The Collector
by John Fowles
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 1168)
"It is impossible to read this novel now and not think of eighteen-year-old Austrian Natascha Kampusch, held prisoner for ten years in a 'concealed, sound-proof chamber' in the cellar of 44-year-old Wolfgang Priklopil.[return][return]In Fowles' novel, Frederick Clegg captures a young woman, Miranda, as if she were a butterfly he wanted to add to his collection. To kidnap her he even uses the same stuff - chloroform - that butterfly collectors use in their killing jars. Clegg is a social mis...more
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Read in September, 2007
Other things were supposed to be read first. But I'm finding I'm powerless in the grip of John Fowles.
I don't like scary stories, yet I keep reading.
I don't much like novels wherein almost all the characters are reprehensible, yet I keep reading.
I don't much like admiting that my boss is right about most things, yet I agree with him more and more each book.
What's most remarkable about The Collector is that for half the book I was totally unimpressed. The plot was engagin...more
I don't like scary stories, yet I keep reading.
I don't much like novels wherein almost all the characters are reprehensible, yet I keep reading.
I don't much like admiting that my boss is right about most things, yet I agree with him more and more each book.
What's most remarkable about The Collector is that for half the book I was totally unimpressed. The plot was engagin...more
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Read in January, 2007
This is the first book I’ve read by John Fowles and based on The Collector I’ll probably read another. But not too soon. I have a ton of books waiting in line and this wasn’t so good that I was dying to read another by him, but I’ll get to that.
The story is about a man, Fred, that wins a substantial amount of money & uses it to keep Miranda, his obsession (who he kidnapped) locked away in his secret, hidden basement. The book is written so that the first half is from Fred’s per...more
The story is about a man, Fred, that wins a substantial amount of money & uses it to keep Miranda, his obsession (who he kidnapped) locked away in his secret, hidden basement. The book is written so that the first half is from Fred’s per...more
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recommends it for:
Everyone with a brain!
This book first came to my attention randomly when I worked in a used book store, and it became one of those rare books I'll never let go of. It's the story of a rather dull, self-righteous, tedious British clerk whose only joys in life are collecting butterflies and keeping a close eye on a lovely art student he follows, yet has never met. When he wins the British equivalent of the lottery, he decides that he will add the girl (Miranda) to his collection.
The book is divided into three part...more
The book is divided into three part...more
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Read in May, 2006
I'm kind of not sure why I read this book. Not that it's bad, or anything, but it's fairly standard psycho-sexual sadist stuff. I know I saw a recommendation of it somewhere, and I can't really tell why anyone would bother to recommend it. I suppose it had more impact when it was first published in the '60s; sort of like The French Connection and how when I finally saw it I was bored, because it wasn't the '70s anymore and everyone after The French Connection copied The French Connection ...more
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Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
psychological thriller fans
This was Fowle's first novel and is considered the first modern psychological thriller. A butterfly collector, "collects" his prize speciman, a beautiful art student. It's in two parts--the first is from the abductor's perspective; the second part is her journal kept secretly during her captivity. The book is truly chilling, in a Hitchcockian way. I read it as part of a seminar on the price of freedon and was surprised to discover that both parties lose and gain freedom during their...more
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Read in July, 2007
A tough book to rate: it's an easy four-star except for the (very long) section two, in which a daring POV switch from collector to prisoner becomes demoralizing once you flip ahead and realize that section re-narrates the entirety of the book up to that point. This is a rather big mistake (see quote below), yet it begins so well that I was actually willing to read 150+ pages thinking "this is a mistake, this is all a mistake" to get to the last ten pages back with the original narrat...more
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I read this book back in 2001 and it really stayed in my memory not because of the plot, but because of the two polar opposite points of view - both views are so gripping. One of a self-indulgent collector of beauty and the other of a terrified claustrophobic unrelentless-where-there-is-a-will-there-is-a-way captive. I enjoy the counterpoint that is found in other popular books such as a Thousand Splendid Suns. It reveals the story in a more engaging way - like the group of blind men (or men in...more
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Read in May, 2004
One of the creepier books I've read. A man becomes obsessed with a younger woman, stalks her, and kidnaps her. It begins with the man speaking in first person, making him an almost sympathetic, almost normal-seeming character, except for the fact that he's got a freakish obsession with this woman. Gradually it becomes chillingly obvious how insane he is.
The second half of the book is Miranda's side of the story. It details her attempts to escape, how she tries to manipulate her captor into r...more
The second half of the book is Miranda's side of the story. It details her attempts to escape, how she tries to manipulate her captor into r...more
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Read in January, 2002
recommended to Aslilin by:
a professorrecommends it for: anyone who has read SIlence of the Lambs
An intriguing story, told by a 'collector'. A man who begins the story collecting insects, but quickly upgrades to abducting a young college student. Since he tells his story, he tries to convince the reader of his logic, of the reasons why he does what he does and often the reader can catch him as he decides to convince himself of a new lie. What starts as normal rapidly spirals into the abnormal and the reader is along for the ride.
