The Collector
Ratings105
Average rating3.9
Weird, socially awkward, and suffering from severe class angst, Frederick Clegg, a butterfly collector, wins the pools and kidnaps Miranda Grey, an art student he has obsessively admired from afar, believing he can make her love him. A psychological struggle unfolds between them.
I took advantage of audiobook time to read this while also immersing myself in the outstanding The Magus by John Fowles. The Collector is Fowles’ debut, and what a book it is. After reading these two novels in quick succession, I am convinced that he was an extraordinarily gifted writer and storyteller. As with The Magus, the psychological depth of The Collector is profound, with class dynamics at the forefront.
The audiobook, narrated in the first person for both male and female perspectives by Daniel Rigby and Hannah Murray, featured a strangely monotone delivery that was perfect for this listen/read.
The kidnapping in London at the very beginning of the novel is particularly interesting, given today’s ubiquitous CCTV surveillance, such an event would be virtually impossible. But in the early ’60s, it made sense. If the same premise were written today, where could the kidnapping plausibly take place? A minor question really as the narration covers the mind of both protagonists, that was what made compulsive reading.
Highly recommended.
No sé cómo describir como me siento. Conocía a muy grandes rasgos la trama pero no tenía idea del final y ha sido sorprendente y de cierta forma no el pasar de la visión de él al comienzo, lo simple que es, lo delirante que es su discurso interior y como poco a poco va mostrando cosas más monstruosas y egoístas sobre él de una manera que lo noté, pero no ví el peso de ello.
Cuando es el diario de ella es complejo ver todas las cosas, la situación terrible por la que pasa, personalmente que ella se me hace desagradable (su personalidad), el cómo se relaciona con otros sean sus amigos, familia y todo lo que pasa con GP. Es triste que en un momento parece tener claridad sobre lo que GP quería de ella y finalmente lo llama cuando está en su lecho de enferma.
Que Fred la reemplace tan rápido después de pensar en un pacto suicida y jurarle amor eterno hace todo más pesado y a la vez muy vacío.
Hubo momentos en que me costaba tomar el libro porque se hacía tedioso, pero en el último cuarto o así no me despegué de él.
The first section of the book is truly fantastic. Fred is such a creepy wonderfully crafted character, I loved being in his head even as he terrified and disgusted me.
Miranda? What a horrid character. A 19 year old art student, one of his worst creations in any time period. I hated being in her head. I hated her faux intellectual ideals. I hated her borderline grooming relationship with GP. I wanted her free but far FAR away from me. I can't bring myself to care about this woman at all, and the more I hear her be so damned snobbish about everyone and everything the less I like her.
I think everyone should read this – it's about a kidnapper and his victim, but also class and art and beauty. Wasn't sure at first, but then the second half of the story from Miranda's perspective made it a definite five stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Intensely creepy and incredibly clever. Not just a story about a weird man who abducts a girl and imprisons her in the hope she will eventually fall in love with him. It's also a book about class, the rise of the middle class even. The 2nd part of the book, written from the point of view of Miranda, is a bit of a contract to parts 1, 3, 4. I found it a much harder read, probably why I gave it 4 stars. Must read for fans of dark psychological fiction.
A book about man's constant attempts to capture beauty, shackle it in a poor copy of its natural habitat. Very touching to the the end.
Pretty nightmarish subject matter but it gets 4 starts for freaking me out in October (which was the goal) and for having two really complex and believable characters.
I really enjoyed reading from Ferdinand's perspective, but boy was Miranda boring.
It starts off so well, as far as psychotics go. Frederick Clegg sees himself as a connoisseur but is awkward and isolated even amongst his peers at his “Bug Meetings”. He's a collector of beautiful butterflies. But then he finds himself obsessed with the 20-something Miranda and having recently won the lotto finds himself with the means to take his obsession further. What happens next, he claims, is not his fault.
It is a supremely tense first act told from his perspective. It's a perfectly taut cat and mouse game between him and Miranda where anything could happen. Fowles does an amazing job at putting us in the mind of Frederick and we can see how he so easily justifies his actions and sees himself as an innocent. Truly anything can happen.
For me it fell apart when we switched to Miranda's narration. It felt vapid and empty rambling on about art and her naive obsession with the older G.P which felt as delusional as Frederick's obsession with her. Perhaps Fowles is drawing parallels here but her narration felt like a misstep. Still an enjoying read.
Back when I was in University, a friend of mine suggested I read the Collector and even bought me a copy ( I still have it). I was disturbed by the synopsis and started reading. But, I was easily distracted back then and never finished it...until 10 years later when I picked it up and couldn't put it down.
The Collector is a disturbing story about a guy who collects butterflies...and a woman. Yes, things couldn't be more creepy in this story, yet I do recommend this book. The prose is very british and dated, but I still enjoyed it.