Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - The Collector

Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Collector by John Fowles

17 reviews

vulcajes's review

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

I love John Fowles and I love locked-in horror. Such a creepy, uncomfortable atmosphere and sometimes you can't tell which character you dislike more. Highly recommend.

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scarletkeiller's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-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

4.0

This is a really great read. Fowles not only writes a twisted male lead with a warped sense of love and relationships, but a complex and interesting female character who was shockingly realistic as well. Her actions, emotions and thoughts felt really honest and believable and I was so taken aback that a man wrote this character in the 60s! I loved this book!

I loved the perspective shift halfway through, the hope it gave me that she find a way to escape, how it tricked me into feeling much the same as Miranda - blind hope that he might see the error of his ways and let her go. And then when the book reaches its natural end, despite knowing it was coming I was so full of sadness for her.

What an amazingly written story.

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sophia_joy17's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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ellacostello's review

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dark sad tense slow-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

3.75

If I had read this book 20 odd years ago I may have found it more suspenseful and shocking despite this it was still an “enjoyable” read (as far as kidnap can be classed as enjoyable). I found the switching of POV was good in knowing how each were thinking and feeling and I enjoyed finding out more about the attempted escapes however overall I did find it a bit repetitive and was bored going through the second section. I found both characters unlikeable but I felt for Miranda and wished she had survived. Going through the book I get I understood more about the kidnappers psyche and how truly unstable and crazy he was which I enjoyed seeing into that side. Overall I did enjoy the book but it wouldn’t be one I would be interested in rereading

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boopsiedoopsie's review

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challenging dark tense 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? Yes

3.0

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yvo_about_books's review against another edition

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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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