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Summary: A labyrinthine journey of self-discovery. Truly "a-mazing".
Review: I am somewhat reluctant to say a great deal about this book, for fear of giving anything away! It is the story of a young Englishman, who, despite his faults, is sensitive enough to become sickened by his own lovelessness and cynicism. Although not at first fully clear as to the causes of this "sickness", he quits his job, and takes a position as teacher on a Greek island, perhaps hoping that the culture-shock will be beneficial. He certainly gets more than he bargained for after meeting Maurice Conchis, the "Magus" of the title. The reader should not be put off by being confused, surprised, or even annoyed at some of the twists and turns in the narrative; this is absolutely intentional; the strange seductiveness of the Greek setting takes one out of oneself and into Nicholas's inner voyage. Since one of the main themes of the book is male selfishness, female readers may have some difficulty identifying with our Nicko; but having been on the receiving end of this all-too-common problem, they may find it illuminating! After all, the "having" mode of existence, the wish to control others, and the inability to love or be loved, are not a male prerogative. Readers of any age from perhaps around 16 up, if they are curious about what humans do and feel, will find this a stimulating and, in the best sense of the word, entertaining read. If seeing the film put you off reading the book, tough luck, but you may still enjoy it anyway, if it's your "scene". Finally, if you would like to discuss, or comment on, any aspect of this book, especially (! ;-)) if you have any problems with it, you are welcome to email me.
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Summary: Fat, filler, ballast, chaff. Some wheat.
Review: Too many words, Mr. Fowles! And you ain't Mozart. I don't quite recall a text so larded with mediocre word-painted landscapes or dead-nature pieces. Must we know the condition of every piece of vegetation in the 100-yard radius, and the appearance of every item of clothing worn by nameless characters? There may be a decent short story hiding beneath all that, although, as the author started hammering out his message in the "trial" scene, I saw only a strained attempt at Jungian shrink-work, not at all a sharp and relevant choice about human freedom. Read this, if you care, for its few psychological insights, and a few memorable characterizations. The plot, the moral vision, and the prose all are negatives, I believe. Now, Master and Margarita is a different story...
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Summary: A fantastic journey though Greece and definitions of reality
Review: I read this book in philosophy in college 20 years ago. Recently it appeared on the San Francisco Chronicle's 100 best novels of the last 100 years. I searched everwhere and found it here on Amazon.com. This is truly an enigmatic foray into definitions of reality. The story unfolds as the protagonist moves to a Greek Isle ... that's when the the story truly takes you away on a really interesting path of twists and turns. I agree that this is one of the best novels of the past decade. Kudos to John Fowles for this masterpiece. Valerie Harris
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Summary: Awful and confusing
Review: So confusing, and yet without a purpose or meaning. Found it VERY frustrating. Only finished it to see if it would make sense in the end. It did not.
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Summary: An interesting examination of hedonism
Review: On the whole it's well written, with stronger prose than structure. I think its depth in the examination of hedonism is quite remarkable, and the presentation fluidous and occasionally witty in the English way. I guess my ultimate compliment is that the book is better than any of the Lawrence I've read. The weaknesses of the novel are 1) a relatively stale plot: the setting and dynamics of interactions, while exotic, are monochromatic; 2) verbosity and repetiveness: while each episode differs in outward texture, the protagonist doesn't seem to reveal new feelings as the drama progresses; it gets dull after Nick gets to kiss Julie. 3) unevenness in dramatization: Some of the dramas are quite exciting and original, such as the religiously fanatic Henrik. Others tend to be run-of-the-mill and follow third-rate scripts, such as the WWI experience, and the execution of the hostages (these are scenes I could have written, or at least conceived). 4) Lack of character development. Conchis I can designate as the true schzephreniac here, and don't demand understanding. But a disappointment to me is Fowles' failure to establish a certain bond of sympathy to Nicklas. Nick's lack of texture is a major reason that the novel failed to grip me in a personal way (compare Nick to Dostoevsky's Raskolnokov should indicate Fowles's shortcomings -- Fowles overdid Nick's sexual desire and hence made him more or less one-dimensional, steroetypical). From this lack of full characterization stems a whole range of issues regarding some unconvincing episodes such as Alison's suicide, and Julie's later affair etc, because Fowles hasn't shown the reader just where Nicklas is loveable, his sensitivity, vulnerability, animal appeal, cynicism? Not sufficient clue is given. As to the intellectual credit given to the novel, I tend to side with Fowles himself that those loose ends or high-actane storyline are more an indication of a young writer not knowing what he was doing than deliberate puzzles with definitive answers. That Fowles wrote them is a credit to his artistic temperament, not to his intellectual virtuosity.
