Paul Gallico wrote two of my favourite books EVER, and one of them is The Man Who was Magic. You've probably heard of Paul Gallico, even if you think you haven't. If you frequent secondhand book stores (and you probably do, if you're here), you'll have seen some of his work. I don't think I've ever been in a secondhand bookshop that doesn't have some. Why? I'm not really sure. Perhaps it is because he wrote quite a lot of books - 41 actually. As well as a ton of short stories.
You may even have read some of the more well known titles - The Snow Goose, or perhaps Jennie? Or maybe Manxmouse? And if you've never heard of those, you must have heard of The Poseidon Adventure? If you've never seen the movie, it is one of those absolutely terrible but also incredibly enjoyable movies that are best watched on a rainy Sunday when you are slightly hungover. Incidently (and somewhat unbelievably) the movie was the highest grossing film of 1973, and Gene Hackman actually won a BAFTA for his role.
But I digress.
Once upon a time...
Like most good fairy tales, The Man Who Was Magic begins once upon an unspecified time, in a small town over the hills and far away. The town of Magiea is the self proclaimed heart of stage magic. Half the town is made up of distinguished magicians, and the other half aspires to be one. Children are pressured into becoming magician's assistants (and mocked when they are no good at it), and everyone seems to tie up their very happiness with their ability to do amazing magic tricks. It's a lot like Hollywood, with magic instead of the movies. And with fewer cars and fast food outlets.
Anyway, the head honchos of the magic world periodically run auditions for the Guild - a chance for the would-bes to become fully fledged magicians. It is the most important event in Magiea and everyone is involved in one way or another. Into the flutter of this exciting event comes a stranger named Adam. Adam has travelled far to be here in time for these auditions, and it soon becomes obvious that he will clearly ace them because, guess what? He actually is magic. For real.
As Sure as Eggs is eggs
As readers we learn this pretty quickly because he's always having chats with his dog Mopsy, whom nobody else can understand. But the citizens of Mageia do not come to understand the extent of Adam's magical talents until his first audition. Instead of the elaborate and showbizzy tricks that the guild are used to, he simply cracks and scrambles an egg, and then proceeds to unscramble it and return it to the shell to become whole and unblemished once again.
Now, you would like to hope that after this, the people of Mageia welcome Adam with open arms as someone who is truly at the peak of everything the town values. You'd like to think that once the word spread, that they dropped everything and gathered in the streets just to see him perform. You'd like to think that they treated him with warmth and reverence and showed him all the hospitality the town could muster.
But, as sure as eggs is eggs, people aren't like that. No, the people of Mageia treat Adam with exactly what you would actually expect - distrust, suspicion and jealousy. Don't worry, nothing really bad happens (this is a children's book after all) but ultimately Adam and Mopsy leave town and the Mageians are left breathing a sigh of relief at his departure.
But are they really relieved? Are they actually ok with how they behaved? Isn't it all a bit hollow to return to their make believe magic after being in the presence of something real?
A Fable of Innocence
The book is actually subtitled "A Fable of Innocence". Adam represents this innocence - he doesn't desire fame and fortune, he just wants to find a place among likeminded folk. He believes that people are inherently good and that they will appreciate his magic, because magic is what is important to them. Interestingly, his dog Mopsy is much more cynical and always has one eye out for trouble because he has a much clearer understanding of how people actually behave. Children see the story through the eyes of Adam - my son couldn't understand why everyone was so mean to him, and I was no doubt the same when I read it as a child. Now see things through the eyes of Mopsy, and it's entirely obvious that Adam was never going to be welcomed with open arms.
The REAL magic
The beauty (or the magic, if you will) of the book is that it seems so simple, but says so much. Yes, it's a fun fairy tale with talking dogs and evil villains and adventure, but that's just the half of it.
It's full lovely details about the wonderment of nature. Adam's magic is all about flora and fauna - his ability to speak to Mopsy, to summon butterflies and bees, to grow roses from his wooden staff. His simple 'tricks' are all about our relationship with nature and about looking outside of your own selfish needs to see what is going on around you. Adam himself never sees his magic as being magic - for him it is as natural as breathing. But the townsfolk don't want to embrace what is real because it makes a mockery of everything they've been working so hard to fabricate. So instead of rejoicing and showing real admiration, they tear it down.
It's kind of sad that this book was published in 1966, but it's still more relevant than ever. For what is social media really, except smoke and mirrors, whilst people are increasingly disconnected with nature, real life and each other? Have we actually moved on from xenophobia and mistrust, or do we still lean towards fear and jealousy? And wouldn't it be great if we could recapture just a little of our childlike innocence and wonder?
Verdict
A feast of magic, adventure and talking dogs. With a dose of morality.
Details and Availability
- Title: The Man Who Was Magic
- Author: Paul Gallico
- Illustrator: Janet and Anne Grahame-Johnstone
- Publisher: Pan Ltd
- Date: 1968 (first pub. 1966)
Sadly it is out of print, and even secondhand copies aren't that cheap. Try Biblio.com via the link below - I get very small commission on sales made from this link. Or if you don't care about owning a copy, you can read it at openlibrary.org.