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The magus
The magus: a revised edition | John Fowles
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
review
BarbaraBB
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Mehso-so

In this post-modern classic, nothing is what it seems. The main character, Nicholas Urfe, goes to teach on a Greek island, and is impressed by his erudite and art-loving host. But along the way, Nick becomes entangled in a labyrinth of truths and untruths, of the psychological games of a master trickster, which become increasingly dark and serious.

#1001books #Audiobook
(📸 Utrecht, Netherlands)

Ruthiella I found this one rather frustrating… 7d
BarbaraBB @Ruthiella Yes me too. The “twists” kept coming and it was all a bit tiresome but John Fowler writes so well 7d
Ruthiella I read and also admired rather than liked The French Lieutenant‘s Woman from him. My plan is to someday read The Collector and the call it a day with him as an author. 7d
See All 8 Comments
BarbaraBB @Ruthiella I read them both and this one is my least favorite while I really loved The Collector! 7d
LeahBergen I loved The Collector, too. And this photo makes me yearn to travel! 😩 7d
Leftcoastzen That photo is so beautiful I‘m almost crying! 7d
CarolynM What a gorgeous photo😍 7d
BarbaraBB @LeahBergen @Leftcoastzen @CarolynM Thank you 😊 I happened to just walk here when the sun came through for a short moment. A lucky shot! 6d
51 likes8 comments
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reading_rainbow
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#TBR This book sounds really cool, I see it has some major mixed reviews tho, definitely going to give it a shot tho. Love this cover too

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RowReads1
Magus | John Fowles
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I haven‘t been watching the current season of “YellowJackets”. I plan to. In a recap it mentioned that the coach Ben was reading “The Magus” in a recent episode🤔. https://collider.com/yellowjackets-season-2-coach-ben-book-explained/

IndoorDame What beautiful books! 2y
Leftcoastzen Nice editions 2y
Bookwomble I third the book appreciations 👍👍👍 2y
RowReads1 @IndoorDame @Leftcoastzen @Bookwomble I lifted that photo off the internet. They may even be for sale. I have trade paperbacks copies 🥴 2y
48 likes4 comments
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GatheringBooks
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Leniverse
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I was a bit surprised to see John Fowles in the Women's Fiction Classics. Granted, I haven't read The Magus, but in The French Lieutenant's Woman the title character was only there to prompt and further the development and journey of the male protagonist. Maybe Fowles does a better job of it in this one? I hope so, because I do like his writing. I guess he deals with gender issues and women's rights, he's just surprisingly male centric about it.

Bookwomble I read it in the early '90s, so my memory is a bit foggy, but it didn't strike me as having any particularly strong female characters independent of the central male character. 4y
Moray_Reads Absolutely not a fan of Fowles for just these reasons. Women only exist as literary tools with no life or agency of their own 4y
Leniverse @Bookwomble @Moray_Reads I was worried that this was a general thing with him, but I bought it anyway as it's on the 1001-List. 4y
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Bookwomble @Leniverse I enjoyed it at the time, and it was an influence on one of my favourite TV shows, but I'm not sure I'll read it again. 4y
Leniverse @Bookwomble Which TV show is that? And I did enjoy the writing in The French Lieutenant's Woman, I just found it lacking in that one (admittedly) pretty big respect. 4y
Bookwomble A late '60s show, "The Prisoner", starring Patrick McGoohan and a host of contemporary British TV celebrities. The last episode is heavily influenced by the ending of "The Magus". It was so surreal, oblique and lacking in answers to the questions poised in the rest of the series that McGooghan, who was also producer, sometime director and screenwriter, took his family out of the country due to death threats! ⚪ 4y
Leniverse @Bookwomble I love that show! "I am not a number!" Ok, I feel better inclined towards The Magus now. ? 4y
Bookwomble @Leniverse We had our honeymoon at Portmeirion, where "The Prisoner" was filmed ? I did a lot of running around the beach, escaping from imaginary Rover's shouting, "I am not a number, I'm a free man", which I wasn't any longer ? 4y
24 likes8 comments
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TalesandTexts
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Panpan

This should tell you what I feel about this book. But if this isn't enough, I'm more than willing to submit a thesis on this....on second thought, I have better things to do and more importantly, better books to read.

