He believes he's Miranda's host and not her captor. In many ways, he's the perfect psychopath. Fred is especially terrifying because he seems oblivious to his own perversion and to the harm he inflicts on others. Dark, creepy and claustrophobic, it compels a gratitude for expanse and freedom.Ĭaptor and victim take turns detailing their points of view and we're first given an insight into the mind of a man whose transformation to kidnapper seemed inevitable from the very beginning. Nothing will make the reader appreciate their summer quite like John Fowles' debut novel, published in 1963. He's meticulous and tenacious, and the unsuspecting Miranda never stands a chance. He cancels the gardener and tells the vicar he wants nothing to do with the local village ensuring nobody will visit. He buys an incinerator to burn dirty clothes and destroy any evidence of his guest. He builds new doors and secret corridors. He purchases a house with a cellar which he converts into a guest room and a van with a storage compartment, ideal for catching prey. For a professed novice, he plans Miranda's kidnap in delicious detail, following her around for weeks, establishing her whereabouts on an hourly basis.
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