Julia Poulakos
When you envision yourself being kidnapped, your mind will portray frightful images. Imagine being alone in the dark, tied up in a confined space by someone who was known for acting out this way, and they were undoubtedly not in their right mind. Now imagine the opposite. The Cellar by Natasha Preston has a few main characters whom are all victims of Clover’s (officially known as Colin) sick psychotic break. Clover portrays himself as a perfect man. His hair is always done right, his clothing is always neat and he has a normal job. He never shows signs of who he really is until he enters the dark part of his mind. When he enters this troubled and clustered area, he is quick to control it when he needs to. Clover feels that prostitutes are the worst women in the world and feels as though it is his duty to his deceased mother to dispose of them. His thoughts that tend to ramble through his mind are, “I wanted her but Mother wanted me to kill her” (165). Though when he goes against his mother’s voice that echoes as a whisper in his head, then he keeps the women for his so called “perfect family”.
When you envision yourself being kidnapped, your mind will portray frightful images. Imagine being alone in the dark, tied up in a confined space by someone who was known for acting out this way, and they were undoubtedly not in their right mind. Now imagine the opposite. The Cellar by Natasha Preston has a few main characters whom are all victims of Clover’s (officially known as Colin) sick psychotic break. Clover portrays himself as a perfect man. His hair is always done right, his clothing is always neat and he has a normal job. He never shows signs of who he really is until he enters the dark part of his mind. When he enters this troubled and clustered area, he is quick to control it when he needs to. Clover feels that prostitutes are the worst women in the world and feels as though it is his duty to his deceased mother to dispose of them. His thoughts that tend to ramble through his mind are, “I wanted her but Mother wanted me to kill her” (165). Though when he goes against his mother’s voice that echoes as a whisper in his head, then he keeps the women for his so called “perfect family”.
A young girl named Summer whom is later named Lily is the first character we first handedly witness get kidnapped. Then we are introduced to Violet, Poppy and Rose. These three woman are also Clover’s victims and we learn about their lives later on. Summer happened to be walking alone in an empty park at the wrong time. He snuck up behind her, “You are Lily,” he repeated. Before I could blink, her threw his arms forward and grabbed me” (7). Clover mistakes Summer for the type of women he targets. As he kidnaps Summer he throws her down into a basement. Though it was more like an apartment. The smell of lemons overpowered the space. As Summer tried to understand where she is, she sees a bathroom, a kitchen, a living room and four beds. Then appear the three other women, Rose, Violet and Poppy. Lily felt that it was too “perfect” in order for it to be an imprisonment. Summer's new name is Lily. There was once a Lily who came before Summer. Clover killed her.
The girls are named after flowers. Clover expects them to dress nice, be clean and eat twice a day with him. They need to treat him as if they are all family. “We have to make sure the house is clean and tidy at all times, and we have to shower twice a day” (16). Rose said this as she explains to Lily what she’s in for. Lily automatically sets a plot to escape yet Rose discourages the plan. Rose was once a women whom Clover was in love with. They were best friends; she never suspected that he would do this to her. Clover didn’t want to hurt Rose and he resisted his urges to kill her when he was in the process of kidnapping her. He saw how she was weak and scared, he realized this and almost had reached for his knife. “I knew what mother would do, and I could almost hear her barking the order, Kill her. “Please, please no” I didn’t like begging. Mother didn’t like begging. It was for the weak.” (164). Instead Clover added Rose to his family of Violet, Lily (The first one) and Poppy. Rose doesn’t have faith in escaping or that anyone would ever find them since she knows Clover is deceiving and she is well-aware of what he is capable of.
This book draws you in, throughout various ways. Natasha Preston makes sure to cover every wandering detail you could be thinking of, while also allowing the mystery of the characters fate to remain undetermined. I admire how every chapter is from a different character’s perspective. This not only allows us to learn more about the characters interactions with each other but also lets us see through the eyes of the character. We view their perspective first hand. Also, what interests me is how the author has every chapter outlined by a different date through the character’s perspective. For example, there are many parts of the book where we see through Clovers eyes. At one time, he is in the past focused on how he first took Rose. Then there are parts that are current, such as when he kidnapped Summer.
I highly recommend this book because you are able to get a reality check. There are many times when we are vulnerable and we can be mislead and taken advantage of. Whether it be a relationship such as a complete stranger, like Summer with Clover or even a best friend like Rose with Clover. We must learn question people’s intentions at valuable times. While we also need to think twice about ignoring our parents or guardians guidance. The one time you decide to walk alone at night can become the biggest mistake of your life. Towards this particular situation taking place, I’ve learned from this book while also being undoubtedly intrigued.
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