A Maggot

I have read this one twice and am about to start again. It's a great ride, skillfully historical and with some suprising elements. A revealing portrait of several characters interviewed about the same event, all dialogue and some very tricky words. An excellent book for discussion groups and something that would readily translate to the small screen. The last hundred pages may not please everyone, but what novel does please everyone. Scanning these previous reviews shows much more about the readers. Recommended for those seeking something different.

Like some of the other reviewers, I've read John Fowles other books, such as The Collector, The Magus, The Black Tower, etc., but this one surpasses them all. As is often the case, I believe, bad reviews of good books tell much more about the reviewer than the book. You must approach this book with a modern, open-mind - otherwise, it will take you to the pillory for your own beliefs and prejudices (as it should do). What struck me first about this book was how similar - yet far surpassing - it was to Ian Pears' bestseller An Evidence of the Fingerpost. What Pears attempted was gran, is grand, but years before Fowles had trumped him in scope, style, and largesse of thinking. And also I believe in sustaining that elusive quality "mystery," while painting extraordinarily true portraits of characters and time period. The few reviewers who gave a nod to Fowles "SCI-FI" aspect missed the boat entirely. Fantasy it may be, but hardly sci-fi; rather it is more in the vein of William Blake's visions. One cannot approach Fowles complex concepts with the simplicity of a McDonalds-fed mind, one should be rather a gourmet of fine ideas and prose, then you can truly appreciate what he has accomplished with A Maggot. Liberal thinkers, feminists, open-minded religious believers - these will find themselves entranced by this book. Patriarchal, conservative, narrow-minded bigots and smarmy sycophants will find themselves here, too, but in a most cruelly sharp portrait that will anger them to no end, I believe. Bravo, Fowles!

This is one of the best books that I've read. I enjoyed The Magus very much, but A Maggot proved to be even better. A mixture of history, religion, sex and weird structure, the novel actually opens much deeper questions of religion, sense of life, or emancipation of women. I took this novel to read it while on holiday, but I finished it in two days and every other book I tried to read afterwards seemed boring.

As both a Friend and a scientific UFO investigator, I was amazed at Fowles ability to describe an event we would interpret technologically, through the eyes of an uneducated eighteenth century woman. Other readers may regret Fowles inclusion of the "SciFi" material, but that was reason for the book, along with the display of the Church of England as despot. Who knows how many Christian sects and other religions were influenced by scientifically unexplainable events that continue to occur today.

Almost as good as The Magus, if such a thing were possible. In many ways Fowles' most systematic work. We are constantly led from confusion to insight in a gripping and revelatory manner. I was continually saying "Now I get it!" only to discover I was being led by Fowles genius down yet another blind but fascinating alley. The book is captivating from the first chapter as bleak travelers wander a bleak and mysterious landscape...A brilliant and imaginative work