Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
65th out of 1,115 books
—
1,882 voters
The Magician's Assistant
by
Ann Patchett
A secretive magician's death becomes the catalyst for his partner's journey of self-discovery in this "enchanting" book (San Francisco Chronicle) "that is something of a magic trick in itself-a 1990s love story with the grace and charm of a nineteenth-century novel" (Newsweek).
Published
(first published October 1st 1997)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
Is this really Ann Patchett? While the story was mildly intriguing, I couldn't really like the main character. Sabine seemed too satisfied with living a half-life (in love with a gay man, an assistant instead of a magician, a maker of architectural models rather than an architect, etc.). The literary symbolism also seemed clumsy and obvious (last name Fetters, for example). Finally, and most annoying to me as I live here, the ridiculous caricature of Midwesterners made me want to scream. COME ON...more
This book surprised me. Throughout the whole thing, I was never exactly sure how much I was enjoying it, and yet I couldn't wait to pick the book back up and continue reading. By time the book was done, I wanted to read more, and wanted the story to continue.
The story itself is strange, very strange, but it draws you in immediately. It's the story of a woman named Sabine who is coming to terms with exploring the hidden past of her husband, a famous gay magician after his death. You wonder how th...more
The story itself is strange, very strange, but it draws you in immediately. It's the story of a woman named Sabine who is coming to terms with exploring the hidden past of her husband, a famous gay magician after his death. You wonder how th...more
I enjoyed reading the book, but after reading it I couldn't say that I loved it (hence, three stars).
Sabine, the main character, spends time with her dead husband's family, none of whom she knew existed. The reader is supposed to come along on the journey with her to discover the missing parts of her longtime friend/spouse, but I didn't gain any new insights to him from her visit back to his roots. The West Coast magician reinvented himself too well to have any connection to the Midwestern teen...more
Sabine, the main character, spends time with her dead husband's family, none of whom she knew existed. The reader is supposed to come along on the journey with her to discover the missing parts of her longtime friend/spouse, but I didn't gain any new insights to him from her visit back to his roots. The West Coast magician reinvented himself too well to have any connection to the Midwestern teen...more
This is my second Patchett novel, and I liked it even less than the previous one I read (
State of Wonder
).
First, I totally misunderstood the premise of this novel. I thought our heroine Sabine's lovely hottie magician husband dies, and then she discovers he was secretly gay, and then discovers he lied about his family being dead and seeks them out blah blah. Instead, the story is that Sabine's lovely hottie magician husband is openly gay and only marries her in the last year so she may inherit...more
First, I totally misunderstood the premise of this novel. I thought our heroine Sabine's lovely hottie magician husband dies, and then she discovers he was secretly gay, and then discovers he lied about his family being dead and seeks them out blah blah. Instead, the story is that Sabine's lovely hottie magician husband is openly gay and only marries her in the last year so she may inherit...more
I know you are thinking, is there a book you don't like, Laura? Here's the deal. If I don't like a book I can barely read it, much less finish it. So if I do read it-I like it, in varying degrees, but I like it. So tonight I read the Magician's Assistant, by Ann Patchett. If you have read Bel Canto, (and you should have, though I'm not sure I'm spelling it right at the moment.)then you know her style. You get hypnotised by the story, by the language, you get into this rhythm that you can't break...more
The Magician’s Assistant *** ½ Ann Patchett
I found the trio of Sabine, Parsifal and Phan all too good, too unflawed, too beautiful, and Sabine's adoration of Parsifal for 22 years was a little hard to fathom. There was apparently no heartache, no discord. In addition, Sabine had been so in love with the glamorous, gay Parsifal that she had failed to realize that she was really gay herself, and thus her attraction to Kitty at the end. That was a bit of a stretch--this beautiful, personable, intel...more
I found the trio of Sabine, Parsifal and Phan all too good, too unflawed, too beautiful, and Sabine's adoration of Parsifal for 22 years was a little hard to fathom. There was apparently no heartache, no discord. In addition, Sabine had been so in love with the glamorous, gay Parsifal that she had failed to realize that she was really gay herself, and thus her attraction to Kitty at the end. That was a bit of a stretch--this beautiful, personable, intel...more
I have really become an admirer of Patchett’s writing, and this book was a close second to Bel Canto, which I adored. The Magician’s Assistant is Sabine, and she is mourning the sudden loss of her husband, Parsifal. But the story goes deeper than that. Parsifal is gay, and shortly after the death of his lover, Phan, he marries Sabine to ensure her security in the event of his death. Sabine had been Parsifal’s long-time assistant in his magic act, but more importantly, they shared a bond of frien...more
Jun 23, 2011
Barbara
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Susan, Maria
In my analysis of this book, I have to remind myself that Patchett had written it prior to her amazing, "Bel Canto" and her most recent, "Run". The latter included flat characterizations,and was filled with implausible coincidences and did not meet my expectations for "suspense", as was publicized. In this novel, Patchett had already demonstrated her talent for fashioning her language to convey the complexities of her characters' emotions and actions. She was so adept at this in "Bel Canto", one...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This is a warm and very human story. I loved getting to know the main character, Sabine, and watching her come to terms with the choices she's made as she struggles to build a new life after losing her magician. All the characters in this story are so multi-dimensional that I found myself simply engaging with them at a human level and losing the critical distance I usually maintain when I read fiction.
