The Girl Booker

The Girl Booker

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Drum Roll Please

A mere 4 months after starting it, I have finished The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins!!!!! It feels like such a great achievement. It is a long time since I really persevered when I was reading something that I didn't enjoy much and this has really paid off. Call me crazy, but I am half considering reading The Moonstone, also by Collins.

Throughout The Woman in White Collins creates a drifting, mysterious, creepy, creeping mood. The storyline gets you sucked in but it took me a while to attune to the pace of the novel. I think reader's expectations have changed in the past 100 years and I was expecting a more punchy read at first. Eventually, I discovered the key was to only read it when I had a lot of time and mental space before me. If I did that then reading it was a delicious, floaty pleasure. If I tried to cram in a page or two between appointments I became irritated and disappointed.

This is most emphatically not a book to read on the train or during a lunch break. It is, however, perfect for reading in bed at your partner's parents' house in North Carlton while the rain lashes and splashes outside and you contemplate the day's busy schedule consisting mostly of coffee-related events.

Read this book: if you are stuck in bed with a cold or are planning a trip to a beach house during winter.