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mrp27
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#3books #ihated

Ugh.... had to read Alchemist and Magus in school. I hated them. I read Eat Pray Love for pleasure and hated it.

OriginalCyn620 📚👎🏻📚 4y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Awww I loved Eat Pray Love... I wish I could go on a journey like her!! ❤️ 4y
mrp27 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Me too!! I liked the idea of the book but I just didn't like her. 4y
See All 6 Comments
tpixie I would have enjoyed just staying in ‘ eat‘ lol 😂 3y
mrp27 @tpixie agreed! 🤣 3y
tpixie @mrp27 😂 3y
29 likes6 comments
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TheNeverendingTBR
Magus | John Fowles
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A book I came across in a charity shop, it's popped up on my feed a few times through the years and the ratings are very good; anyone here read this huge book?

What were your thoughts on it?

LeahBergen I haven‘t read this but I read (and loved) 4y
TheNeverendingTBR @LeahBergen Noted! 📝👌 4y
Ruthiella I‘ve read it. It‘s a trippy book. 4y
See All 11 Comments
TheNeverendingTBR @Ruthiella Always appreciate your feedback @Ruthiella 👌 4y
quietlycuriouskate Sorry to say it's one of the very few books I've actually thrown across the room.😡 4y
TheLudicReader I read it many years ago and remember loving it. 4y
tdrosebud My best friend has read this and loved it. He is always pressuring me to read it, but I haven't gotten to it yet. 4y
TheNeverendingTBR @kathedron Oh no!! 🙈 Any particular reason? 4y
TheNeverendingTBR @TheLudicReader @tdrosebud thanks for the feedback, I like being psyched up about books I've not yet read 🙋‍♂️ 4y
quietlycuriouskate @TheNeverendingTBR It was the best part of 20 years ago so I forget the particulars, but I do recall reaching the limits of my patience with all the indulgent dicking about (as I saw it!). 4y
Bookwomble It feels rather self-indulgent at times, and I don't recall particularly liking any of the characters, but Fowles does expertly play with both the reader's and the character's sense of reality. If you've watched The Prisoner '60s TV series, it's clear that creator/star Patrick McGooghan was heavily influenced by The Magus, particularly the final episode. 4y
57 likes1 stack add11 comments
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cathysaid
Magus | John Fowles
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#WeeklyForecast #Europa #NYRB

For those Europa fans, I just discovered that Hoopla has SO MANY Europa editions!!! So excited.

KarenUK How are you enjoying the magus? I really loved it when I read it a LONG time ago, but not sure if it would hold up? 🤷‍♀️ 4y
cathysaid @KarenUK I‘m only a few pages in but living the flow. I‘ll get back to you in a few days. 4y
BarbaraBB That‘s one that has been on my shelves for ages! Looking forward to your thoughts 4y
TheBookDream Good to know! I love Europa, but at least fifty percent of my love for then is based on the gorgeous paperback editions 😍 4y
49 likes4 comments
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Emilymdxn
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Panpan

When people complain about mediocre white man classics, this is the book they mean. Average descriptions that think they‘re amazing, pretentious rapey self important protagonist (‘I‘m a connoisseur of women‘ 😐) predictable plot that doesn‘t hang together unless you‘re a racist 1960s dude who can‘t conceive of anyone more interesting to write about than a failed English teacher who doesn‘t understand why women don‘t like him.

TrishB Can‘t you be a bit more honest 😂😂 great review 👍🏻 6y
j9brown Nice review! 🤣😂 6y
Kalalalatja Ouch 😂😂 6y
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Caterina Yayyyyy you finished it!! I love a good scathing review. 👏 What's next? 6y
Emilymdxn @TrishB @j9brown @Kalalalatja I did my best to think of something nice snd just never managed! @Caterina disobedience by Naomi alderman - i don‘t think I could have taken another Man Classic ! 6y
Caterina Oh enjoy!! I'm sure it'll be better than this one. 😂 6y
TrishB I loved Disobedience 👍🏻 6y
quietlycuriouskate Oh god, twenty years ago (!) I got about halfway through this before reaching the point where I was so angry with it I actually threw it at the wall. 6y
Aimeesue Yep. Pretty horrible horny stuff on a Greek Island. Ugh. 6y
BarbaraBB Oh really? I have been looking forward to this one since I love some of his other works. 6y
cariashley I‘ve had this one languishing on my TBR shelf for years and have never wanted to pick it up. Think it‘s time to donate it! 6y
70 likes11 comments
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Emilymdxn
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“Alison was always female. She never, like so many English girls, betrayed her gender”

