Rating: 
Summary: Amazing.
Review: I finished "The Magus" a few days ago and I'm still turning the images over and over in my mind. It refuses to leave my psyche, even while I'm trying to read a new book."The Magus" is about a young English man named Nicholas Urfe who gets a teaching job at a private school on a small Greek island. On a remote part of the island, he discovers a luxurious villa owned by a mysterious wealthy man named Conchis who apparently keeps to himself. The two of them meet and strike up an odd friendship, whereupon Conchis invites Nicholas to visit his villa on weekends. In the course of these visits, Nicholas realizes that Conchis is not as solitary as he had been led to believe. Conchis tells Nicholas the story of his life in gradual installments, but because Conchis's world is so illusory, Nicholas doesn't know how much, if any, of it he can believe. Conchis likes to play mind games, dropping bizarre clues about himself and staging impromptu "scenes" designed to look like hallucinations. He is the consummate magician, pulling ever more unpredictable things out of his hat with which to puzzle and torment Nicholas. Nicholas is not sure why Conchis is doing these things, but he keeps returning to the villa because the bemusing games provide an interesting diversion from his boring life at the school. Also, there is the evasive beautiful young woman who is often found in Conchis's domain and who, Nicholas is sure, holds the key to his fate... The plot unfolds like an elaborate, surrealistic con game, the kind David Mamet makes films about ("The House of Games" and "The Spanish Prisoner"). The difference, and what makes the story so perplexing to me and, I suspect, many other readers, is that Fowles intentionally blurs the definition of "good guy" and "bad guy," so that it's difficult to know what the outcome of the story "should" be. Fowles transforms the reader's ideas of literary convention the same way that Conchis transforms Nicholas's ideas of perception and morality. Nicholas begins the novel as somewhat arrogant and selfish, and by the end of his dealings with Conchis he learns a little humility (one would hope). Combining the epic richness of a Dickens novel with the macabre touches of a Poe, Lovecraft, or Kafka story, and set to an exotic, luxuriant backdrop of a beautiful Greek island, "The Magus" is one of the most enchanting, fun, and lovingly frustrating novels I've ever read, one I'm not likely to forget.
Rating:
Summary: cras amet qui numquam amavit
Review: As the other reviews here make abundantly clear, this book polarises opinion if nothing else...I discovered the Magus in 1982 and have re-purchased it several times since. Be warned, if you lend this book to anyone, you almost certainly won't get it back. The story relates the adventures - and comeuppance - of Nicholas, an amoral womaniser, who uses and then disposes of women as though they were, for example, cigarettes. Fowles cons the reader as skilfully as the Magus, playing his "god game", cons Nicholas. The writer's motivation is quite clear, but what bewilders Nicholas is why anyone should go to all this trouble simply "to show one miserable moral bankrupt what he is". This seems to puzzle many readers too, judging by the reviews. For my money, this is both the question and the answer - there truly is no discernible reason. As Conchis observes, any god who could create the universe merely "to teach us a lesson in theology" must be a profoundly dull deity; so dull, He becomes impossible to believe in. There is a similar decadence, a pointlessness, a wastefulness perhaps, in the effort put forth by one enigmatic millionaire to "teach [this] selfish young man a lesson he will never forget" about his character. Achieving this requires vast expense and deliberate cruelty by all those complicit in the godgame, even those who profess to love him. The justification eventually offered for the cruelty of the deceits perpetrated against him is as glib as it is succinct: Thou shalt not inflict unnecessary pain. In the view of those who stage the god game, all the pain inflicted on Nicholas is necessary, and this the one ond only worthwhile Commandment. I disliked Nicholas as a person at the outset; shallow, selfish, emotionally dishonest and manipulative, perhaps he was a little too close to home at times. Many of us must have done what he does, at some time. Bizarrely, two female friends I lent the book to read the first part and fell in love with him. Many find the ending unsatisfactory. I confess I didn't see it coming, but when it happened, I reaised afterwards that no other ending was possible or appropriate or consistent with what had gone before. It still takes my breath away. Unforgettable.
