo chiaro e accattivante, tenere incollato il lettore alle pagine. Imparate a scrivere, perdinci! Siate un po' più ambiziosi! Ai registi di fiction invece dico di guardare (si trovano facilmente su youtube) le puntate dello sceneggiato in bianco e nero, tratto dal libro nel 1972, diretto da Anton Giulio Majano e adattato da Fruttero e Lucentini. Zero effetti speciali, tante ingenuità, ma un piccolo gioiellino di una Tv ormai morta e sepolta.

What a fine fine book this is. I am so surprised that it has taken me so long to get to it given how much I love Victorian Era British Novels. I think perhaps that is because of how slow a book I found the Woman in White to be. I finally picked up the Moonstone three days ago, and have read through it virtually nonstop.

This is often described as the first real detective novel in the English language, and as such you might expect it to be completely plot driven. That is not the case at all. Collins uses seven different voices (detectives) in the telling of the tale. Some are endearing (Betheredge), some annoying (Miss Clack), and some totally heartbreaking (Ezra Jennings); but each is individually believable, and each adds to the unravelling of the mystery. It is these characters who are the heart and strength of the novel, as much as the mystery at its center.

Surprisingly, Collins never breaks faith with the reader in the development and resolution of the mystery. The solution is a surprise, but on that fits within the parameters of what the reader knows, and within the characters of the individuals who are central to the story.

I have heard it described as too long and too slow, but personally I didn't find either to be the case. Its status as a classic is totally justified in my mind.

I was especially keen to read “The Moonstone” since it's credited as having established many of the parameters and rules of the modern detective novel. Elements found in mysteries such as an English country house setting, red herrings, a clever investigator, a large number of suspects and a final plot twist might feel commonplace amongst many books in this genre now, but Collins' novel appears to have been one of the first to successfully combine these into a thrilling story. It concerns a legendary Indian diamond that's bequeathed to Rachel, an heiress who first wears the stone at her lavish birthday party. However, it goes missing during the night and it's disappearance concerns much more than simple thievery. There are many side plots and dramatic occurrences within the story which gradually unravels to produce a surprising conclusion.

It's no wonder this novel was a hit with the general public who read it in serial form when it first appeared in Charles Dickens' magazine. It was subsequently published as a book in 1868. Gabriel Betteredge, the household's head servant and the first narrator in this epistolary novel, is so charming and sweetly funny. He frequently reads a copy of “Robinson Crusoe” and compulsively refers to it for guidance as if it were the bible. Betteredge also strikes up a friendship with Sergeant Cuff, the renowned detective who takes charge of solving the case. However, their relationship becomes strained as Cuff's suspect list begins to include many members of the household including Rachel herself. I found the down-to-earth quality of both these men really endearing especially the way Cuff is actually more interested in retiring and growing roses than he is in seeing justice served.

Read my full review of The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins at LonesomeReader

The following review is from July 2012:

I hang my head in shame, as a mystery-lover and Anglophile, for never having read a Wilkie Collins novel before now. This is the man who invented the modern mystery/detective novel!

He was a contemporary (and friend, supposedly, although it depends on who you ask) of Charles Dickens, and even outsold Dickens at one point. Considered one of the most popular writers of the Victorian era, Collins' work has virtually been forgotten until recently, thanks in part to Andrew Lloyd Weber, whose newest musical "The Woman in White" is based on Collin's best-loved novel of the same name. I have not seen it, so I can't comment on it.

I can, however, comment on his other well-known novel, "The Moonstone", which is wonderful and fantastic and a pleasure to read. The story, which involves the theft of a priceless Indian crown jewel, a family curse, numerous tea parties in the English countryside, a clever Scotland Yard detective, a humorous butler, and an eerie supernatural plot twist, could, in many ways, be considered cliche-ridden, except for the fact that this novel was a sensation and completely unique when first introduced.

It is, in fact, the source of virtually every British murder-mystery cliche ever written--a dubious honor, but an honor nonetheless. Reading this will surely bring to mind, immediately, the works of Agatha Christie, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Edgar Allen Poe (who is erroneously labelled the Father of the Detective story). Arguably, those other authors may have been better writers, but they would certainly not be as well-known had it not been for Collins' influence.

I didn't expect much of this book, as I only decided to read it because it was on the 1001 list and I've often been disappointed by that list. But instead I ended up loving it! I love the writing style and I love the story, I love the characterization of the characters made through their different narratives of the story. In short, I love everything of this book. Collins doesn't write like a 19th century author at all, the feel of the book is very modern. I certainly want to read something else by him.

Update March 2022: I just love this novel! It’s so compelling. The story is a twisty mystery, told by a series of unreliable or limited narrators. There’s great love, deceit, hidden lives, and a variety of addictions. It easily lends itself to discussions of class, culture, colonialism, prejudice, and the origins of the genre. But mostly it’s fun to read. Which I’ve done several times now, over the course of many years, and each time it is a completely lovely, completely absorbing distraction.

Original Review:
Satisfying on so many levels. Collins is a master of the unreliable narrator. I listened to the audiobook version created by Recorded Books and available through Audible. It is the best ensemble recording I've ever come across. Really just wonderful. I did a thorough review there for fellow listeners at http://www.audible.com/pd/Classics/Th... under the title "Satan Under the Tea Table" by Naesmile.

someone tell betteredge robinson crusoe isn't the only book