books
March 27, 2026
Benjamin Wood: ‘John Fowles’s The Magus was so frustrating I threw it at the wall’
The author on the Steinbeck novel that moved him to tears, how becoming a father inspired him to reread Marilynne Robinson, and the culinary comforts of James M Cain
TL;DR
- Benjamin Wood's earliest reading memory is of 'Stanley Bagshaw and the Short-sighted Football Trainer' by Bob Wilson.
- John Steinbeck's 'The Red Pony' had a profound effect on him in secondary school, being the first novel to move him to tears.
- Reading Paul Auster's 'Mr Vertigo', 'In the Country of Last Things', and 'The New York Trilogy' during an illness made him want to write fiction.
- He found it difficult to connect with Marilynne Robinson's 'Gilead' until after becoming a father, when the narrator's letter to his son resonated.
- ZZ Packer's short story collection 'Drinking Coffee Elsewhere', particularly 'The Ant of the Self', is a frequent reread for its depiction of father-son relationships.
- John Fowles's 'The Magus' is noted for its cleverness but also its frustrating ending.
- Gayl Jones's 'Corregidora' is highlighted for its effective portrayal of inherited trauma.
- His current read is Agnes Owens' 'Bad Attitudes'.
- Comfort reads include Tobias Wolff's 'Old School' and James M Cain's 'Mildred Pierce'.
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