The Collector

I can't emphasise enough how much I enjoyed The Collector. I read the John Fowles novel in one go on a coach trip, totally absorbed. It was literally interesting enough for me to ignore snow. And I love snow.

John Fowle's book is the story of Frederick Clegg and his obsession with art student Miranda. After watching her for two years, Frederick kidnaps her and imprisons her in the custom made prison basement of his remote cottage. It's a fairly simple story and not that long- the book covers the same events twice- once from each characters' point-of-view and while this is a bit unnecessary at some points, the retelling really builds on the narrative events.

The dual perspectives allow for a pretty nice contrast between Miranda's relationships with Frederick and GP, an older man she knows in the real world. At times, Frederick seems more innocent than the slightly sleazy mentor-like figure who persuades Miranda that she wants to pursue a relationship with him until she is on the verge of begging him to be with her. Frederick is completely adverse to sex, he feels it cheapens Miranda. It's a shame that, like Inside Mr Enderby, it's another case of what appears to be an asexual character being a creepy sad-sack.

As I mentioned, it's a pretty simple story. It's something that I've found before with John Fowles.  I'm not sure what it is, but so often with him I feel like there's something I'm not getting and that's true again for this book.  There are so many references to artists that I could just tell I wasn't getting. If I knew anything about Goya other than the fact that Saturn Eating His Son exists, I am sure there are bits I would have enjoyed better. Ditto if I could remembered anything about The Tempest other than the fact that Miranda and Caliban are characters in it. But even without the added layers it's super enjoyable.

One thing I did get though was how much Silence of the Lambs was influenced by The Collector. It's all pretty surface level and blatent- the kidnap scence is so similar to Jame Gum snatching Catherine Martin, he keeps her locked in the basement, the man even collects butterflies.  I am so glad I got the chance to read this books in one go. Like a good horror film, it gripped me.  I know that if I had had to read it in bits it wouldn't have been even half as exciting.

My second coach book is The Lost Language of Cranes by David Leavitt. Needless to say I've already finished it.