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mikethepysch's review
4.0
The perspective thing was pretty neat. And the narrative was tolerable. The intermixed stories were definitely my favorite part, especially the immortal one.
flippanta's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.0
dukeml's review
2.0
This book was just so bizarre. It was fine, but I would not choose to read it again.
lordofthemoon's review
3.0
This is the story of Rosa, a woman looking for love. A story complicated by the conwoman who worms her way into Rosa's life and immediately starts making it difficult. But most interestingly, this is a story narrated by a piece of ancient, sentient pottery, the collector collector of the title. Rosa is evaluating the pottery for its new owner and it witnesses the goings on in her life.
I say that's the story, but it's also a book that takes great pleasure in language, with lots of clever rhymes and turns of phrase, you get the impression that Fischer was enjoying himself immensely, as he was writing this.
The characters are very much caricatures, Rosa, the antiques evaluator who will go to extraordinary lengths to find love; Nikki, the woman who cons her way into staying with Rosa and who's as obsessed with sex as she is with theft; Marius, the eccentric, and very rich, man who wants to collect the narrator. The bowl is, in a way, able to communicate with Rosa and feeds her anecdotes about its past, which breaks up the narrative every so often with an outrageous story from a former owner. These are fun and help pace the story.
If there was any sort of deeper meaning or subtext in the story then I didn't pick up on it. It was an enjoyable read, but I don't think it was a hugely memorable one.
I say that's the story, but it's also a book that takes great pleasure in language, with lots of clever rhymes and turns of phrase, you get the impression that Fischer was enjoying himself immensely, as he was writing this.
The characters are very much caricatures, Rosa, the antiques evaluator who will go to extraordinary lengths to find love; Nikki, the woman who cons her way into staying with Rosa and who's as obsessed with sex as she is with theft; Marius, the eccentric, and very rich, man who wants to collect the narrator. The bowl is, in a way, able to communicate with Rosa and feeds her anecdotes about its past, which breaks up the narrative every so often with an outrageous story from a former owner. These are fun and help pace the story.
If there was any sort of deeper meaning or subtext in the story then I didn't pick up on it. It was an enjoyable read, but I don't think it was a hugely memorable one.
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