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Content snapshot
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Violence
Some
Kidnapping and prolonged captivity; some physical struggle
Language
Barely any
Mild language
Sexual Content
Some
Sexual obsession is the driver; nothing explicit but deeply coercive dynamics
Substance Use
None
No substance use
Emotional Intensity
Very heavy
Among the most psychologically disturbing novels in British literature; the ending is deeply unsettling
What this book is about
Frederick Clegg, a lonely, socially inept young man who collects butterflies, wins a fortune on the football pools and uses it to kidnap Miranda Grey, an art student he has observed for years. Told from both Frederick's and Miranda's perspectives, Fowles's disturbing novel is a study in the gulf between the collector's flat, unimaginative obsession and Miranda's rich interior life—a meditation on beauty, power, and the horror of being reduced to an object.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Kidnapping and prolonged captivity
Psychologically disturbing throughout
Deeply unsettling conclusion
Reader Verification
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