An oxford boy who‘s too intellectual to apply for jobs and earn money, puts no effort into chasing women (all of whom he despises) but is mysteriously a sex god, and who thinks he has a divine right to write poetry on the Mediterranean for a living, observes the woman next to him in bed.

Oh John Fowles I can FEEL how few ppl wanted to date you at school

Libby1 😱 6y
tpixie Wow he must write about misfits/ weird people 6y
Moray_Reads I cannot even begin to tell you how much I hated this book. The only other book I've read by Fowles is the French Lieutenant's Woman and I had serious issues with that one too. 6y
See All 9 Comments
Emilymdxn @Moray_Reads I read that one when I was like 14 and didn‘t really notice a lot of stuff that was wrong with it, reading this one is making me look back and realise all the things I didn‘t notice in that one... I‘m a serious Book Finisher but this one is gonna test me. 6y
Moray_Reads @Emilymdxn I think I was about 16 when I read The Magus and it's problematic on a whole different level to FLW, many of the same issues but magnified 10000x! 6y
Caterina 🤣 6y
Emilymdxn @Caterina today I‘m wearing jeans and no makeup, but I do still have long blonde hair and am wearing feminine shoes?? Am I a half-betrayer? I‘m still English so I guess that counts against me. Idk how to quantify this. 6y
Caterina Haha, jeans? I dunno, you sound like a gender-betrayer to me 🤣 6y
Redwritinghood Ugh! This book 👎🏻. 6y
54 likes9 comments
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Violetta
Magus | John Fowles
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Getting a moment of peace with coffee, zephyr and The Magus after a tedious job of cleaning radiators to prepare them for coloring 😌 After reading The Collector I thought this one will go as a page-turner too. But Magus isn't that easy to get through - the text is full of descriptions, allusions and metaphors. And a great deal of suspense too, though the pace is slow so far. #bookclub

Erofan Is that a cup that doesn't heat up? ☕ 6y
Violetta @Erofan Yes, it has two uneven layers of glass and stays cool 😎 6y
67 likes2 comments
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JustJill1963
Magus | John Fowles
Pickpick

The best novel I have ever read!

17 likes2 stack adds
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tricours
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Mehso-so

I‘m not quite sure what the problem was here, either the book was too long or the audiobook narrator too soothing; either way I found it hard to focus on the events. I never managed to connect with any of the characters, especially not the main character, so I wasn‘t really very moved by all the strange things that happened to him. Perhaps the whole premise was just too weird for my liking.

Aimeesue Yeah, not his best. Way too pointlessly complicated and unbelievable. The French Lieutenant's Woman is great, though. 7y
tricours @Aimeesue I haven‘t read that one, but I loved The Collector! (That‘s also his, right?) 7y
Aimeesue It is! I have it, but haven't read that one yet. Hope it's at least halfway between the two I did read! 😄 7y
See All 8 Comments
cariashley I‘ve had this one on my shelf for ages and feel like I‘ll never be inclined to pick it up... 7y
BarbaraBB Really? I always hear such raving things about this one. 7y
Flaneurette Middlebrow masquerading as highbrow is how I‘ve heard this described and I agree 7y
tricours @Flaneurette sounds about right! 7y
Redwritinghood Hated this one. Patronizing and misogynistic are the two words that come to mind. 7y
34 likes8 comments
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malkelly
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#johnfowles postmodern occult thriller mind-bender. I remember reading it in 2 days, feeling each subsequent chapter rip the carpet from under me, as the story asked - but never answered - the question “who is Conchin?” Freud, Crowly, Picasso?

#fiction #20thCentury #greece #postmodernism

6 likes3 stack adds
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malkelly
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A little shelfie of books by #johnfowles - one of my favourite writers.

