Customer Reviews

Magic Christian

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

In literary history, "The Magic Christian" will be remembered
as the book which got Terry Southern the job of writing "Dr
Strangelove": it seems that Peter Sellers loved the book
and sent out 100 copies to his friends, one of whom was the
great Stanley Kubrick. The book, indeed, is a side-splitting
satire, following one Guy Grand (a "grand guy"), a millionaire
of uncertain origin, as he pays for exorbitant pranks with
the sole purpose of "making it hot" for people. ("How much
would it cost me to make you eat that ticket?" Grand asks an
astonished traffic cop.) But the book is far from silly: like
much of Southern's work, the comedy barely masks strong
critiques of greed and elitism. It is a must-read for the
aspiring satirist and would-be social critic.

What would you do if you had the resources to buy anyone or anything you wished? Guy Grand acts immediately and directly on this premise, and the results are, on the surface hilarious. But it is Southern's quiet, subtle, and expertly woven satirical narrative and incisive comment on 1950s America amid the vignettes of money-fueled chaos that are the true gems, and the heart of this wonderful novel. The best example of this is the book's final lines, where Southern closes gently yet pointedly with a description of "the strange searching haste which can be seen in the faces, and especially the eyes, of (American) people in the (American) cities, every evening, just about the time now it starts really getting dark" (parenthesis added).

A comment of this book is not complete without a nod to the 1969 movie of the same name. Believing that most readers of this book will come to it by way of the film, I think there may be some disappointment. This is no massive epic (the novel is only 148 pages) that had to be pared down for screenplay treatment, so there's just not that much more to enjoy. Most of the sketches from the movie are directly out of the book, the only real change being the story's placement in late 1960s mod Britain, not 1950s Eisenhower-Middle America. This change of venue works very, very well for the film, with its English cast and contributors, including lead Peter Sellers, hippie Beatle Ringo Starr, Monty Python studs John Cleese and Graham Chapman, and ubiquitous party-boy Who drummer, Keith Moon as an addled nun. The only thing missing from the film is the novel's quiet satire.

I read this a long time ago in college. I've been waiting for it to come out in some form or another forever. Thank God for the Internet.

This book (really a novella) is not for everyone. If you are looking for a book about characters you can identify with, you are looking in the wrong place. Unless you have a wicked streak a mile long ... The Magic Christian is about one man's quest to find everyone's price. It is a mercilessly funny and mean novel about the modern age as has ever been written. The movie starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr was a decent, if slapstick adaptation. But, the spirit of the piece remained.

Money. What will you do for money? How low will you go for the dollar? For those who really appreciate the absurdities of modern culture, Terry Southern is the man to smack them on the head and put a sticker on them. Money. The root of all evil, because it separates mankind and forever gives one power over another. Those who would say this is liberal silliness are probably so corrupted by money themselves they can't see beyond it. They are the men encouraging us to swim in the vats of excrement for their own amusement. How low will we all go?

Taking on the establishment doesn't mean a lot these days, especially in the anti-baby boomer climate of the X and Y generation, but that doesn't mean this book won't appeal to anyone. The spirit of eternal outrage and insanity can be felt in these pages. Anarchy and the eternal optimism of humanity, intermingled in perversity.

Terry Southern was the principle writer of Dr. Strangelove when it became a comedy. It was because Peter Sellers loved this novel.

This was one of the funniest books I've ever read. I bought it in a bookstore and ended up reading it, in it's entirety, before leaving the coffee shop. (Forget that everyone was staring at me for laughing out-loud so often.) I then, of course, ordered all the rest of his novels from Amazon.com. Southern takes you through the absurd, yet never dull, life of one grand guy and his antics, and exceeds mere story telling with an unsurpassed imagination and originality.

I found it exceptionally intelligent, appreciated it's hysterical ludicruousness, and will be passing it along to friends and distant cousins, twice removed, as often as possible.

His other writing achievements, along with his novels, include various articles, essays, and the screenplays to "The Magic Christian", "Easy Rider", "Barbarella", and "Dr. Strangelove."

The pranks Guy does are pretty funny. As a satire it works pretty well but as an engaging read it fails. The interludes between the pranks where Guy is conversing with the two older women didn't have a point or any interesting content, just filler between Guy's schemes (which were usually really funny). I found myself trying to speed read through those as I got further through the book once I realized they weren't related to anything (like the commercials during a reality show). As a story it doesn't go anywhere, the order of the pranks could be interchangeable, but its a short book and you can get a few chuckles out of it.

The Magic Christian is an American classic - a model of elegant yet taut storytelling on par with The Great Gatsby and The Sheltering Sky (and as boldly original and enduring as those two very different books). It is also extremely funny...a book that manages to be both a delightful fantasy and a corrosive satire of our consumer culture. Don't be deceived by its simplicity and directness. This one for the ages as well one worth rereading. Southern's greatest novel has influenced everyone from Stanley Kubrick to Monty Python and writers as varied as Mark Leyner, Bruce Wagner and Darius James. Read it today!!!!

In "Dr. Mabuse, Der Speiler", Mabuse said that nothing was interesting anymore, except for "playing with people & with the destinies of people". Mabuse may well have been describing the life of Guy Grand, protagonist of The Magic Christian. Though Grand is no doubt a less mean spirited figure than Mabuse, his humor is no less misanthropic in nature. If you enjoyed the Peter Sellers/Ringo Starr movie, expect to be stunned. The book is above & beyond anything you saw on the screen. If you're like me you'll find yourself rereading it on a yearly basis--- it's THAT funny! Really.

I'll admit I got a couple of chuckles out of this book, but really it's a one-joke premise, and Southern goes nowhere with it. He has nothing even resembling an ending.

The basic setup is that there's this eccentric billionaire, Guy Grand, who delights in setting up practical jokes that showcase the greed or vulgarity of the teeming masses.

Southern's book has received a lot of attention lately; several commentators have cited it as unwittingly having anticipated the cruel reality shows that seem to dominate today's TV lineups.

Maybe, but one difference: Grand's victims didn't know they were victims. That's what's so funny. The men and women who sign release forms and agreee to appear on reality shows or mean-spirited game shows these days know in advance they will be humilated, and frequently for nothing more than a few days of fame.

So I'm not sure how prescient it is. I wouldn't read it again.

Terry Southern was, among other things, a writer of humorous screen plays (e.g., Dr. Strangelove, The Loved One). As a result, his writing evokes a series of mental images, many of which are screamingly funny. If, like many of us, you are fed up with the "I'm Going to Get Mine" Greed Generation, this book is for you.

This is the 3rd time I have bought this book. The first 2 copies were loaned and never returned. And for good reason. It's simply a classic.