Thursday, November 02, 2006

She’s Got Her Book!

I am so excited! Being the incurable optimist, I never stopped hoping though, and this morning there was a letter all the way from North America saying:

“OH! And here's a nice bit of news for you! The book you're trying to remember is by John Fowles; it's The Magus. And his other book is The Collector. (It was Michael Caine in the role, too, not Niven or Guinness.) How's that for a nice coincidence? I'm a movie buff and a voracious reader ... both helped me out on this one!”

That was from Brett! Thank you!

I have been to the library today. Unfortunately they did not have the original version of The Magus, only the Swedish translation Illusionisten. I have ordered the original version though, and it is on its way. I also borrowed some other books by Fowles, namely the one mentioned above, The Collector, but also Mantissa and The Tree.

The book The Magus is supposed to have been popularized by a 1960s interest in psychoanalysis and mystical philosophy It has also been recently featured in the Modern Library list of Best 20th-Century Novels. A statement that should make one or two of yous want to read the book, I would hope…

Curiosa would be, Woody Allen concerning the film saying that, if he could live his life all over again, he'd do "everything exactly the same – with the exception of watching The Magus”. This might be an indication on the film being bad, (considering it is staring Michael Caine and Anthony Quinn I doubt if it is that bad) but it might also be an indication on the book being extremely good …

The Collector was filmatised in 1965 starring, among others, Terence Stamp and Samantha Eggar.

Seems one has a bit of very entertaining reading and film watching ahead.



1 comment:

Anonymous said...

For more info on John Fowles and his work, check out my web site at www.fowlesbooks.com. BTW, The Magus was just released on DVD and includes a documentary on Fowles, for which I was interviewed.

Bob