No, this book is not about the Scottish liquor, Armadale. If you think it is you should probably just leave through the same door from whence you came.I just spent a considerable amount of time reading, rating, and reviewing a stupidly complex work of "pseudo"philosophy and my brain is about fried. Which is sort of funny considering the plot for Armadale wasn't that much less complicated than that other book. But then that's what we love about Wilkie Collins, isn't it? His sensationlism!(Dude looks like my dad before he shaved his beard. Disturbing.)There are a few different characters (putting it mildly) with the same name in this story: Allan Armadale. That took some getting used to. (Hello, brain-fry, remember?) But there's plenty of intrigue and mystery and even a little bit of love and romance, but not the sappy kind, not really. The female lead, Lydia Gwilt, is hooked on laudanum, much like Collins himself. She's a force to be reckoned with, and you know anytime a laudanum-addict is on the scene things are going to be complicated. (What, you didn't know that? Now you do.)What I really got out of this book is that I wish laudanum was "in" these days. It's a real shame people had to go and ruin that addiction for the rest of us.In all seriousness, I love Collins. I may actually love him more than I love his BFF, Charles Dickens. Another bonus point for Collins is that I tend to stumble upon books by him that I've never heard of, whereas with Dickens you can't even walk down the street without tripping over one of his novels. Most people are familiar with The Moonstone and The Woman in White, but then there are these others like Armadale that I feel just haven't gained the same notoriety as the other books. Granted, Armadale isn't nearly as good as those other two books, but it doesn't mean that it shouldn't be read. Lydia Gwilt is a fascinating character, and even though all the different Allan Armadales in this story pissed me off, it made for a brilliant little story. ("Little" - as in 800+ pages "little".)In any case, this was a yummy read. Not Collins at his best perhaps, but still worth the read by any other Collins fan-boy or -girl.
Oh, Wilkie*. I just love you -- The Woman in White is a masterpiece, The Moonstone a delight -- but 600 pages that could easily be condensed by half? TOO MUCH. Even for me, who adores convoluted plotting and the tropes of multiple-narrator novels that traverse time! The first bit with the guy divulging his deathbed secrets in a German spa town is great, I suppose. I was highly intrigued! But most of this is set in an insufferable English village, the attempts at Dickensian humor (quirky father-son barristers! a love-lorn steward!) are too strained, and it is 200 pages before we meet the only interesting and clever character, the fabulously-named Lydia Gwilt. Actually, maybe you SHOULD read this book, because she is amazing. In a refreshing counterpoint to so many male novelists, especially those in the way-back, Wilkie is at his best when he’s channeling complex female voices -- the crazy-making, Illuminati-level transubstantiation that Jonathan Franzen performed to get Patty Berglund onto the page is, to me, second only to the whatever Wilkie did to give us Marian Halcombe, one of the most overlooked and appealing heroines of all time (really, you need to read The Woman in White.) Anyway, there are so few humans who actually would even be inclined to read this (or a book like it); this review is just to help people like myself, who know on some level that they have read the two good Wilkie Collins books and that Armadale is for completists only, to let you know that you really don’t need to bother with it. (Though if you are actually like me, then you saw the words “love-lorn steward” and “deathbed secrets” in the paragraph above and resolved to read it anyway. There’s no help for us.)*Does anyone else harbor an inexplicable affection for this man as a direct result of reading Drood by Dan Simmons? I would still choose Dickens (as a writer, friend, business associate, and/or dinner party guest) any day of the week and twice on Sundays, but the Wilkie/Charles BFF-hood in Drood is such a hilarious Ye Olde Toxic Friendshippe, that I will always have this soft spot for poor old bald, laudanum-imbibing WC.
Do You like book Armadale (1995)?
This is THE Wilkie Collins novel I recommend whenever I get the chance for those brave souls who want to brave the denseness of Victorian literature. The plot, which is all about mistaken identities, really requires concentration (no speed reading!) and the Bad Girl (or is it heroine?) Lydia Gwilt is an amazing character. Her final scene (in Wilkie's OTT-but-OMG-so-awesome prose) simply took my breath away - so much that I was totally gushing about it to my totally-not-interested blue-collar co-workers at the widget factory. And I didn't care because I was in the grips of Wilkie Love. Over the years I've been working my way through Wilkie's very prodigious output, and this is the one novel of his that I will definitely re-read.
—Kerrie
I can't imagine why Armadale isn't as well-known as The Woman in White and The Moonstone - wow, what a fabulous book. The plot is even more tortuous than The Woman in White and thus fairly indescribable (particularly without spoilers) but it turns largely on issues of identity, with no less than five characters named Alan Armadale - happily, only two of them appear for any length of time, and one of those goes by an alias.Easily the most compelling character in the book, though, is the villainess, Lydia Gwilt, a woman of intelligence, charisma, and daring, superbly drawn by Collins. Much of the book is told through her diary entries, so that even though she's wicked and clearly the villain of the book, it's easy to sympathize with her - in fact, I don't think it would be easy not to sympathize with her, given her history and personality. Lydia surpasses even the lively Marian Halcombe of The Woman in White.(Man, I really need to reread this.)
—Margaret
While not actually disliking Wilkie Collins, I have never been that impressed by his writing - until now. Well! I was afraid it was going the mystical/sensational way as the others at the beginning, but this book is really about character - great character development - and the wonderful thing is how Collins gives us a taste of each person's perspective. I loved going from Armadale and Midwinter's perspective to Lydia Gwilt's. Seeing her side makes everything that much more convoluted and interesting - and I did, at times, find myself wishing her well in her horrible plans!!! (Bad little me!) I was never sure where things were going, and had several theories that came to nothing in a wonderful way. If only Collins knew how many evenings I listened with pleasure to his story while doing the cooking and washing-up!
—Sylvester
