The Magic Christian

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.

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!!!!

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.

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.