Magic – William Goldman (1976)

Magic by William Goldman, published in 1976, is a dark psychological thriller that weaves suspense, horror, and emotional tension into a chilling narrative. Known for his mastery in both novels and screenplays, Goldman delivers a disturbing and deeply human exploration of a man unraveling under the pressure of fame, trauma, and mental illness. The novel, while not part of a series, stands as one of Goldman’s most haunting and compelling works, often remembered for its eerie ventriloquist motif and its sharp psychological insight.

Plot Summary

In a quiet corner of Manhattan, a man named Corky Withers sat alone in the Garden Court of the Frick Museum, watching the fountain and weeping. It came without warning, the tears – silent, uninvited, unexplainable. A gentle older woman named Miss Flanagan approached, offering kind words and unexpected company. Corky, grateful for her kindness, bought her a golden choker on impulse. He claimed she made him laugh when he was broken, and he just wanted to please her. But when his manager, Fats, asked questions, Corky’s answers were strange, evasive, and trembling with secrets. There were gaps in the truth. Miss Flanagan, he said, had gone on vacation. But there was no proof she ever existed outside that museum bench.

Corky’s world was beginning to blur. Once a struggling magician, he had recently risen to fame after introducing a new element to his act – a ventriloquist dummy named Fats. With Fats, his performances ignited. Audiences roared. Television came calling. There was talk of a special, a series, the kind of fame only a select few touch. But behind the spotlight, something festered. Corky refused to take the mandatory medical exam required for the show. His reason: principle. He insisted he was healthy, that he deserved trust. But those around him – his agent Ben Greene, the flamboyant and legendary Postman, and his manager Fats – saw something else. They saw a man trembling under pressure, haunted by migraines and slipping into moods that were darker, longer, and harder to pull him from.

Fats, the dummy, wasn’t just a prop. He was Corky’s voice, his mirror, his alter ego. On stage, Fats was witty and sharp, the perfect foil to Corky’s quiet charm. Off stage, he whispered things Corky dared not say himself. There were long conversations between them – arguments, decisions, insults. Fats would call Corky weak, mock his fears, push him to do what Corky couldn’t do alone. And yet, it was Corky’s hand that moved Fats’ jaw, Corky’s voice that gave him breath.

Fame knocked louder. CBS was ready to launch Corky into stardom. But he continued to refuse the medical exam. The Postman pleaded, cajoled, even offered to take the exam with him. Corky dug in. No test. No exceptions. And then, he disappeared.

He returned to his childhood town in the Catskills, to a place filled with old memories and unfinished wounds. There, he reconnected with Peggy Ann Snow, the girl he had loved in silence all those years ago. Peggy had married Buddy Snow, who now drank too much and talked too little. The spark between her and Corky reignited quickly – laughter in the kitchen, walks in the woods, old music playing softly while Fats watched from the shadows.

But the return home didn’t bring peace. Corky’s grip on reality was loosening. He spoke to Fats more often and with more venom. The dummy challenged him, insulted him, controlled him. Peggy never saw it fully – only glimpses, strange noises, and occasional questions about the locked suitcase where Fats slept.

When Ben Greene tracked Corky down, trying to salvage the television deal, Corky panicked. He couldn’t let the world in, couldn’t let anyone shine a light on what was happening inside him. So he led Greene into the woods on a fabricated walk-and-talk, where the trees stood tall and the air was quiet. There, with trembling hands and a frantic heart, Corky beat Greene to death with a rock. He buried the body beneath leaves and silence, then returned home, breathless and hollow.

Peggy’s husband Buddy, curious and suspicious, began to prod. He found the dummy, opened the suitcase, and what he saw frightened him. He confronted Corky, threatened to expose him. Corky, once again, chose silence over confession, blood over honesty. Buddy Snow vanished.

The days blurred. Corky promised Peggy they’d run away together. She, tired of loneliness and bruised by years of neglect, agreed. But first, she had to tell her daughter. She left him briefly, a single night apart. In that night, the house creaked with shadows. Fats sat in the corner, watching. Corky, sweating and afraid, argued with him aloud. Fats demanded control. He wanted to be part of their life, to continue the act. Corky tried to lock him away, tried to end it.

But it was too late.

