Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Collector by John Fowles

21 reviews

beetlepiano's review against another edition

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping and Confinement

Moderate: Violence

evelyncore's review

challenging dark emotional funny reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Moderate: Abandonment and Classism

bookishdreamer's review

dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Confinement, and Misogyny

Moderate: Violence, Vomit, Ableism, and Sexual violence

chaoticnostalgia's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Confinement, Kidnapping, Death, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Stalking

Moderate: Sexual content and Vomit

Minor: Fatphobia and Body shaming

kieraniscool's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Mental illness, Death, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Violence

annefederer's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Such an interesting character study of Miranda and G.P specifically.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, and Stalking

Minor: Sexism, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

yvo_about_books's review against another edition

2.0

 Finished reading: June 5th 2023

"We all want things we can't have. Being a decent human being is accepting that."

WARNING: unpopular opinion ahead!!

I've had my eyes on The Collector for quite some time now as a possible title for the Reading Through The Centuries challenge. I'm trying to get in as many challenges as possible early this year, so I decided to finally pick up The Collector and see what I would make of this classic. My first impression was without doubt a positive one, and I absolutely loved my time with Frederick's POV. He is such a fascinating (and tragic) character, and his emotional state and reactions really take the story to the next level. I fully expected this book to be a new favorite... Up until the POV suddenly switches to Miranda's diary. Suddenly, things went downhill FAST. Miranda is such a despicable, self-centered and snobbish character, and I absolutely hated having the spend time inside her head. I couldn't bring myself to feel not even the tiniest bit sorry for her, and to make things worse her diary entries are mainly not even focused on her time trapped, but are instead ramblings about her 'superior' world views and life as well as her 'special' relationship with G.P. I started to despise her more and more with each page, and I kept wishing Frederick would just kill her already so that I could avoid more suffering. What a way to completely ruin the first fantastic 40% of the story... I confess that I only made it to the end because I started skimreading and skipping all the bits where Miranda talked about G.P. or her life outside. The ending was a major anticlimax as well, although by then I was already feeling hugely disappointed with this book in the first place. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, Kidnapping, Confinement, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, and Gaslighting

niamphoone's review

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Classism, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Stalking, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Grief, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

chronicreader96's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The Collector follows Frederick, a young man who collects butterflies and is completely obsessed by Miranda, a young woman he has seen around. When fortune strikes, Frederick comes up with a plan to capture Miranda so that she can grow to love him.

This was a very mixed read for me. I absolutely loved Frederick’s pages. Getting inside his head was so fascinating I didn’t want to stop reading! He is just the creepy protagonist that I wanted, but he also had a great deal of depth and intrigue. The portrayal of Frederick’s character was excellently done. Although I did find it difficult to get used to the complete lack of chapters in his sections initially. It reads like a running commentary and works well, I’ve just never read a book structured as this was before!

However, I really struggled with Miranda’s perspective. I found her to be a completely unlikeable character. The more I read, the greater my dislike grew for her. Although I do like how the real her contrasted to the image I’d gathered of her initially. Miranda’s sections often felt more like a lecture, they slowed the pace and I lost my focus. If I was able to connect to her, I may still have enjoyed it. But unfortunately her character lost all of my interest. Overall, I’m very glad I read this haunting classic, even if it’s not a favouite for me! 

I would recommend this book to fans of dark classic literature. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Kidnapping, and Stalking

Minor: Rape, Misogyny, and Violence

vivalahelios's review against another edition

tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Stalking, Violence, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Death