Rating:
Summary: Great literature
Review: So infrequently does a work of fiction actually change the reader. This book gets under your conscious mind and toys with your perceptions, and in the end, ensures that you no longer take anything quite for granted anymore. The entire book is a wild ride of changing realities, where nothing is certain but constant change. It's a shame they give so much away in the synopsis on the back of the book, because it ruins a crucial plot point in the novel - one that would have been better had I not been expecting it.
The novel begins with young Nicholas Urfe as he tries to find a living he can at least take some interest in. He meets a young woman that nearly penetrates his outer shell of dispassionate world-weariness. As a gesture of independence, he lets her get away and he takes a job on an Greek island. There, he gets involved with a strange old man and his associates, and finds himself the victim of manipulative games and masquerades. He resolves to penetrate each and every deceit, and is led on a strange journey beyond his wildest imaginings.
After reading this book, I immediately wanted to share it with everyone I knew. It got me thinking about how much of my life I take for granted, how little of my own motivations I truly understand myself. Having read this book, I feel richer for the experience. I hope it can do for others what it's done for me.
Rating: 
Summary: a bit of a muddle
Review: The original title of this novel was The God Player. It seems more fitting for a tale where a young English schoolteacher, Nicholas Urfe, goes to a Greek Island and meets a mysterious millionaire/piano teacher/war criminal/sorceror/collaborator/charlatan/etc., named Conchis, who teaches Urfe about himself by drawing him into a game where all is illusion. Of course, both Conchis and Fowles are playing mind games here and while their manipulations are entertaining at times, they are ultimately simply annoying. Moreover, unlike God, they seem to have little of value to convey to us and what they do have to say gets muddled in the obfuscations of the plot. Fowles himself is mystified by the success and continuing popularity of the book. But in an epoch where people take the philosophy of the Star Wars movies seriously, it is hardly surprising that a pretentious literary effort draws much the same empty headed devotion. It's an okay book, with some very fine writing and moments of real dramatic tension and mystery, but it could use some serious editing, much plot tightening and some philosophical clarity. GRADE: C
Rating: 
Summary: If you are looking for a good "story" don't waste your time
Review: This is not your typical story. Even those who loved it tacitly admit that the denouement is unsatisfactory (just read the other reviews). It is gripping. Fowles has a way of grabbing your interest and keeping it by teasing you that an explanation is imminent. An explanation that never really comes. There are numerous tangential stories and references whose relevance to the main story line (if you find it) is minimal or at most subtle. Very subtle. Which reminds me of a quote about intelligence: "It is good to be subtle...but not too subtle." Some readers will no doubt get a thrill out of these references to (for example) esoteric Greek mythology, but the story suffers for them. (For a story which has such references which enliven rather than deaden the story read "I,Claudius" by Robert Graves). Fowles prose is generally excellent, although often unnecesarily long-winded. So, when you read all the positive reviews think about the movie, "The Last Emperor" which won numerous awards ( I think even an Oscar). Unfortunately these awards were for cinematography. The movie had beautiful scenery, but a miserable plot. This book is similar; beautiful prose, some psychological insight into some of Man's foibles, but a miserably long (and no, I don't need to read 50 pages about boredom, thus experiencing it, to understand the concept), an in the end, boring plot. Fowles', "The Collector" was far, far superior. A very troubling story, and yet a good plot. The best analogy I have is that of having an operation at the hospital. It is undoubtably interesting, but I would rather not have gone through the experience, nor would I recommend it to anyone else.
Rating:
Summary: Aaaack! This Novel Stirred This Much Controversy???
Review: I will keep this short and sweet: this novel is not for the forlorn romanticist who lives in his dreary world of literalist mentation, nor for the Herc/Xena mind who tirelessly watches reruns of "The Six Million Dollar Man" and thinks this represents "imagination." Remember folks, this is fiction, with a licence to use all the schemes that imagination can muster. I am very glad this novel offended some in the way it did. It continues to prove to me that it was Fowles' very very best. And the fact that the ending bothers so many others shows me that Fowles original finale was his best one...for all you others, get over it and move on!
Rating: 
Summary: Sadistic and manipulative for what purpose?
