24. Magnificent Obsession

24. Magnificent Obsession – by Lloyd Douglas 

Possibly my favorite in this genre of books remains The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay, a book I now feeling like re-reading. The One in that case was Peekay, the young wunderkind who was familiar with meeting and then dispelling failure and hardship, sometimes with a pair of boxing gloves.
In the case of the Magnificent Obsession, our unlikely subject is an immensely wealthy heir to a pioneering automobile empire. Robert Merrick’s world knows very little in the way of obstruction and his free lifestyle is an addictive persuasion to his accomplices. To round it off, not much is expected from him in life other than to grow old and extend the lineage.

All this soon changes when an eminent surgeon and philanthropist, Dr. Hudson, drowns near his country house. In a peculiar set of circumstances, “Bobby” Merrick is offered a singular challenge that will envelope his entire life and calibrate his airy sense of moral reasoning. This sort of cataclysmic turnabout is so very rare in actuality and, because of its oversized impact, holds particular gravitas for readers like myself. They often say change is the one true constant but this simply doesn’t hold for personalities. I find, and perhaps you do too, that people are fairly predictable in their level of engagement with life. It’s not often someone is sitting at home one day and hitchhiking the Subcontinent the next.

You might think the challenge to Bobby was not that great considering his wealth but this was, in fact, his greatest challenge of all. Having comfort and choice is the most difficult obstacle to change of them all. In truth, he has wonderful guides along the way, including Nancy Ashworth. She is the first to articulate Bobby’s potential future, how difficult it will be and that its choosing will thwart his previous life to memories and confused associates. Any reward, should he take up the unwieldy reigns of the challenge, would be unnoticed and of a lower trajectory than the man whose life he is challenged to complete.

Unlike Peekay’s tortuous tale, Bobby’s tribulations make up little of the book. Instead, it is Dr. Hudson’s mysterious journal that occupies the most fascinating guts of the story and leave the reader spellbound, wandering what might be on the next page of his encrypted leatherback. It turns out everything was set in motion long before by the chance meeting Dr. Huson had with Clive Randolph. It is by the bizarre influence of this sculptor that Dr. Hudson’s life was abruptly swerved toward professional excellence and great kindness (for his own sake) by a secret method of personality development.