Rating: 
Summary: Wow
Review: Not entirely worty of 5 stars but all the same it's an excellent novel. Initially a reader feels sympathetic towards the narrator, Frederick Clegg, the tale he tell of having watched the girl for so long, after all he only wants her to love him, the little brat, why can't she just realise this and oblige? But then the second part is written from the point of view of the kidnapped gi rl Miranda and the reader feels instantly sympathetic towards her, fightened, alone, and so so vulnerable, you just want to comfort her, tell her it will be ok, even though you know it won't... A stunning first novel, absolutely riveting a must read...
Rating: 
Summary: A masterpiece ? I didn't much care for it......
Review: "The Collector" is touted as a masterpiece of a modern psychological thriller. Well, having read it from cover to cover, I found I didn't much care for it. The first part of the novel, narrated from Clegg's point of view, was tedious and boring. It wasn't even remotely enlightening or explanatory in any meaningful way of Clegg's twisted pysche. The long second chapter sprang a surprise and for awhile I was hopeful that things would improve and it did. We get introduced to Miranda and her friends and begin to understand that she is the anathema to Clegg. She, the art student, stands for life, passion and freedom while Clegg, the office clerk, tries to capture a slice of life by bottling and freeze framing it for observation. But I soon tired of Miranda's oscillating moods and tirades. This second chapter is written in a style which is compatible with the image of Miranda struggling like a butterfly while pinned down to the collector's showcase. By then, I couldn't wait for the book to end. When it finally did, I was all too relieved. The ending seemed predictable enough. I didn't quite mourn for Miranda but the thought that the entire episode was going to start all over again with the next victim sent chills up my spine. Despite the accolades heaped on "The Collector", I didn't enjoy it. A disappointment !
Rating: 
Summary: A stunningly simple plot with a sinister outcome
Review: It's a simple idea. Man sees girl, man falls for girl. Girl, in this case, is oblivious to his gaze. man wins money; man uses his new found wealth to lure the girl to his side. I won't spoil the ending; suffice to say this all too short book will have you turning down dates to finish it. Superbly written and utterly engaging; not your average romance by a long, long way!
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating insight into the human mind
Review: John Fowles has the ability to make everything else disappear when you read one of his works. It's easy to forget that Clegg and Miranda are just ficticious characters because Fowles shows the reasons behind their apparently insane behaviour. This is the first and only book that has ever made me cry!
Rating:
Summary: a soul-wrentching masterpiece of a thriller!
Review: I read this book in Russia for the first time and since then it has been my #1 reccomendation for anyone who claims they are impervious to the evils of human nature. This book grips you from the first sentence as you spiral down into the depths of Caliban's psychotic obsessions, the well-planned out kidnapping, and ultimately sets you down in a lonely basement. I was able to identify with both personas, and the ambivalence which pervaded my heart during the reading told me something magically disturbing was happening. John Fowles is a master, and there is an element of genious in this work. I have never been effected so profoundly by a book in all my life; there were times I had to actually lift my eyes from the pages and stare at a wall in tantalizing amazement at how this book was making me feel. If this was the only work Fowles ever wrote, his immortality would still be assured. The inevitability of what happens in the end in no way diminishes the bitter, heart-twisting tears when you realise she "is gone" forever. A very, very painful moment...probably the most painful page to read in all of 20th century western literature. This is by far the most profoundly intense book I have ever read, and it will occupy a special place in my heart for as long as I live.
Rating:
Summary: mesmerizing
Review: John Fowles is something of a forgotten author these days. This is a mistake. Everything he has written, from this, his first novel, to the non-fiction of Wormholes, is a shining light. This is the story of a psychotic obsession and the shallowness of the art world, combined, mixed and measured for the most horrific effect. The prose is lovely, the story flows like a machine gun and everything that happens is somehow fascinating.There are few authors in existence that I could recommend an entire body of work so enthusiastically.
Rating:
Summary: The Collector; a summary of evil.
Review: Clegg and Miranda, Caliban and Miranda, Othello and Desdemona, Eddie and his chauvanistic deadly game in a View from the Bridge. These stories are about letting things go, allowing individuals the ultimate freedom. Establish the ground rules and Clegg will win again. Charlton Heston may say inanely, 'it is the criminals that are at fault' but if you believe that you must be mad. You have to stop these people at base one. America, I'm not often interested in another countries politics but please -- get your gun laws in order, because if you don't this is going to happen again and again.
Rating:
Summary: Highschool Memoirs
Review: Well, it has been almost 6 years since I read this book as assigned reading for an English class I took in highschool. I don't know why I am drawn to this book again, but I seem to recall the horrific storyline and suspenseful plot. At first I thought this book would glorify the next Goeferey Dahmer's of the world, but upon recollection it had the opposite effect. A intense story that won't let you put it down until you finish. Simply masterful...
Rating:
Summary: Mr Fowles expects us to swallow this!? C'mon!
Review: I found the basic premise of this story totally unrealistic. Where I come from, Miranda would have let Frederick have it where it hurts most the first chance she had (he's obviously such a wimp), then legged it. The book could have been over in thirty-odd pages!
Rating:
Summary: Miranda deserved better.
Review: I mean, she didn't deserve it. Evil wins. And gloats. And it's horrifying. I can`t say I liked this book, cause I didn`t. It is brilliant, it is incredibly intense, the pages written by Miranda are totally believable and almost unbearable to read. And still I didn`t like it. In the end, I vowed I would never ever read this book again, because it made my heart ache and my eyes sting like no other book before it. And perhaps it's because of that that I gave it four stars. Otherwise I wouldn`t even have bothered to write a review. It hurts too much to even think about it.
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