louiza_read2live's reviews
331 reviews

A great classic, but also one that disappointed me. I believe it's highly symbolic with truly beautiful descriptions; however, the overall structure of one man narrating his journey into Africa and his impression (or obsession with) of Mr. Kurtz, it was not appealing to me. I found it somewhat dull and difficult to follow. I definitely recommend it though because for someone else might prove to be a great book. Also, just the fact that Conrad was Polish and English was his third language (French was his second) it makes the reading of this book worth it if only to realize through the beauty of its language the genius of this man who wrote his most known books, including Heart of Darkness, in English!! Who is Mr. Kurtz? If you're ready to discover this elusive man, have a dictionary at hand... I can assure you, you'll need it. (Now, that I have formed my possibly erroneous opinion of the identity of Mr. Kurtz,, I'm ready to read the literary criticism, so I can be either enlightened or utterly confused). PS. These were my thoughts on the book years ago when I've read it and again the language was very difficult for me. I hope that if I was to reread it one day my thoughts might change and like it more.

The Woman in White was written in 1860 By Wilkie Collins, a good friend and mentee of Charles Dickens. It is a mystery thriller written in 1860, and it is considered to be the first of this genre. A surprisingly very good read that keeps you on your toes. It keeps you wondering and right where you think you know, you end up with surprising twists. Also, I love Wilkies's subtle humor. He can be very funny and at times in a way that you almost pass it and move on but something stops you and makes you do a double look as in: Hold on, did the character just say that? And then you laugh. It's a humorous scene or comment so well written and entangled within the seriousness of the surrounding context that you almost miss it -- Almost... But you don't. And that makes it more impressive.
An interesting piece of information is that in 1860's Wilkies was even more popular than Dickens and some of his writing influenced Dickens's writing style on A Tale of Two Cities.