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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
How depressing and disturbing this book is, is really a testament to how well written the characters are. The pacing of the story is perfect and it builds towards an ending that may not be satisfying, but perhaps because of this will stay with you for a long time.
I adored this. Felt like the perfect length and I enjoyed the ending a lot, soemthing taht I rarely find. I was interested by all of the references to The Tempest that were drawn and plan to reread this once I have read the Tempest. Kept me engaged throughout without falling into the typical captor based romance trope which I do not enjoy in books of a similar genre.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As good and disturbing as I remembered. Best incel book.
Objectively this is a good book as it held my attention and left me wanting to find out what happens next. The problem being I just didn’t enjoy it and it left me feeling a little depressed. It’s just not my cup of tea.
A riveting debut novel by John Fowles, this story poses the question of what an enormous sum of money and sudden freedom could do to a man whose psyche is already crumbling. A dull clerk with a passion for collecting butterflies captures his first human specimen—the radiant and brilliant art student, Miranda. Like an entomologist pinning a butterfly for display, Frederick imprisons Miranda in the cellar of his rural farmhouse with the hopes that she’ll fall in love with him. What strikes me most is how Frederick sees himself as morally superior to other men—those who, in his view, would have done far worse in his position—simply because he refrains from committing explicitly perverse acts. And yet, the most disturbing thing about him is precisely his voyeuristic nature. He deems himself good because he hasn’t done anything outwardly sexual, all while committing a psychologically and emotionally perverse act.
It took me a while to get through this book, I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t find some sections to be absolutely boring, parts with G.P. among other things (I really just dislike the guy).
It took me a while to get through this book, I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t find some sections to be absolutely boring, parts with G.P. among other things (I really just dislike the guy).
slow-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
The first 1/3rd of the book was interesting, but as soon as it switched to Miranda’s POV, I was done. She’s a deeply pretentious artist obsessed with another pretentious, misogynistic artist, and her journals are mostly about him.
Read The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchinson and I guarantee you’ll have a better (or at least, more interesting) experience.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
How one book can be deeply unsettling, disturbing, even terrifying ....but enlightening and philosophical and a history in art is testament to the incredible writing by Fowles. Completely original. At times even prophetic. Ingenious, poetic, compelling. An extraordinary read.