The Magus
From one metafictional book to another.
The French Lieutenant's Woman
by
John Fowles
has been described as a metafictional deconstruction of a Victorian novel and is, needless to say, another book I haven't read yet. I very nearly started reading it after he died in November, and then again when it was the BBC Radio 4 Classic Serial in January. Almost, but not quite: the story of my life.
I have read his first novel The Collector though, and was a bit shocked by it - a young man wins the pools and buys a remote house with a cellar wherein he can keep the object of his desires: the girl he admires from afar after he kidnaps her. Would that get published nowadays, or would it be too politically incorrect?
But the John Fowles book I really should have read a long time ago is:
The Magus
I found a copy several summers ago in what used to be my favourite charity shop - in West Bridgford (down the road from my second home: Trent Bridge cricket ground) - a shop in which, as if by magic, obscure old books I was searching for kept appearing. (Used to be because ever since they had a swanky refit a couple of years ago they've been charging Oxfam prices for books.) The old lady behind the counter did rather put me off though when she wished me luck with it: telling me she hadn't made head nor tail of it! Mind you, at least she'd had a go - what am I like?
Have you read any of the books I haven't? Feel free to tell me what you thought of them.
Better still recommend some that you haven't read either!
The French Lieutenant's Woman
by
John Fowles
has been described as a metafictional deconstruction of a Victorian novel and is, needless to say, another book I haven't read yet. I very nearly started reading it after he died in November, and then again when it was the BBC Radio 4 Classic Serial in January. Almost, but not quite: the story of my life.
I have read his first novel The Collector
though, and was a bit shocked by it - a young man wins the pools and buys a remote house with a cellar wherein he can keep the object of his desires: the girl he admires from afar after he kidnaps her. Would that get published nowadays, or would it be too politically incorrect?But the John Fowles book I really should have read a long time ago is:
The Magus
I found a copy several summers ago in what used to be my favourite charity shop - in West Bridgford (down the road from my second home: Trent Bridge cricket ground) - a shop in which, as if by magic, obscure old books I was searching for kept appearing. (Used to be because ever since they had a swanky refit a couple of years ago they've been charging Oxfam prices for books.) The old lady behind the counter did rather put me off though when she wished me luck with it: telling me she hadn't made head nor tail of it! Mind you, at least she'd had a go - what am I like?
Posted by PJE at
2:45 AM
1 Comments:
The FL's Woman is an incredible book...i couldn't stop reading it! I couldn't finish The Magus, sorry.
You have not read my books -- you should read them, really. I suggest "HEADLOCK" which you can order from Amazon.com.uk but you have to search for it under Barer instead of Burl Barer for some reason.
By
Burl Barer, at 9:35 AM
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