A review by cailincailincailin
Dead Collections by Isaac Fellman

dark emotional lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I went into this book with absolutely no expectations, having not read the synopsis or heard anything about it, and I really enjoyed it. The book's primary interest is in its protagonist's inner life and his embodiment. He and the the other main characters (Else and Florence, in particular, but even Alice) felt very believable to me, and I appreciate that Fellman doesn't shy away from their messiness, especially in a book about managing mess. I also thought that incorporating so many different mediums and types of communication really helped evoke that feeling of human mess, of archives, and I found myself pretty interested in the fictional world within the fictional world too. 

That being said, I didn't always find the dialogue as sharp as the characters. I don't think corny dialogue is inherently bad--sometimes people are corny--but it didn't always land for me. It sometimes felt too corny for the person saying it. (That isn't to say all the dialogue felt that way!) 

The underlying plot was interesting but felt rushed. It felt like the conflict referenced in the synopsis -- "strange things start happening in the archive"--was introduced and resolved in minutes. I wish the pacing for that aspect of the plot had been a little slower; it felt like an afterthought, which is a shame because it was such a creative idea. 

Overall, I'd definitely recommend giving the book a try! It surprised me more than once. 
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