Review by chronicreader96 - The Collector

chronicreader96 's review for:

The Collector by John Fowles

3.5

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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.

Content Warnings