''The Collector Collector'' is the third novel by British author

Tibor Fischer Tibor Fischer (born 15 November 1959) is a British novelist and short-story writer. In 1993, he was selected by the literary magazine ''Granta'' as one of the 20 best young British writers, while his novel '' Under the Frog'' was featured on th ...

first published in 1997, by

Secker and Warburg Harvill Secker is a British publishing company formed in 2005 from the merger of Secker & Warburg and the Harvill Press. History Secker & Warburg Secker & Warburg was formed in 1935 from a takeover of Martin Secker, which was in receivership, ...

in the UK and Henry Holt in the US. It has also been published in Canada and Germany (as ''Die Voyeurin''). Mixed reviews appeared in many notable publications both in the UK and US, for example ''The Guardian'', ''The New Statesman'', ''The New York Times'', ''The Spectator'' and ''The Times Literary Supplement'', there being admiration for Fischer's wit and wordplay but a feeling that it lacked a real story. The book was named one of the greatest of the 1990s as well. The book is narrated by a bowl which passes between different owners, making it an example of a novel of circulation.

Plot introduction

The narrator of the tale (and the collector of its collectors) is an ancient

Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization, located in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (now south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. ...

ian bowl which finds itself in a

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

flat of its new owner Rosa. The bowl not only acts as a repository for 5,000 years of human history but is also able to communicate with those who handle it; reading memories and imparting wisdom...

References

External links

The complete reviewBeatrice interviewreview from ''Spike Magazine''The Collector Collector: Amazon.co.uk: Tibor Fischer: Books
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collector Collector 1997 British novels Novels set in London Secker & Warburg books