Book 14

The Magus by John Fowles

This book went recommended by my dad, who has the knowledge of intriguing books down to a science. The Magus follows Nick Urfe in a whirlwind mystery as he leaves his desperate girlfriend for a teaching job on a small Greek island. There, he meets a even more mysterious man by the name of Conchis, who will lead him on a 'game' where the main character constantly questions what is real and what is staged.

In the end, he discovers he has the potential to be a more compassionate, selfless individual, but not without losing the one person that led him to this rediscovering of himself.

I enjoyed the book, although it ended far too soon and without a sense of conclusion. There were moments within it, however, that I couldn't put it down, and it kept me guessing until near the very end.

I always pull things from the books that I read, and this was no short of ideas or thoughts to provoke me. Like the lesson Nicholas learns, my favourite: "Because the one thing that must never come between two people who have offered each other love is a lie."

And in one scene, where Jojo, a young and virgin-like woman, says to Nicholas: "I wish I was real pretty." He replies, "Being pretty is just something that's thrown in. Like the paper around a present. Not the present." I'm not sure if everyone would enjoy this book, but it made for an interesting read.