A review by amehlia
The Collector by John Fowles

dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I’ve had The Collector by John Fowles on my reading list for about six years now, and stumbled across a copy in a second-hand/antique emporium for £3. Not wanting to pass up the opportunity to add to my collection of Vintage Classics, I bought it with the intention to pick it up whenever the mood struck me. This happened to be my second read of 2022, and Oh. My. God. I was not expecting it to be so gripping, so page-turning and harrowing, I am left shaken and deeply disturbed. 

The Collector is equal parts disturbing, emotional, and shocking in places. We are granted an insight into the mind of Frederick Clegg in the first half of the book, a man who becomes obsessed with a young woman from his area: Miranda Grey, an art student at the Slade. Infatuated with her, he buys a remote house in the countryside with the money won from football pools and constructs a secure cellar before kidnapping her near her home in Hampstead. This first half follows his experience taking care of her and trying to connect with her from his point of view, and in the second half we get an insight into Miranda’s experience through her nearly daily diary entries. 

Frederick, who uses the alias Ferdinand with Miranda, is incredibly detestable and overall a horrible man. She refers to him as Caliban, and hates him not only for kidnapping her and keeping her a prisoner but for being a certain type of person who is oblivious in some ways to many aspects of the world that are important to her. Their relationship is strange and complicated, at some points it seems as if they could even be on more neutral or even friendly terms under different circumstances. The Collector is an interesting look into the dynamic of the relationship between captor and captive, and explores pure selfishness and a persons will to survive.

Despite the unsettling content, I knew I had to rate this book 5⭐️ because it gripped me so strongly and had me enraptured throughout. Very glad I decided to finally read this, and I think it might become a re-read in the future. One of my top reads. 
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