In celebration of the holiday yesterday, my family decided to spend the afternoon at Two Rivers and have a cookout. It was a gorgeous afternoon (sorry, the photo doesn't quite capture how nice it was). I am not sure what happened, but the weather was really lovely. That doesn't seem to be the case generally where I live at this time of year, but I won't complain. I brought The Moonstone with me, and by the time the fireworks really got going (by then we were at home) in the evening, I had made my way through the last 100 pages! If you ever received the (now defunct) Common Reader book catalogs, they would highlight certain books and call them "thumping good reads". I dub The Moonstone a thumping good read! While I was not suprised by the twist in the story, I also really didn't see it coming. It was a creative way to explain the theft of the moonstone. In case you are not familiar with the story--the moonstone (a very large diamond) is given to Rachel Verinder on her 18th birthday by an uncle who helped himself to it while in India (as a spoil of war so to speak). The diamond has great religious significance, and three Hindu holy men have dedicated their lives to recovering the diamond. Of course the night of her birthday it is stolen, but by whom?
I love the writing style that Collins used in this book (much like The Woman in White). The story is told from various points of view. Each narrator advances the story of the theft of the moonstone. It is very similar to an epistolary novel. My favorite narrators are Miss Clack who is this straight-laced, holier-than-thou spinster who hands out religious tracts left and right, and I also loved Ezra Jennings, a doctor with the misfortune of being unattractive, with the swarthy looks of a gyspy and also very physically ill. I think that of the two novels A Woman in White is still my favorite, but The Moonstone was very enjoyable and worthy of another read. As a matter of fact I have just started to go back and read the 30+ page introduction (and once again I don't read them before starting the novel anymore...yet another example of revealing the story and twists before you even start...the story was given away about two pages in!!), and I think there is more to The Moonstone than the theft of a diamond. There is commentary on imperialism, sensationalism, and mesmerism--all aspects of the novel, so I am not quite finished with Wilkie yet.
My next Summer Reading Challenge book is The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie. I have read very few Agatha Christie novels--maybe two at most. I have seen a few of the movie adaptations--one being Evil Under the Sun starring Peter Ustinov. I own the movie, which I enjoy watching in the dead of winter when it is snowy and cold out. It has a lovely tropical island setting, which I never tire of seeing. I think I will always have Peter Ustinov in my mind as Hercule Poirot. I may have to reconsider as he has already shown up in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd looking decidedly different than Ustinov! I already like what I have read (and if the first few chapters are anything to go by, this should be a very quick read). So far it is narrated by a Dr. Sheppard and his nosy sister Caroline has made an appearance--both highly likeable characters. Wikipidia says:
"It is one of Christie's most well-known and most controversial novels, its innovative twist ending having a significant impact on the genre."
Hmm. Say no more--I want to be surprised!