Millroy the Magician

Description

'Hugely ambitious . . . entertaining and unsettling' Salman Rushdie, Independent on Sunday Fourteen-year-old Jilly Farina walks into the tent at the County Fair and finds her life transformed. Fixing her with his hypnotic gaze, Millroy the Magician performs astonishing miracles. When she is later magicked into his trailer and Millroy promises to train her as his assistant, Jilly feels safe for the first time in her short life. But Millroy is more than a mere stage show magician. A vegetarian and health fanatic, a possessor of healing and hypnotic powers, Millroy's mission is to change the eating habits of an entire nation. And through Jilly he has found the strength to preach his evangelical message. With Millroy's messianic fervour ever growing, Jilly begins to have doubts - but Millroy knows that without Jilly there will be no magic . . .

Paul Theroux was born in Medford, Massachusetts in 1941. He has written many works of fiction and travel writing, including The Last Train to Zona Verde, Dark Star Safari, Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, Riding the Iron Rooster, The Great Railway Bazaar, The Elephanta Suite, A Dead Hand, The Tao of Travel and The Lower River. The Mosquito Coast and Dr Slaughter have both been made into successful films. Paul Theroux divides his time between Cape Cod and the Hawaiian islands. His most recent work is Deep South, which is published by Hamish Hamilton.

"Picaresque ... Enchanting ... Theroux is a gifted and versatile tale spinner." -- Time "Amazing ... (A) Startlingly Original Tale Of Pure Magic...that amuses, unnerves, and captivates the reader in a spell of bewilderment, danger, and awe...The reader (will) be enthralled." -- The Boston Sunday Herald "Magical ... (A) funny, dark satire of America's obsessions." -- The New York Times Book Review