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UCLAoso
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Mehso-so

This book...I slugged through the beginning of the book and eventually got sucked in by ‘The Magus‘ only to feel like I got thrown off the ride just as I was about to reach the end. I felt as manipulated by the author as Nick was by Conchis, was that the point?

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ephemeralwaltz
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Second-hand bookstore mini haul 😍

54 likes1 stack add
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UCLAoso
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Sneaking in a little ‘me time‘. Love Saturday mornings 📖☕️❤️

DebbieGrillo Welcome to Litsy! #LitsyWelcomeWagon 7y
UCLAoso Thank you @DebbieGrillo!!👋🏼🤓 7y
6 likes2 comments
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KarenUK
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#emojinov #🏝📚 @RealLifeReading
I read this on vacation many, many years ago... and I loved it.
It‘s a perfect beach read for me.... Page-turning, a doorstopper, set on a sun-drenched Greek Island, with a meaty, mysterious story to get stuck into....

minkyb I read this in college (mid 70‘s) and literally didn‘t go to class until I finished. This book was fabulous. Great memory. 7y
45 likes1 comment
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Liz_M
Magus | John Fowles
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Pickpick

Fowles is a very good writer and the construction of this novel is fascinating, layering plot twist upon plot twist to the farthest edge of believability. It almost works.

If I had read this at a younger age with the intense focus of summertime reading, this book would have blown me away. Now, though, it is not quite as all-engrossing as it needs to be too carry the plot and the narrator doesn't have the necessary depth. #1001books

BarbaraBB Really? I was so looking forward to this one after reading his others on the list. 7y
Liz_M @barbarabb It's still a good read for the first 400 pages or so. But then there's 200 more pages of increasingly eye-ball rolling esoteric plot twists. 7y
8 likes1 stack add2 comments
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AlexGeorge
Magus | John Fowles
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Rereading for the third or fourth time. Hello, old friend.

ApoptyGina69 Love this cover! I need a better edition for such a wonderful book. I just have a chunky paperback with a purple cover. 7y
AlexGeorge This edition is an old U.K. paperback - probably at least 30 years old! 7y
AlexGeorge I just checked. It's FORTY years old! 7y
14 likes1 stack add3 comments
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SistaPip
Mehso-so

Tumultuous love/hate relationship with this book. It was so long so long bui couldnt stop being interested even though I felt claustrophobic and antisocial. Like the main character i often wanted to quit the story, but I HAD to know how it turned out. And I'd guess a lot of people hate the ending, but i loved it (it was perfect). So-so cuz i can only think of 1 person (my sister @Jenncat1 ) who a) might plod through it & b)still like me

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Book_Gnome
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jenniferw88
Mehso-so

3 1/2 ⭐. Rather a slow build up but the last 369 pages gripped me. #LitsyAtoZ F ✅ @BookishMarginalia

bookwrm526 Hahaha!! I'm not sure I could have stuck with it for 300 pages to find out if the last 300 were good! (edited) 8y
31 likes1 comment
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erzascarletbookgasm
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#aprilbookshowers These are some books I own that are #publishedinthe1960s. As I was going through my shelves, I discovered I have many books published in the 1950s and 1960s.

TrishB Some fab ones there. 8y
45 likes1 stack add1 comment
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KarenUK
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#day6 #aprilbookshowers #Publishedinthe1960s One of my favorites... published in 1965 .....

TheLondonBookworm I've never read it but always admired the vintage cover 8y
rockpools Is this same author as the French Lieutenants Woman ? 8y
KarenUK @RachelO it is! 👍 8y
See All 6 Comments
rockpools @KarenUK One day! That's been on my tbr forever as well. 8y
tpixie Wow. Lots of covers. 8y
cariashley This has been on my TBR forever too and I've debated letting it go countless times! I have the top right edition. 8y
68 likes2 stack adds6 comments
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jenniferw88
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KarenUK
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3.24 #springflingreading #farawayplace I love the Greek Islands so much, the food, the weather, the people, the water.... it's heaven on earth for me. So I love to read fiction set there... Top two are favorites... bottom two are recent additions to my #TBR thanks to Book outlet. 🌞🌊🌍💕

