Fowles, Shreve, Yen Mah

The second in our series of excellent Transition Year Extended Essays comes from Jessica Dean, whose essay was on 'Dysfunctional Relationships' in three books - Adeline Yen Mah's Falling Leaves, Anita Shreve's Resistance, and John Fowles's classic chilling masterpiece The Collector, about which Jessica writes :-

I found The Collector the most interesting to read, as it was written from both Clegg’s and then Miranda’s point of view. The way John Fowles wrote when he was doing Clegg was particularly brilliant. The fact that the novel is split into the diaries of both Clegg and Miranda gives you two different perspectives on each character. The character of Clegg was written excellently; Fowles captured every minor but vital detail that passed through Clegg’s thoughts, interpreting and portraying his mentality very accurately. Miranda’s diary is also a great insight into understanding his ways, as Clegg’s version of events are usually distorted by the way he interprets things. Miranda’s diary gives another perspective of him, showing us how monstrous he does eventually become.

Here is Jessica's full Extended Essay.