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Summary: An Oddyssey
Review: Wow. I just finished, and my head is still swimming. It was only by virtue of my tiny attention span that I was able to put it down at all. Fowles' prose is beautiful, lyrical--I wanted to underline the whole novel--and he tells a story that is by turns identical to and entirely unlike any I have ever encountered. That is, he encorporates just enough archetype and just enough spice to produce one of the most arresting pieces of literature I have ever encountered. Truly a masterpiece.
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Summary: A Wonderful Book...
Review: I recently read Fowles's THE MAGUS for my Advanced Placement English class. Although I must admit I usually have a hard time reading books not of my own choosing, this is one book I really enjoyed and would definitely read again. However, I must warn you, the prospective reader, that this is a wonderful and amazing book, but not something to read if you are not prepared to dive in deep and think. Alot. If you are, I definitely reccommend this book. Prepare to be totally lost.
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Summary: Bad boy gets a taste of his own medicine and finds it vile
Review: We have all met bad boys who just fail to grow up and go on hurting people. This John Fowles story is really quite interesting both for the description of life in Greece and the pieces of the book about life in England in the 1950s. The main character is a little worse than friends of "ours" might be. He is a predator on women. In the course of a year in Greece he comes in contact with a group of "trickster" characters who leads him a merry race. It is possible to describe the book in terms of bad boy meets girl, bad boy dumps girl and I allude to this in my heading. There are more twist and tuens than in an Agatha Christie story. At times it is easy to be as confused as the main character. Perhaps the book just wrote itself and Fowles was not sure of what was going on either. I think that the novel is really intended as a story of growing up. I have read the novel three time now, at approximately 10 year interval and so my perspective on it has changed. At first reading in the 1970s I thought it pretty vile. Now I have more sympathy for it. Parts of it do drag a bit and I think some pages can be read at speed. Overall its a damn fine book.
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Summary: A Book for the Right Time
Review: John Fowles in The Magus manages the rare feat of creating a thrilling novel which also happens to be a beautifully written work of art. The story is a psychological drama much in the vein of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. What this novel lacks, however, is the universal appeal of Doestoevsky's work. As one previous reviewer stated, it is a clearly a work of a young man written for a young audience. Fowles does a remarkable job of creating a myriad of psychological dramas for his anti-hero to jump through. His analysis of his character's psychological reactions to these dramas is also impressive. I question the applicability of this novel's concepts to anything other than a young man, however. Perhaps, that is the point of this novel, and I am just missing it. It just seems that Fowles in this drama illustrates the psychological responses of one person but fails to give us the full range of human responses present in these situations. I also was a bit disappointed by his inability or perhaps reluctance to delve into the minds of his female characters. I wonder about the appeal of this book for those who cannot immediately identify with the main character. That having being said, this is a wonderfully written book with a unique analysis of a 25-year-old man. It is certainly refreshing that in today's world of fiction, an author such as John Fowles still has the urge to examine the most interesting subject of all - the human mind.
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Summary: one of the most incredible books i have read
Review: Never before have I been so captured by a novel. I couldn't put it down and even when I did, I found myself thinking about it, trying to figure out just what was going on. Basically, it had everything for me. Beautiful writing, an incredible story, mystery, intrigue and intelligence. It left me fascinated until the very end.
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