''Millroy the Magician'' is a novel by American writer

Paul Theroux Paul Edward Theroux (born April 10, 1941) is an American novelist and travel writer who has written numerous books, including the travelogue, '' The Great Railway Bazaar'' (1975). Some of his works of fiction have been adapted as feature films. He ...

. It was published in 1993 by

Hamish Hamilton Hamish Hamilton Limited was a British book publishing house, founded in 1931 eponymously by the half-Scot half-American Jamie Hamilton (''Hamish'' is the vocative form of the Gaelic Seumas eaning James ''James'' the English form – which was ...

in the UK and by Random House the following year in the US, where it was chosen as one of the '' New York Times''

notable books of the year ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

. The novel has been identified as one of the best of the 1990s. It is a satire of American consumer culture and love of fast food, and contains elements of parable and magic realism.

Plot synopsis

The book concerns lonely teenager Jilly Farina and her relationship with Millroy. He is performing and calls her out of the audience and tells her he will train her to be his assistant. Millroy leaves the travelling fair and together with Jilly embarks on a mission to transform the food habits of America; converting them to Bible-based

vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism may ...

and promising his followers that they will live to be 200. His evangelical fervour is backed up by miraculous tricks but attracts growing opposition. He goes on to create a top-rating television show and chain of 'Day One' diners staffed by young volunteers. As his public success grows Jilly becomes increasingly uncomfortable in her role as his confidante.

Reception

Positive review extracts from the rear cover of the 1994

Penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...

edition: *''The magic in ''Millroy'' is brilliantly done ... This is Theroux's best book for a very long time'' - Jonathan Raban in the ''

TLS TLS may refer to: Computing * Transport Layer Security, a cryptographic protocol for secure computer network communication * Thread level speculation, an optimisation on multiprocessor CPUs * Thread-local storage, a mechanism for allocating vari ...

'' *''Magical ... this is Paul Theroux's best novels for some while ... the real success is Millroy himself, who acts unpredictably whenever the reader feels that he has his measure'' - Paul Bailey in the ''

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'' *''A hugely ambitious, capacious fiction that manages to be at once entertaining and unsettling'' - Salman Rushdie in the '' Independent on Sunday'' *''Fresh and unexpected ... this very accomplished, confident book is among his best'' - Philip Hensher in '' The Guardian''

References

External links

A diner serving God: Millroy the Magician
review from '' The Independent'' by

D. J. Taylor David John Taylor (born 1960) is a British critic, novelist and biographer. After attending school in Norwich, he read Modern History at St John's College, Oxford, and has received the 2003 Whitbread Biography Award for his biography of Geo ...

, Saturday, 23 October 1993.
No mere digestive tract
review from '' The Independent'' by Salman Rushdie, Sunday, 10 October 1993
Salvation Through Weight Control
review from the '' New York Times'' by Charles Johnson, March 6, 1994, Sunday, Late Edition - Final. {{Paul Theroux 1993 American novels American magic realism novels Fictional characters who use magic Fictional cult leaders Hamish Hamilton books New religious movements in popular culture Novels about consumerism Novels by Paul Theroux Novels set in the United States Novels about magic Vegetarian-related mass media