When Peggy returned, she found the cabin empty. No Corky. No suitcase. Just silence and a sense of something gone wrong. Outside, deep in the woods, lay a small grave. Corky had buried Fats, hoping that by ending the dummy’s life, he might reclaim his own. But as the dirt settled, so did his last thread of reason. He walked further into the woods, muttering a poem from his past – a lullaby he once whispered to an old crush, long before the fame, before the lights, before the voices.

The sun faded, and with it, so did Corky.

Main Characters

• Corky Withers – The protagonist, Corky is a shy, socially awkward magician whose sudden success comes after he introduces a ventriloquist dummy, Fats, into his act. Corky is plagued by self-doubt, trauma, and increasingly severe psychological distress. His internal conflicts manifest in eerie and dangerous ways, particularly through his relationship with Fats, who becomes the darker voice of his subconscious.

• Fats – More than a dummy, Fats is the projection of Corky’s fractured psyche. He voices Corky’s darkest thoughts, desires, and fears, becoming an uncontrollable force that ultimately drives the narrative toward its tragic and violent climax.

• Fats (Narrator/Journal Writer) – Throughout the novel, we see entries labeled “The Wisdom According to Fats,” which offer insight into Corky’s deteriorating mental state. Whether these are truly external observations or just another facet of Corky’s mind remains part of the novel’s chilling ambiguity.

• Peggy Ann Snow – Corky’s childhood crush who becomes his love interest when he returns to his hometown. Peggy is kind, nostalgic, and seemingly provides Corky with a sense of stability and warmth, but her presence also becomes a trigger for his breakdown.

• Ben Greene (The Postman) – A flamboyant and theatrical agent, Greene secures Corky’s television deal but becomes concerned about Corky’s refusal to take a medical exam. His persistence in probing Corky’s condition places him in conflict with the unraveling magician.

• Fats Domino (Manager) – Often referred to in journal entries as “Fats,” he’s Corky’s manager and the voice of pragmatism. He is loyal and worried, watching helplessly as Corky’s mental stability disintegrates.

• Miss Flanagan – An elderly woman Corky befriends during an emotional breakdown at the Frick Museum. She provides a brief moment of kindness and connection, though her fate becomes ominously unclear as the story progresses.

Theme

• Psychological Disintegration and Duality: At the heart of Magic is the theme of psychological fragmentation. Corky’s descent into madness is powerfully symbolized through his relationship with Fats, who acts as both partner and adversary. The theme explores how internal trauma, when suppressed, can manifest externally in disturbing ways.

• Fame and Identity: The pressures of sudden fame act as a catalyst for Corky’s breakdown. His struggle to reconcile his public persona with his private torment reveals the cost of performance and how identity can fracture under public scrutiny.

• Control and Autonomy: Corky’s increasing loss of control – over his dummy, his impulses, and his mind – mirrors broader questions about autonomy and self-determination. Fats, who begins as a tool for performance, gradually dominates Corky’s decisions, raising chilling questions about who truly holds the reins.

• Fear of Exposure: The medical examination becomes a powerful symbol of Corky’s fear of being discovered, both literally (as mentally ill) and metaphorically (as unworthy, weak, broken). His refusal to undergo the exam reflects a terror of being seen too deeply.

• Loneliness and Desperation: Corky’s emotional fragility is rooted in a deep loneliness that traces back to childhood. His attempts to connect – with Peggy, with Miss Flanagan, with his audience – are desperate and often sabotaged by his inner demons.

Writing Style and Tone

William Goldman’s writing in Magic is intimate, unnerving, and emotionally raw. He crafts the story with a blend of tight, suspenseful prose and disarming interior monologue that draws the reader into Corky’s deteriorating mind. Goldman’s screenwriting experience lends the narrative a cinematic pace, with vividly drawn scenes and a haunting atmosphere. Dialogue is crisp and believable, often infused with dark humor and subtext.

The tone is unsettling from the outset, laced with a tension that never quite allows the reader to breathe. Goldman maintains a sense of creeping dread, building psychological horror not through gore or shock, but through character unraveling. The journal entries titled “The Wisdom According to Fats” add an eerie, unreliable layer of narration, further immersing the reader in the fractured world of Corky Withers. Even in tender or nostalgic moments, there is an underlying current of unease, making the novel a masterclass in psychological suspense.