The Moonstone

Robinson Crusoe

2 Comments / 2006, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Classics, The Moonstone /

Or maybe I should have titled this “The Legacy of The Moonstone” since I read Robinson Crusoe simply because I loved Betteridge and Betteridge worshipped RC.

Upon reflection and upon finishing RC, I think I was duped once again by The Moonstone. I believe I would have been happier with my simple childhood memories of RC. I do not remember the section in the middle, where RC was so damn fixated on “the Savages” from my childhood. (Please don’t suggest I read an abridged copy, I didn’t. I hate abridged copies and have always refused to read them.) I think I simply skimmed over that tedious bit as a child and moved along to the good part – since I was sorely tempted to do so last night.

Also upon reflection, I did appreciate picking up RC again and reading it with an eye for what Betteridge found so appealing and helpful. I wish Wilkie Collins had written a book of short stories about Betteridge’s life with the answers from RC included in each story – the moral of the story, according to RC or some such thing. That would have been interesting.

Enough with The Moonstone, sorry it has sort of taken over my life. I can usually keep it in check, but sometimes it just slips out!

Robinson Crusoe – long and tedious in the middle. The lack of “chapters” didn’t help it any. The end, back to civilization, it was all rushed and not worth reading and should have been a book of its own rather than a jumble of 10 pages.

I don’t think I can quite convince myself to read The Further Adventures of… or anything Selkirk – though if Skeeter insists, I will obey. After all, she read The Moonstone with me.

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The Moonstone – Page 403

11 Comments / The Moonstone /

A bunch of my friends joined me in my quest to finally finish The Moonstone and they’re grumbling through each and every page of it.  (I should say that my significant other is not grumbling, she’s actually enjoying the book.  Odd woman.)

In an effort to encourage them, I mentioned that I really enjoyed pages 403-405 of my version… unfortunately none of them have the same version that I have! So I guess my encouragement isn’t working all that well.

If you own The Moonstone or have a library copy around, could you open it to page 403 and tell me what it says?  Just the first line… mine says:

eighty years of age- never mind exactly where!

 

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The Moonstone

8 Comments / 2006, Books in Bed, Don't Read This, Favorites, Fiction, Mystery, The Moonstone /

Well ladies, and gentlemen (surely there are some men lurking), I did it. Finally. It took me 10 years and many, MANY false starts but I did it. I. Finished. The. Moonstone.

I didn’t ever think I’d be able to say that. But now that I have said it, I’m quite pleased with myself. I’m not really pleased with my mother who purchased the book for my daughter 10 years ago. I’m not really pleased with my mother who rambled about how much she loved the book when she was a teenager. I’m also not pleased with my mother who has generally recommended really fantastic books in the past. I’m also not pleased with my mother who on one other occasion recommended a book in a similar way, A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, and that recommendation was so RIGHT that it led me to believe that any such recommendation would also be RIGHT.

The Moonstone. Not right.

I like Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White is a very good book. I’ve actually read it two or three times and enjoyed it everytime. I would happily recommend that book to you. The Moonstone. Not so much. In fact, except for 3 pages very near the end, I wouldn’t really recommend it at all. Except of course, there’s my mom. She loved it when she was a teen (or so she said, 10 years ago – she’s waivered a bit on that over the years – that’s the dementia though, so we expect that from her now).

Anyway, I’ve finished it. I’m proud of myself for having finished it. I’m proud of myself for being able to cross book #1 off of my summer reading challenge.

Now onto bigger and better things…. The Day My Butt Went Psycho… gotta be bigger and better than The Moonstone, right?

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