Magic

by Jan Golembiewski

“Some books grab you by the scruff of the neck and won’t let you go until the last page is turned. But I can’t remember the last time it happened with a travel memoir... Verdict: Surreal and stunning.” Corinna Hente, Herald Sun.

This is a true story. A young man heads off on a journey to find out if magic still exists in the world, to know its wonder, and to see if it might save him when his own life is unexpectedly at stake.

In the Caribbean, he meets a Rastafarian Don Juan who teaches him about the ‘natural mystic’. Fate propels his travels through the Americas and Europe to locate the source of this knowledge in Mother Africa, where his own emerging mastery of mysticism is tested by the Sahara desert. He is imprisoned in Nigeria, and tortured, and then sold as a slave.

Magic is an incredible journey, both physical and spiritual, that reverberates with the uniqueness of lived adventure and of a passionate heart and vision. Upon closing the last page of this book, we ache for the innocence to lose our way and
travel deeper, to rediscover the savage but delicious nature of the miraculous in our own lives.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Spirituality

373 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2018

Reviews

[Kylie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is not a story about Magic. This is a story about being irresponsible, egotistical and cultural appropriation.
I'll admit, the first few hundred pages had me interested, but when he decides he's self realised and starts preaching to the people, it's all a bit much.
Not magical, just another wander overseas who needed saving by the Australian High Commission.
I couldn't wait for it to end.

[Bem Le Hunte · Rating 5 out of 5]

A ravishing exploration of everything mysterious about life and travel. Bruce Chatwin ('Songlines') wrote: "To lose a passport was the least of one’s worries. To lose a notebook was a catastrophe." In this story the author loses both -and the consequences are terrifying. The tale remains as gripping as 'Touching the Void' as the author is imprisoned and sold as a slave. Most significantly, the author didn't even lose his passport, but rather burnt it - declaring himself thereafter as someone in a liminal state - beyond the human law - a spiritual traveller. The book has been described in one review (Erich Mayer in ArtsHub) as follows: "'Magic' is the most incredible true story you are likely to read in a very long time." It has 'Shantaram' qualities.

At once hilarious and authentically spiritual (an unusual combination), this book is intriguing as they come. Daring, with literary confidence - 'Magic' is a coming-of-age story that straddles continents and catastrophes as it takes the reader on an inner journey. It is on some level a 'how to' book of magic, if the reader has the confidence to take some of the instructions on board. Not everyone manages to go on a real journey of such epic and transformational proportions - but they should at least read stories like 'Magic' to enjoy the literary equivalent.

[Kathy Golski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, and there is no doubt that this tale is strange. It is the story of one eighteen-year-old searching for magic and truth, after escaping suburbia and its bland comforts to discover what more is out there that he hasn’t been told about by his family or by his teachers…And discover he does. But after a long and most perilous journey which at times is droll and funny, as he recounts the often very stoned and sometimes exasperated interactions and escapades of the small group of school friends, including his younger brother, with whom the author travels .The six of them, boys and girls, traverse the Sahara in two Peugot 504’s which the kids affectionately name Claude and Bebe, referring to the cars as “he” and “she”, and investing these vehicles (which become quite devoted to each other), with personality foibles and neuroses. Two terrifying car chases do spare their lives, but not the reader’s nerves, particularly if the reader is the mother of the author as I am. …The journey towards the truth becomes so much more intense towards the end when they approach Nigeria, the final destination, via Niger, by this time having abandoned Claude and Bebe the car couple, and having lost two of their mates who jumped ship and flew home from Agadiz. Jan is intent on escalating his search for magic, he is looking for magic in the hand of God. And he sees the hand of God in magic. Taro cards are consulted to decipher meaning from confused and dangerous situations. The taro cards deliver dark warnings and offer enigmatic choices. He who reads the cards is naturally suspected of bias. But eventually it is accepted that there is no choice but to proceed as the cards indicate. And then for Jan there is the extra ingredient, the echoing words of a charismatic Rastafarian mystic from Belize, (where his journey had also landed him) who believes that “righteousness” is to be found mainly in Africa which is the seat of Jah the Rasta guru. (hence the choice of the Sahara). Jan the author accelerates the action by leaving the group, after burning his passport to prove a point to himself and others if necessary. He bids the two girls and his brother a tearful and sad farewell, strikes off across the desert alone, with no possessions or money. He encounters encroaching death every few hours, to which he nearly succumbs, but somehow defeats by exercising a mixture of mind power and self–induced humility. Having barely survived perishing in the heat from severe dehydration, thanks to being found by a wandering villager, he gets arrested for having no passport and put in various prisons as the confused authorities become even more confused but in time relax their authority to be entertained by receiving taro readings from the humble prisoner.
There is so much to learn in this book, about custom, cloth, architecture, local life, food, hospitality ,friendship, brotherhood, and of course, the life changing journey of a young man towards his spiritual goal. Kathy Golski

