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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A solid, satisfying read...,
By Tebes "Buchlieber" (Niagara Region, ON) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Hide and Seek (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)
I loved this book. I have only read "The Haunted Hotel and Other Stories". I have yet to read "The Woman in White" and "The Moonstone" (which I will read soon enough...) so I am not most reliable Wilkie Collins fan (fast becoming one though).
I have read other Victorian authors but I find Collins to be the most enjoyable (not forgetting Braddon as well...equally beautiful in her writing). His prose is a pleasure to read, it feels as if he really treasured his gift for composition and narrative. Each paragraph resonates with warmth, tenderness, compassion and care. The mystery of the story draws you in while the characters revolve gently on the stage, moving from each with ease. I was swept up in the atmosphere, the pace. It is a novel you don't want to leave for too long. Work, family, hobbies... I simply wanted to push everything aside and get to the ending. Of course, sadly, when you come to the END you don't want it to end. There is a bit melodrama here, I'll admit. (It was an early novel following "Basil".) And there are some coincidences here that fall into the "sensational" and "stretched" category. Otherwise, the great writing and the pathos for the characters make up for it. A must for Wilkie Collins fans and readers of Victorian literature. A must for Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Wilkie Collins' first novel of importance.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Hide and Seek (Paperback)
Wilkie Collins' first two novels,ANTONINA and BASIL,while displaying his talent for melodrama were stylistically amateurish.While BASIL has attracted the attention in recent years of scholars and readers,HIDE AND SEEK,Collins' third and according to the author-his best work written up to that point,has engendered little comment. HIDE AND SEEK was a turning point for Collins.Though the book contained some of the insipid prose writing that fatally marred the first two fictions,HIDE AND SEEK was the work in which Collins' power emerged.It tells the story of the destructiveness of religious and sexual hypocrisy and the bitter hatred and revenge that they have inspired.With the mysterious American begins the first in a line of sinister yet sympathetic avengers found in Collins' work-most notably NO NAME and ARMADALE.Despite its unevenness,HIDE AND SEEK is Collins' first memorable work and hopefully will receive the notice it deserves.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Mystery of Mary Blyth,
This review is from: Hide and Seek (Paperback)
This is one of my favorite Collins novels. Mr. Valentine Blyth, an artist, is certainly a delightful character and his devotion to his invalid wife is moving. The Blyths's lives are changed when they meet a lovely orphan girl who is an exhibit at a circus because she is deaf and mute. The plot centers around Mary's mysterious background and the tragic story of her mother. The characters are well portrayed, although Mary, the Blyths' adopted daughter, is almost too perfect. The plot is quite melodramatic but interesting, a litle farfetched. I recommend this for anyone who has never read Wilkie Collins.
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