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A review by lily_maid
The Magician by W. Somerset Maugham
3.0
If you enjoy the aestheticism and decadence literary movement- think Oscar Wilde's [b:The Picture of Dorian Gray|5297|The Picture of Dorian Gray|Oscar Wilde|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1546103428l/5297._SY75_.jpg|1858012] Baudelaire, or Swinburne- The Magician is a fascinating companion. I went into the novel expecting something a bit more modern- I recently reread Joseph Conrad's [b:The Secret Agent|86658|The Secret Agent|Joseph Conrad|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1171075859l/86658._SY75_.jpg|3876535], and although the two were published within a year of each other they seem to entirely different periods. However, The Magician is an almost gothic thriller with a supernatural bent- good for a Halloween read.
I became familiar with the novel, as I think many have, because of the connection to Aleister Crowley. Maugham met Crowley in Paris and based Oliver Haddo, the sinister magician, on him. Crowley later accused Maugham of plagiarism, although nothing came of it. In Maugham's later added forward he describes Crowley saying, "I took an immediate dislike to him, but he interested and amused me". This feeling of dislike but extreme interest characterizes how I felt about Haddo as a reader.
Haddo is a magnetic figure compared to the "hero" straight-laced surgeon Arthur. Haddo seems to live a vibrant and exciting life- he mixes with artistic circles, dresses flamboyantly, and supposedly teaches the dark arts to Polish royalty. Arthur, in contrast, seems quite boring- he seems to spend most of his time thinking and reading about medicine to the exclusion of the arts and compared to the elaborate descriptions of Haddo's clothing seems to blend into the woodwork.
A complicated love map emerges between Haddo, Arthur, and Arthur's fiance Margaret, and Margaret's friend Susan. Arthur and Margaret are preparing to marry after a long engagement, but Margaret is increasingly drawn to the mysterious Haddo. The sudden animalistic attraction concerns her friend Susan, but Susan also seems to harbor a secret attraction to Arthur. Haddo becomes more and more sinister as the novel progresses. Is he merely a rich, excentric aesthete; a charlatan; or is he in league with greater evils?
I became familiar with the novel, as I think many have, because of the connection to Aleister Crowley. Maugham met Crowley in Paris and based Oliver Haddo, the sinister magician, on him. Crowley later accused Maugham of plagiarism, although nothing came of it. In Maugham's later added forward he describes Crowley saying, "I took an immediate dislike to him, but he interested and amused me". This feeling of dislike but extreme interest characterizes how I felt about Haddo as a reader.
Haddo is a magnetic figure compared to the "hero" straight-laced surgeon Arthur. Haddo seems to live a vibrant and exciting life- he mixes with artistic circles, dresses flamboyantly, and supposedly teaches the dark arts to Polish royalty. Arthur, in contrast, seems quite boring- he seems to spend most of his time thinking and reading about medicine to the exclusion of the arts and compared to the elaborate descriptions of Haddo's clothing seems to blend into the woodwork.
A complicated love map emerges between Haddo, Arthur, and Arthur's fiance Margaret, and Margaret's friend Susan. Arthur and Margaret are preparing to marry after a long engagement, but Margaret is increasingly drawn to the mysterious Haddo. The sudden animalistic attraction concerns her friend Susan, but Susan also seems to harbor a secret attraction to Arthur. Haddo becomes more and more sinister as the novel progresses. Is he merely a rich, excentric aesthete; a charlatan; or is he in league with greater evils?