Herr Rau rated The Moonstone: 4 stars
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
One of the first English detective novels, this mystery involves the disappearance of a valuable diamond, originally stolen from a …
I would have liked to like this book better. The setting and the way of narrating the story are right up my alley.
But I just couldn't connect to the characters, and had the feeling I was meant to. Young people in their late teens, still going to school, more or less abandonded by the rest of humanity as flatmates in an empty house, without interests or hobbies or outside contact. Shoplifting as their only social contact. I would have been bored.
A den of our for me and my friend - we had something of the sort, actually. We used it to enjoy ourselves. (Chips, books, games, films, endless talking.) We are told that these were good times. (Or are we? I'm not sure anymore.) But we aren't shown what was so good about them. Maybe they actually were the best of times. A depressing thought.
The writing is …