[Hud · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've seen a review that says this is not a book about magic. If by magic the reviewer meant the sleight of hand of a conjuror, they would be right. Or the fantasies of JK Rowling. But this book isn't about some fictionalised or fantasy idea of magic; it's about what happens when one lets go of the safety-net of modern life, and instead trusts to the universe to guide them.

I've read most of the work of Paolo Coelho, of Herman Hesse, Richard Bach and Deepak Chopra - all of whom write in their own way about 'true' magic. And Jan Golembiewski's memoirs of his journey to find out what magic is in his youth deserves to be seen in the same rank as these great writers. For me this was in turns a delightful and wonderfully educational reminder of what the point of life is all about. We are so easily distracted by the trivialities of day-to-day life (more so than ever these days), that we can easily forget that we are truly 'alive' - and that to be alive is a miracle and a gift. Jan brings this truth back into sharp focus with his beautifully written and masterfully structured narrative.

It is also a deeply honest book - Jan does not shy away from an excoriating examination of his own ego and its motivations. Yet through his discourse he allows the reader to experience the same shedding of social conditioning and emotional patterning that limit our connection to the divine in nature and life.

If everything I've said makes it seem like this is some kind of instruction manual, then I apologise: this is a warmly humorous and human book that deserves to reach a wider audience. I enjoyed it immensely.

[Ita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fact is indeed stranger than fiction in this case!

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I looked forward to getting back into 'Magic' again later, every time I had to put it down. The story of a courageous, wild adventure, told with considerable humour. I loved it.

[Marnix Bosscher · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely captivating story that’s not just an adventure, but a spiritual journey of step-by-step letting go until becoming, dying and not becoming again but staying in being.

This book didn’t just entertain me, though it also did that. And plenty.
It deeply inspired me to life a live more righteous and pure. And to trust that whatever comes to me while walking on this path, is right for me, even if all seems dim.

Give it a try, it might profoundly change your life.

[Blue · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have to admit, this book wasn’t for me. From the start I couldn’t get into the story and it wasn’t until about the 90th page or so I began to get a sense of what was going on.
I wasn’t a fan at all of the story, I didn’t find it captivating or meaningful. At times I felt like I as though the character was preaching and got really over bearing to the point I almost DNF’d this book.
This wasn’t an inspiring book like I was meant to believe. It wasn’t a spiritual search. It was just a self-righteous pusher that thinks he honestly knows best.
Not a fan.

[Lee Belbin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quirky teenage travel tail where I found myself constantly doing a Homer Simpson "Doh!" Knowingly burning your passport in Niger is (as that once respected Bill Cosby said) like leaning into a right hook: Dumb as hell. Fortunately, the author had left the trail of drugs and alcohol behind at that point and embarked on a spiritual journey, otherwise, this book (and the author) would't exist.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Castaneda-lite

[Suzie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book (among others) in a box on the side of a road with a nice note saying “Take me!”. I was delighted until I took the book home and started reading it.
Now I know why it was given away for free.

I couldn’t even finish it.

This is “Magic” from the perspective of a middle class white man and university drop out who tells his self righteous story. It’s a man with money to travel and “find themselves” on an “adventure”, not to mention the cultural appropriation and hard to read preachy chapters.

[Marita Forde · Rating 2 out of 5]

An average read probably more interesting to a young person setting out on overseas travel.

[Frankie · Rating 1 out of 5]

A throwback, and not in a good way. DNF

[Christel Keijzer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Adventures of a young man and friends through Central America and North Western Africa, getting into all sorts of strife whilst learning about his strengths and weaknesses

[Shellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily one of my favourite books.