"The Collector"

[Sugar Smack]

by John Fowles- I started reading it again when the stories of abduction became more frequent. The latest is the man who kept the girl in a bunker he'd built.

In the Collector, The book is divided into two sections- Ferdinand (the captor) and Miranda (the hostage). Two seperate viewpoints are equally enthralling, because of their obvious differences. It vaguely reminded me of "The House of Sand & Fog".

Ferdinand sets up a room for Miranda, who doesn't know he exists. He's been spying on her as she goes to class. He's just won the lottery, so he's got money to play with. He goes so far as to set up a shelf with "art books" because she's an art student. He prepares a bed for her and a secure locked door that's soundproof. Now, Ferdinand is also a butterfly collector. He admires the human, Miranda, for her silky hair, her grace, and her wildness. Then he chloroforms her.

He takes pictures of her, shyly. He really wants to be the voyeur so he discards her need for "connection" through trying to teach him about art. He will never get what she says. At this point she is desperate, begins writing all of the thoughts she has in a diary, her only outlet. She even temps him with sex, and he's disgusted by the idea.

She is enjoying herself at one point, behaving as badly as she can, demanding everything she knows he'll give her. Food, writing & nostalgia are her only real pleasures. She's strong & tries to escape, but he catches her every time. Her last ditch effort is marred because she has the flu and succumbs to it.

This book is actually pretty popular with stalkers and abductors in the news. I wouldn't stalk a flea, but what do you think? Have you read it?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Years ago, in college.

Fowles is a pretty interesting author. "The Magus" is another of his deeply weird books. Good, but kind of WTF? But then, I read it back in the late '60s, and everything back then was pretty much WTF?

[Sugar Smack]

2. I'd love to read "The Magus". I only got halfway through it.

Is it true that "The Game" was based on it? :D

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. I hadn't heard that. The plots are not similar,

but the weirdness is.

[Sugar Smack]

4. I KNEW there was a reason I lked you,

other than your name. :hi:

[crim son]

5. I haden't thought about that book in years... but there it is on my

bookshelf. I found it interesting when I first read it but I'm not sure I'd feel the same way now. The Magus I loved. I think I need to reread that one.

[Sugar Smack]

11. I reread books after I feel different about something.

I remember how much I loved a local novel called "Pretty Girls" that I read just out of highschool. I read it again a couple of years ago and thought it was awful.

[crim son]

14. Yes, we grow.

And ideas that were, at one time, revelations, become stale over time.

[Sugar Smack]

12. Dupe

delete

[mitchum]

6. It is a brilliant, masterfully written novel...

and you are right about it being a favorite among stalkers, sex criminals, and serial killers. However, I don't think those sick bastards are reading it for its literary excellence.

[Sugar Smack]

8. Me neither. I picked it up on a recommendation

and loved it, especially for Miranda's nostalgia. It's as though she really felt as if she'd go back to her life. There were interesting incidents, like the fact that she'd tried foods she was never able to eat before. And how she cursed herself in her diary for enjoying herself.

[lavenderdiva]

7. have you seen the movie from this book? it's called 'The Collector' too

it stars Terence Stamp and Samantha Eggar, and was directed by William Wyler in 1965. Its excellent. You might enjoy seeing it after you finish reading the book....

[Sugar Smack]

9. I heard the movie WAS wonderful,

and I'm going to check it out. :hi:

[bif]

10. I read it as a kid. 11 or 12. Creeped me out.

[bikebloke]

13. Read it many years ago.

I really like John Fowles. The Magus is a great read and one of the few books I've read twice. Irving Wallace wrote a rip-off of The Collector called The Fan Club. A group of guys abduct a Hollywood star.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

15. Wow! Weird coincidence!

I'm watching "Criminal Minds" on CBS right now, and a big clue in the mystery is based on "The Collector".

[johnnie]

16. Just saw that too

And remembered this thread. Sugar Smack must be psycho. I mean psychic.