Withdrawn, uneducated and unloved, Frederick collects butterflies and takes photographs. He is obsessed with a beautiful stranger, the art student Miranda. When he wins the pools he buys a remote Sussex house and calmly abducts Miranda, believing she will grow to love him in time. Alone and desperate, Miranda must struggle to overcome her own prejudices and contempt if she is understand her captor, and so gain her freedom. (20031030)
The Collector (Vintage Classics)
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He has a magnificent narrative gift...brilliant (Independent )
A brilliant, unusual theme... Short and spare and direct, an intelligent thriller with psychological and social overtones (Sunday Times )
A brilliant, unusual theme... Short and spare and direct, an intelligent thriller with psychological and social overtones (Sunday Times )
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'Brilliant - an artist of great imaginative power' Sunday Times (20031030)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In 'The Collector', John Fowles explores the mind of a stalker who has the chance to make his fantasies come true. Throughout the novel, Frederick Clegg is likened to Caliban, from Shakespeare's 'The Tempest': stumbling ineptly after the object of his affections, and never managing to attract her or interest her. Winning some money gives Frederick the chance to kidnap and imprison Miranda, and we then see him attempt to fulfil his desires.
Frederick's character is both eerie and fascinating. There is a constant power struggle going on between him and Miranda. She is beautiful, well educated, confident, inspired, artistic - everything he is not, and although he is physically imprisoning her, he can't understand her. This frustrated desire to get inside her head undermines his capture of her, and at the same time, she is attempting to understand him, in order to be free. The relationship between the two characters is very well written, constantly changing and unpredictable.
Miranda, as the saner of the two, is easy to identify with, and yet the reader is also taken deeply inside Frederick's head as well. Again, it's an uneasy relationship between the reader and Frederick, as one hopefully doesn't support his actions(!), and yet the tone of his narration implies that the reader does. A very unsettling effect.
All in all, an excellent read, with an ending that will send shivers down your spine!
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By RachelWalker
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
My first Fowles. Not my last. A remarkable book, unusual book. It has a strange combination of themes and plot, and Fowles works them together superbly. It's not always an easy book to read - at times, yes, I felt a degree of sympathy for lonely, inhibited, crushingly socially inept Frederick, but as the novel progresses, and we get the second strand from captured Miranda's point of view, that he is completely monstrous becomes abundantly clear. It is possible to understand him, but that makes the final sections of the novel no less horrifying and affecting. Inevitable, too. The reader probably has as much desperate hope as Miranda.
As a psychological study of two people, with all their various roles in life and in the context of one another, it is supremely good. The two differing styles are brilliantly conceived, and power the novel along nicely. It's clever, very affecting, and the ending is moving and vaguely horrifying. It's rather like some of Ruth Rendell's similar psychological thrillers. I reccomend it very highly.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By Dr. Bojan Tunguz
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
Fred is a young man who was orphaned at an early age. Raised by aunts, he comes in possession of some money and seems to be financially secure. However, his own personal hang ups and social awkwardness prevent him from forming normal social relations. This is particularly problematic when it comes to his relations with women. He becomes fascinated with Miranda, a beautiful young art student. Although keenly aware that she is beyond his reach, he attributes this primarily to their class difference. This being England, everyone is highly conscious of the class structure, and this theme plays itself out throughout the novel. In a drastic measure to secure Miranda, he buys a secluded country house where he imprisons her after capturing her. Most of the book is devoted to their interactions while she is his prisoner.
There have been many highly publicized cases of men holding women hostage in recent years, and this particular scenario has been covered in literature and film quite a bit. However, what distinguishes this particular novel from the rest is the fact that a great deal of attention was paid to the nuances of interpersonal reactions and the psychological states of mind of the two protagonists. This uncanny ability to get deep within the minds of the main characters makes this a very unsettling and chilling book to read. We feel much closer to the psychologically disturbed Fred than we would have liked to and his skewed reasoning, though troubling, is in some ways relatable. Miranda's anguish and fear are all too palpable. Fowles is an absolute master of this kind of literary psychological thriller, and his considerable talent shines conspicuously throughout this book. Whether you are familiar with his other works or this is your first exposure to this great writer, you will find a lot to appreciate in this book.
There have been many highly publicized cases of men holding women hostage in recent years, and this particular scenario has been covered in literature and film quite a bit. However, what distinguishes this particular novel from the rest is the fact that a great deal of attention was paid to the nuances of interpersonal reactions and the psychological states of mind of the two protagonists. This uncanny ability to get deep within the minds of the main characters makes this a very unsettling and chilling book to read. We feel much closer to the psychologically disturbed Fred than we would have liked to and his skewed reasoning, though troubling, is in some ways relatable. Miranda's anguish and fear are all too palpable. Fowles is an absolute master of this kind of literary psychological thriller, and his considerable talent shines conspicuously throughout this book. Whether you are familiar with his other works or this is your first exposure to this great writer, you will find a lot to appreciate in this book.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Haunting
I'm actually surprised how much I enjoyed this book considering the subject matter. It is indisputably bleak but a mesmerising read and so touching. Read more
Published 1 day ago by CJS
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great book, often ,misquoted by people who haven't read it
This book has been quoted as the inspiration behind the recent high profile kidnapping cases. I very much doubt it. Read more
Published 9 days ago by M. Hall
5.0 out of 5 stars
An amazing book!
This is definitely the best book I've read in a while, I seriously recommend it! Fowles is a genius, order it now!
Published 24 days ago by Charlotte
3.0 out of 5 stars
Uninspiring
This book starts well but goes on for two long. It gets very tedious in the middle. Having said this, it is an interesting psychological thriller, with a great ending.
Published 1 month ago by Stephen Higgins
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE COLLECTOR
RATING FOR THE WRITER, BRILLIANT,II ENJOYED READING THIS BOO AND ,I WILL RECOMMENDED TO MY FRIENDS, I COULD READ IT AGAIN
Published 1 month ago by nancy strachan
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great read.
A very interesting novel and hard to put down once you get into it. An engaging story line that makes you want to read on and understand more about the characters.
Published 2 months ago by Rebecca Lowe
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great read!
I couldn't put this book down. It's a story kind of in two halves but really intriguing. Will definitely read it again.
Published 2 months ago by Jannice Raw
5.0 out of 5 stars
Usual excellence from Mr Fowles
Thought provoking and melancholy tale. First time I've read anything on Kindle for Mac and it works well, so much so I followed it up with The Misandrist by Linden Naish. Read more
Published 3 months ago by R. Paul
5.0 out of 5 stars
thoroughly enjoable
Loved this book!! would read it more than once and would certainly reccomend! Glad I purchased this- a definite thumbs up!!
Published 3 months ago by Donna_Marie
5.0 out of 5 stars
life imitates art
i read this decades ago, since then ive read books on real events such as natasha kampusch autobio.Its frightening to see how well Fowles sees into the heads of the kidnappers. Read more
Published 3 months ago by bettyparry
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