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stevegoble's review against another edition
3.0
It pains me to give any Wilkie Collins novel only three stars, and I did enjoy this early work, but it relies quite heavily on coincidence to bolster all the melodrama. That said, even a sub-par Wilkie Collins novel is still a Wilkie Collins novel, and there is much to enjoy.
If you are new to Collins, do not start here. Go read “The Moonstone” or “The Woman in White” first. If you dig those classics and want a glimpse of the author before he reached those heights, then dig into “Basil.” While it will make you scratch your head at times, it also will give you an idea of his development as a writer. And, despite the flaws, it still is a good read.
If you are new to Collins, do not start here. Go read “The Moonstone” or “The Woman in White” first. If you dig those classics and want a glimpse of the author before he reached those heights, then dig into “Basil.” While it will make you scratch your head at times, it also will give you an idea of his development as a writer. And, despite the flaws, it still is a good read.
madsreadstheclassics's review against another edition
4.0
4.5! Wilkie Collins continues to be the Most Fun 19th c. author. His novels are always soooo readable, full of page-turning suspense and scandal and vividly-written characters, from the supremely slimy to the absolute cinnamon rolls. (Basil, you adorable, stupid boy.) His plots are always the most entertaining blend between realistic and lurid - I liked the first two-thirds of this best before it veered into Vengeful Melodrama, but also I'm not gonna turn down a dramatic Cornish cliffside ending. Ever.
I wish the blurb hadn't given away the ~plot twist~ because I would have loved to have pictured myself as a scandalised Victorian reading this as it came out because it's just so juicyyyyyyy.
I wish the blurb hadn't given away the ~plot twist~ because I would have loved to have pictured myself as a scandalised Victorian reading this as it came out because it's just so juicyyyyyyy.
tcameron's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
jlemiaj's review against another edition
3.0
Found in laundry-room book exchange, read to contrast with relatively fluffy fantasy series I'm lately prone to reading.
I wish I could call my senior-year English professor to talk about this one, not because I think it was particularly good, but because I think I'm missing the context that would help me appreciate it more. (Also, because I suspect said prof of minor depravities that would help him explain the protagonist, but that's beside the point.)
If you read, do read to the end. All the excitement happens in the final 100 pages.
I wish I could call my senior-year English professor to talk about this one, not because I think it was particularly good, but because I think I'm missing the context that would help me appreciate it more. (Also, because I suspect said prof of minor depravities that would help him explain the protagonist, but that's beside the point.)
If you read, do read to the end. All the excitement happens in the final 100 pages.
noteworthy_fiction's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
thayawar's review against another edition
3.0
I do love me a Wilkie Collins novel !!! Love to do a Victorian gasp throughout !
krobart's review against another edition
2.0
See my review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2016/09/16/day-971-basil/
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2016/09/16/day-971-basil/
izlevine's review against another edition
2.0
Pretty disappointed honestly. Love all of the other books I've read by Collins but I found this one slow and predictable and frustrating. I felt the ending was lazy and quite flat and there was not the usual tense atmosphere of Collins' other works. I also felt very little for the characters and thought the way it was looking back was quite frustrating.
mcfade28's review against another edition
4.0
This is my 2nd Wilkie Collins novel after The Woman in White. I loved both books, and I think Wilkie Collins may be one of the most readable of the classical authors. He may just be the king of the sensationalist novel. In this book, we follow Basil, the son of a wealthy, snobbish gentleman. Basil falls in love at first sight on a bus one day and decides he must marry the girl, despite the fact she comes from a poor background and his father would never accept it. What follows is a twisting turning tale of deception.
The writing style felt very modern and was easily understood without referring to any of the footnotes. Collins was a close friend of Charles Dickens, but in my mind he is a far more entertaining option.
The writing style felt very modern and was easily understood without referring to any of the footnotes. Collins was a close friend of Charles Dickens, but in my mind he is a far more entertaining option.