The Magus
Book description
The Magus is the story of Nicholas Urfe, a young Englishman who accepts a teaching assignment on a remote Greek island. There his friendship with a local millionaire evolves into a deadly game, one in which reality and fantasy are deliberately manipulated, and Nicholas must fight for his sanity and…
Why read it?
5 authors picked The Magus as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
A young man takes a job as an English teacher on a Greek island, and is quickly drawn into a bewildering mystery involving the island mythological roots, and an impossibly beautiful woman who seems to want him as much as he wants her.
This mix proved irresistible to me when I read it as a young man, teaching English abroad. The novel ultimately weaves a web of psychological intrigue so powerful there can be no answer to the riddles it sets. Which is perhaps why the ending blurs reality so that I still don’t really know the why for what…
From Gregg's list on blurring the line between fantasy and reality.
The Magus is a novel about a young Englishman Nicolas who takes a teaching position on a Greek island and is drawn into the web of a reclusive millionaire who plays bizarre psychological tricks on him which blur the line between illusion and reality.
Through this process, Nicholas loses his grip on reality and his life begins to fall apart, thus beginning a journey of self-discovery. I read this book as a young man in one sitting. It took me all night and into the next day. I simply couldn’t put it down.
It dawned on me that this was…
From Robert's list on learning about life.
Like most people, I love a good scary story. Ironically, I consider this non-horror novel to be the scariest book ever written. That alone is an extraordinary accomplishment.
The Magus centers on a young teacher who moves to an isolated Greek island where he becomes so manipulated by a Svengali-type character that he loses his sense of self and even of reality.
For me, it did something else. Something personal. It got to me. It totally wigged me out. It triggered my own instinctive fears and apprehension about losing control to malicious mental trickery. Now that is scary.
From Gray's list on ordinary people rising to a challenge with courage.
The first time I read The Magus—I’ve re-read it twice—I barely slept until I finished it. I’m not exaggerating. Conchis, the rich and eccentric psychiatrist (or is he?), and Julie, the mysterious seductress, seemed yanked out of my own unconscious mind. At twenty-something, I identified so strongly with Nicholas, the similarly-aged protagonist, that I felt toyed with and tortured along with him. I was desperate to see how, and if, he would emerge from his sometimes-blissful, sometimes agonizing ordeal. Darkly erotic, The Magus is one of the most psychologically unsettling books I’ve ever read, and one of the best-written.…
From Charles' list on that take a walk on the dark side.
At the time I read this book I was a fan of old sci-fi and some historical fiction. The Magus was recommended to me and, honestly, I didn’t think I’d like it. It wasn’t ‘my genre’. Then I started reading it and knew I was right – it was quite boring. But I read on and it really started to suck me in. A story about a young teacher being manipulated on an isolated Greek island by an older gentleman and a colourful cast of strange characters, the writing is just magical and evocative and the story is like nothing…
From Steven's list on what you should read after Steven A. McKay's The Druid.
Want books like The Magus?
Our community of 10,000+ authors has personally recommended 95 books like The Magus.
5 book lists we think you will like!
Interested in islands, Greece, and the unconscious mind?
10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about islands, Greece, and the unconscious mind.