『The Magus』
This book was given to me from Maruya-san's bookshelf.
I lived for a while on the Greek island of Spetses, and learned that the British author John Fowles (who wrote The Collector) had written his novel The Magus on the island.
Fowles had been an English teacher at a private school there for about two years, and while teaching he had written a full-length novel set on the island. My house was very close to the school, so I was intrigued to find out what the story was about. I bought the book published by Penguin Books when I went to Athens, and began reading it when I returned to the island.
It was a fairly thick book, but once I started, I found it fascinating and quickly read through to the end. The protagonist is a young British teacher, modeled after Fowles himself, who meets and becomes close with a mysterious middle-aged wealthy man who lives on the island. Gradually, it becomes clear that this man was involved in a tragic incident when the island was occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II.
This book was given to me from Maruya-san's bookshelf, as I had left the original behind in Greece.
