Flying To The Moonstone And The Return Of A Blog Villain

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well in this literary bucket list that I've seemed to have stumbled upon since my reading habits have been totally devoted to the Kindle now that every other book has been crated, boxed whilst preparing to move house The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins has been finished.

This mystery novel is a best treated as a Victorian entertainment and I approached it on that basis. Judged accordingly although it's not the best book I've read this year it's an early contender for the one I've been pleasantly surprised by.

The thing that got to me about this was that Wilkie Collins plays tricks on the reader and I don't mean crime style red herrings either. It's written from the point of view of various characters as it progresses. So that people at the beginning of the book are not necessarily going to be the main attraction at the end. Also he is not afraid to have characters dominate the novel in the early stages only to disappear and return later on. There is probably only one person who is consistently through the mystery who the reader is not sure what to think of.

I enjoyed the book immensely. But there are caveats. As it was written in the Victorian era there is a sense of masters and servants, also of the lowly position of women in that time. A sort of "know your place". However these are not caricatures. You do get the sense of real people.

The caricatures are the "Indian" gang that permeate the novel. They really are "cliche Indian". Coming to Britain as "jugglers" (if there was a modern version made of the book they'd be software engineers) with their "Hindoo" religion. It was low level racism. Though I'd argue mitigated, at least in part by the ending which I can't explain further for fear of spoiling it for you.

So the next book in the great ebook unread turns out to be Sea and Sardinia by D H Lawrence. Honestly I pick these books at random but those of you who kindly read this blog regularly will think I've done this deliberately. For alongside Arsenal football club and Bridgend Labour Council D H Lawrence is a regular villain.

(A quick aside. You will note that the Prime Minister Teresa May came to Bridgend when she visited South Wales yesterday (I was working so I missed her majesty). The Conservatives aren't stupid. Come to a part of South Wales where Labour have run a region pathetically)

Of the books I have read D H Lawrence is remembered for the pants taken off Lady Chatterley but should also be remembered for boring the pants off the reader. Furthermore you may remember that I read his similar Italian book "Twilight in Italy" whose only literary feat was to make the nation and it's inhabitants seem dull.

So I don't hold out much hope.

Until the next time.