Cinfhen Now it's my turn to hang my head in shame 😔I've never read any of these! 8y
howjessicareads Have you read This Rough Magic?? 8y
KarenUK @jess.how No but I've added it to my TBR now 😍👍 thanks! 8y
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ApoptyGina69 The Magus blew me away when I first read it. Keep meaning to get a nice copy rather than the chunky paperback I still have. I really liked 8y
LeeRHarry Victoria Hislop is one of my faves!! 😊 8y
KarenUK @ApoptyGina69 I love the Magus... 💕 8y
KarenUK @Cinfhen No shame needed! But I highly recommend The Magus if you liked The Secret History.... very similar vibe....😊💕 8y
KarenUK @LeeRHarry not read her yet😔.... But going to fix it with this one soon 👍💕 8y
61 likes2 stack adds8 comments
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GoneFishing
Magus | John Fowles

Think what it would be like if you got back to your island and there was no old man, no girl any more. No mysterious fun and games. The whole place locked up forever.

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KarenUK
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#day7 #seasonsreadings2016 .... some favorite reads #setonanisland .... 😊📚💕

TrishB Gorgeous pic 😊 8y
KarenUK @Trisha thanks! 😍 8y
LeahBergen There are some great ones in here! 8y
58 likes5 comments
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Redwritinghood
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I almost forgot today's photo challenge. For #threwitacrosstheroom, The Magus gets my vote. Arrogant, misogynistic . . . Need I go on? #photoadaynov16

47 likes1 stack add
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GoneFishing
Magus | John Fowles

The human race is unimportant. It is the self that must not be betrayed."

"I suppose one could say that Hitler didn't betray his self."

"You are right. He did not. But millions of Germans did betray their selves. That was the tragedy. Not that one man had the courage to be evil. But that millions had not the courage to be good.

25 likes4 stack adds
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GinaAnderson
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Squeezing in a little lunchtime reading. #currentlyreading

45 likes2 stack adds
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GoneFishing

I was born in 1927, the only child of middle-class parents, both English, and themselves born in the grotesquely elongated shadow, which they never rose sufficiently above history to leave, of that monstrous dwarf Queen Victoria.

21 likes5 stack adds
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Oblomov26
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Both #weird and #bythesea #somethingforsept. Fowles is an acquired taste, dark, experimental and post modern. A educated young man full of self belief and importance takes a role as a teacher on a small idyllic Greek island. There he meets the millionaire patriarch who through a series of increasingly dark games challenges his self worth and morality. I read this as a young man and it impacted me. Interested to re-read to see if it holds up.

CherylDeFranceschi I read every other Fowles book, and quite liked them, but I've always been afraid to read this one. 8y
cariashley I've had this on my shelf for years and it has barely made it through some recent TBR clean outs... 8y
quirkyreader I wasn't a fan of this one. 8y
KarenUK I loved this book 💗 8y
53 likes3 stack adds4 comments
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GinaAnderson
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I'm sure there are more but here's a stack I bought off my Litsy tbr list. #blameitonlitsy #somethingforsept

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Loreen
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This cover is something else! To be fair it was originally published in 1973, & the '70's were...the 70's. But this cover is one of the ugliest I've ever seen! #uglycover #somethingforsept #septemberphotochallenge

SusanInTiburon I think good taste was illegal in the '70s. 8y
Loreen I think so. 🙀 8y
Zelma I mean, who thought this would be appealing? 😬 8y
Loreen I know! But someone must have thought that the dude in a goat head would be attractive to the ladies. 😹 8y
26 likes4 comments
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The_Literary_Jedi
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#day29 of #augustphotochallenge is an #impulsebuy and this particular book had caught my eye so often but I never thought about purchasing it, placing it back on the shelf for another time. Picked it up about two years ago finally and still haven't read it. #augustofpages

Twocougs It's sitting on my bookshelf asking me to read it 8y
CherylDeFranceschi I've had this book on my TBR for probably 30 years! I've read everything else he ever wrote, but this one kinda scares me. 8y
KarenUK It's fantastic! It's one of my favorites.... 8y
27 likes3 comments
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HyacinthGirl
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Youthful existentialism AND TS Eliot? Be still my heart.

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HyacinthGirl
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Slow day at work means breaking out the books👍

2 likes1 stack add
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HyacinthGirl
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1 like1 stack add