Review: Maybe I don't get it. For all of Fowles gift as a writer and the book's volume and noteriety, "The Magus" seemed to be simply an overwrought tale of sadism and manipulation. I felt that not only the characters were worked over, but also us readers. Disclosure #1. I was prepared to enjoy this book immensensely. I had read "The French Lieuntenant's Woman" twice and greatly admired how well crafted the novel was with its rich and ironic use of language. Most of all it had so much important to SAY about sex, sex roles, class, social movement and social conventions. I am tempted to make the strange claim that it is one of the best Victorian novels ever written. One of the biggest problems of "The Magus" is that there wasn't a single character that I cared about or found even interesting. Disclosure #2: As a teacher, I was highly offended by Nicholas Urfe's attitude that teaching was about the dreariest undertaking that can be imagined. Teaching is a rare opportunity to touch the future lives of young people! It is whatever the teacher makes of it. Yes, it can be a lousy experience but that is a certain sign that the person is not cut out for the rigors and creativity involved and a sign that the person should get out of teaching fast. The fact that a person finds the whole thought of teaching dreary speaks volumes about the PERSON, not teaching. It is significant that as a teacher himself, Fowles did nothing to hint that teaching can be anything but a miserable, pathetic existence. Another central problem with the book was the endless practice of throwing the reader off center. Used with discretion, canards can be a wonderful and proven dramatic device. But I wearied of it quickly and found it distracting knowing that potentially anything that was dished up was a fake-out. The only successful use of CONSTANTLY throwing the reader off guard that I know about is John Barth's "Lost in the Funhouse." But this story was ironic rather than sadistic, was carefully crafted as a story can possibly be, and Barth good naturedly invited and challenged the reader to discover and share in the sly jokes. And Barth had the good sense to keep the story to about 20 pages instead of 660! Maurice's manipulation of human's, was ofcourse loathsome, evil and sadistic. NOBODY EVER has the right to treat individual humans, nor any other species in a cruel fashion for their own edification and entertainment. I suppose enthusiats see and applaud Fowle's attempt to depict evil with all its warts, and, well: evil. Rather than this contrived evil, however, I'd prefer that our attention get directed to REAL and PRESENT evils in the world: (AIDs, starvation, situation in Burundi and Kurdistan, effects of imperialism, depletion of natural habitats) for the simple reason that we humans have only a limited capacity to digest eveil and we must make the most of the capacity by concentrating on what is REAL.
Rating:
Summary: Like Being Hit with a Wet Bag of Sand
Review: This ode to misanthropy makes Paul Verhoeven look like Frank Capra. In fact, to paraphrase Terrence Rafferty's review of 'Total Recall', this is the sort of book that leaves you feeling as if the life had been pounded out of you, and you never wanted to turn a page again. Characters in this book are either smug, cryptic, enraged or confused. Calling them 'characters' flatters them, however; with the exceptions of the main character and the pompous git of a title character they show all the complexity and realness of cheezy androids from a 'Six Million Dollar Man' episode. In fact I think there *was* an episode like this, only in the end the island blew up. I devoutly wish that this had been the case at the end of the novel.
Rating:
Summary: Weekends At Bourani
Review: "Do you drink the water or the wave?" This is one of my favorite books of all time. Do we control our lives or not? And why do our hearts behave the way they do? What really is the balance between heart and mind? Odd things happen when we travel to unknown places, and in fleeing a London love affair to a remote Greek island, Nicholas Urfe learns more about his personal morality than he ever wanted to know. Classical music and art, all the implications of the Tarot, and the search for a true definition of love figure largely. A very crude film of this was made with Michael Caine and Anthony Quinn. Time to try again. The novel is fascinating, maddening, and finally, truly liberating. You will feel cleaner than you have in many years after you read this, preferably in the summer, on a beach. I envy you the journey.
Rating:
Summary: A Tour-de-force of Prolixity
Review: That many of the Amazon reviewers rated this book as a masterpiece makes me worry about the state of literary taste. Fowles does very well in evoking the Greek islands and their inhabitants, but his tale--I suppose it is supposed to be a moral tale of the punishment of a cad--tangles itself up. Fowles impressed me as unable to find a denouement and to have contrived in the last section to obfuscate that problem with bizarre, Jungian flim-flam. The book I found interesting segmentally; as a whole it did not succeed for me.
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