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A review by hanrutous16
The Story Collector by Evie Woods
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
The premise of this novel was really exciting - two stories running alongside each other, fairy tales translated and trauma transformed. I love intergenerational narratives and the small links that are made between each one.
But that was missing here. The reveal I wanted of an ancestry connection never materialised, which was incredibly disappointing.
Alongside that, the writing was very simplistic and kept stating and restating the obvious instead of letting the narrative speak for itself.
There are also inconsistencies. The title is ‘The Story Collector’ but he is a secondary character in the novel who we only see from other people’s perspective. The prologue creates the Manor almost as its own character, but it barely appears in the book. There is so much potential in this story that is lost, partly due to simplistic narrative style and partly due to trying to do too much at once.
That said, the story was beautiful. From miscarriage to widowhood, from harsh reality to fairies, it covered many elements of the human condition and brought a hopefully tint to it all.Perhaps her attempt to avoid a predictable, happy ending, Woods went too far the other way and tried to make it too realistic. You don’t tend to read about fairies for a dose of reality.
Overall whilst I enjoyed reading the novel, it didn’t have the depth and intricacies I wanted, nor was the magical feeling enough to offset that lack.
But that was missing here. The reveal I wanted of an ancestry connection never materialised, which was incredibly disappointing.
Alongside that, the writing was very simplistic and kept stating and restating the obvious instead of letting the narrative speak for itself.
There are also inconsistencies. The title is ‘The Story Collector’ but he is a secondary character in the novel who we only see from other people’s perspective. The prologue creates the Manor almost as its own character, but it barely appears in the book. There is so much potential in this story that is lost, partly due to simplistic narrative style and partly due to trying to do too much at once.
That said, the story was beautiful. From miscarriage to widowhood, from harsh reality to fairies, it covered many elements of the human condition and brought a hopefully tint to it all.
Overall whilst I enjoyed reading the novel, it didn’t have the depth and intricacies I wanted, nor was the magical feeling enough to offset that lack.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, and Rape