Other parts of the story are told by the girl that is i...more
Other parts of the story are told by the girl that is i...more
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Read in September, 2007
This book was a welcome surprise. The kidnapping of a young woman is told from two perspectives; the stalker's, and then the victim's. Oddly (or perhaps naturally enough?) the stalker is the more interesting of the two. The girl is a product of being a fairly privileged art student, not full of any earth-shaking ideas (although she seems to think so), which makes her all the more realistic. She constantly strives to do the morally correct thing, while alternately scorning and protecting her ...more
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Read in January, 1998
recommends it for:
heebie jeebies
John Fowles, the author of one of the creepiest books ever written, The Collector, died a couple years ago. He was 79. The NY Times description of the plot: “…An eerily plausible portrait of a psychopath who kidnaps a young woman out of what he imagines is love, telling the story from the two characters’ opposing points of view until, at the end, the narratives converge with a shocking immediacy.”
“I know I have a reputation as a cantankerous man of letters and I don’t try and pla...more
“I know I have a reputation as a cantankerous man of letters and I don’t try and pla...more
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Read in November, 2003
Even if this novel had come out 40 years after it had, it would still be heralded a classic.
The Collector is a study of sociopathic obsession. Frederick adores art student Miranda from afar, and the adoration turns to abduction when a winfall allows him to take his obsession to the ultimate level.
His story is told from the first person, then the next chapter is the story from her point of view.
This is an excellent read, and his rationalization of his actions I'm sure is worthy of any psy...more
The Collector is a study of sociopathic obsession. Frederick adores art student Miranda from afar, and the adoration turns to abduction when a winfall allows him to take his obsession to the ultimate level.
His story is told from the first person, then the next chapter is the story from her point of view.
This is an excellent read, and his rationalization of his actions I'm sure is worthy of any psy...more
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Read in June, 2008
This book was pretty good. I loved his book "The Magus".
John Fowles is great at writing in a style that seems very realistic and yet plays with his readers minds. He approaches very real and slightly disturbing main villan characters who are "a few cards short of a full deck", leaving the reader with goosebumps after completing each of his novels.
This is a quick and enjoyable read. However, reader beware - I would not recommend this to anyone for whom abduction (in t...more
John Fowles is great at writing in a style that seems very realistic and yet plays with his readers minds. He approaches very real and slightly disturbing main villan characters who are "a few cards short of a full deck", leaving the reader with goosebumps after completing each of his novels.
This is a quick and enjoyable read. However, reader beware - I would not recommend this to anyone for whom abduction (in t...more
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Read in November, 2007
A gripping, psychologically astute novel, part thriller, part metaphor with a stunningly bleak ending. Fowles plays with points of view and the reader's sympathy - there were moments when I truly felt sorry for the kidnapper and the jumped-up preciousness of Miranda began to grate. But it's still a quite frightening read. Interesting to see his interest with Shakespeare's The Tempest which he cites again throughout The Magus.
Thoroughly gripping and ultimately quite terrifying.
Thoroughly gripping and ultimately quite terrifying.
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I went through a major John Fowles stage just after high school. Read/own everything the man wrote. Now I find most of his stuff pretentious and oversexed, and kind of like something that if it came to life would smell like dead animals and used condoms. The Collector is the only one that has held up for me, mostly because it is concise and has a real plot, it's not just some meandering fable about existentialism. I particularly liked how he showed both points of view in the tale.
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The second part, told from Miranda's perspective, surpassed Frederick's telling. Ironic that Miranda felt more believable, considering the author is a male. The book overall, to me, felt like one big argument about class, about worthiness. It was chilling and I definitely had to whip out my notebook and write down some segments that made me think. I won't go running to it for a second read anytime soon, but I'm glad I read it.
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Read in April, 2004
recommends it for:
loners, kidnappers
This does not nearly have the epic scope of The Magus, but it is engaging and a little haunting nonetheless. It is basically a story of a kidnapping, by a seemingly "normal" guy. It will hold your attention. It is also very British; there a lot of quaint scenes that involve tea time and names for terraces that Americans don't use, etc. It's not bad but The Magus is the better work, even though I read this one first.
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Read in January, 2000
Creepy! The plot: a withdrawn amateur butterfly collector becomes obsessed with a young art student and devises a plan to make her love him. This book is "Lolita"-esque in the sense that it takes you inside the mind and logic of a sick person doing some very horrible things...in a way that almost makes you understand. There are no gory descriptions of graphic violence, but you will be psychologically disturbed.
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