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Paul Theroux
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Book
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Publisher | Penguin | ||
ISBN | 978-014023528 | ||
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Reviewer
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Gareth
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Synopsis
Fourteen-year-old Jilly Farina was enthralled with Millroy the Magician at the Barnstable County Fair. After all, he once turned a girl from the audience into a glass of milk and drank her, But when Jilly stepped into the wickerwork coffin during a performance, she had no idea he would transform her dreary life into something truly magical, and a touch bizarre.
For Millroy was no ordinary magician. He could smell the future, and Jilly was going to be part of it. Yet not even Millroy could foresee how far determination and a dream could take him, as he and his new young assistant hit the road -and the airwaves -- to save America's unhealthy appetite and floundering soul....
Review
I find Paul Theroux a very interesting and deep read; he's not one to be read over a quick cup of tea, he demands concentration and always rewards it.
Millroy is just such a read and, like the main character, does not give its secrets up easily. By the end of the novel we've no further clues as to who Millroy is except he possess the most amazing powers and has a large pre-occupation with eating habits and "movements", but he is a fascinating character - one of the true originals.
It would be easy to read the wrong kind of messages into this book, and in our "enlightened" time I can imagine that being more prevalent, however I will caution by saying this is as much a love story than anything else. For me, the love that Millroy feels for Jilly is true and is more akin to the innocent love that a child feels than one that has any other "less savoury" aspects to it.
I'll be honest and say that the subject matter is not the easiest to grasp - and Millroy is not the easiest character to warm to - but that makes it all the more interesting.
Theroux seems to delight in these "interesting" characters, and I know I'm always going to be thoroughly rewarded upon reading his books and this was no exception!
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