My only real complaint with the novel involves the pacing. Some of the narrative changes were...more
My only real complaint with the novel involves the pacing. Some of the narrative changes were...more
A friend recommended Ann Patchett, and I'm definitely going to come back for more. Although the plot is not usually something I would be interested in, Ann writes in a style I love. I prefer character based novels more than anything else, and the way this book wrapped me up in this family's lives made me unable to put it down.
**Update...I have a slow processor in my brain, so often my opinions take a lot of time to develop. So, I've come back to hash it out more with this book. Still love Ann P...more
**Update...I have a slow processor in my brain, so often my opinions take a lot of time to develop. So, I've come back to hash it out more with this book. Still love Ann P...more
This was my first Ann Patchett book, despite the fact that I've been told I would like her for years. I really did like this, too; her writing is clever in a not-trying-too-hard kind of way. The premise was fascinating (the magician's assistant Sabine going off to Nebraska in search of her recently deceased gay husband's mystery family that he never told her about) and I thought it was interesting how she reacted and interacted to and with them. My only complaint was the relationship that Patche...more
Despite feeling like the ending was a bit of an anticlimax, I thought this was a beautiful and tender book. The main character, Sabine, is very likable but difficult to get to know--both for other characters, and for the reader. So while she does have wonderful, real love in her life, she is also profoundly lonely, especially after losing her husband/best friend. Her grief leads her down a road she never imagined, to unlikely friendships, and that was more than enough for me. I love how Patchett...more
Maybe Nebraska has some magic. When Sabine's husband, the magician Parsifal, dies, she discovers his unknown family is living in Alliance, Nebraska. Parsifal had told Sabine, his assistant of twenty-two years, that his family was all dead, in Connecticut. Sabine begins a delicate dance, telling his family about him, while they tell her about him. Set in both L.A. and Nebraska, dream sequences take place in both, interweaving with memories of the past. There are shocks and surprises, like any goo...more
This is my favorite book (so far) by Ann Patchett. It has a very sweet story that is told beautifully.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Aug 27, 2009
Lisa
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
queer,
fiction-usa-2000s
I picked this book up a few times and lost interest before finishing the first page. But when I finally got past the first three or four pages, I was really hooked. This characters are just so, so compelling. They're actually so compelling that when I was partway through the book I almost lit a candle at church for two of the characters in it, temporarily confusing them with real people. Which I _think_ is more a testament to how well-written and absorbing the book is than to how socially maladj...more
The novel opens with two short definitive statements. “Parsifal is dead. That is the end of the story.” Unique but not unexpected from best-selling author Ann Patchett.
In The Magician’s Assistant, Parsifal turns out to be a gay magician, successful rug merchant and AIDS sufferer who has just died of a ruptured aneurysm while holding hands with Sabine, his assistant and wife of less than a year. Shock intermingles with grief as Sabine discovers the rude surprise delivered posthumously in Parsifal...more
In The Magician’s Assistant, Parsifal turns out to be a gay magician, successful rug merchant and AIDS sufferer who has just died of a ruptured aneurysm while holding hands with Sabine, his assistant and wife of less than a year. Shock intermingles with grief as Sabine discovers the rude surprise delivered posthumously in Parsifal...more
Patchett's ability to interweave an ensemble of sympathetic characters with a suspenseful plot create a story--multiple stories--that make you want to snip the edge and unravel the mystery, and make you hurt for the people involved. And in truth, though we spend lots of time both moving forward and flashing back, there are chunks of story that you just never get. Sometimes that's okay. Sometimes I want to track Ann Patchett down and find out what the hell happened.
Though Dot's character starts...more
Though Dot's character starts...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Sabine has spent her entire life pining after the one man she could never have. She’s spent years working as a magician’s assistant for Parsifal, but he is gay and can never return her love in the way she wants. She was close friends with both him and his partner Phan. After Phan’s death she and Parsifal marry for companionship and so that she will inherit his home. When he passes away she finds out he was not orphaned as he claimed, but has a whole family in Nebraska who want to meet her.
This...more
This...more
Originally published on my blog here in August 2003.
Sabine has worked most of her life as a magician's assistant, hopelessly in love with her partner Parsifal even after she realises that he is gay. Then Parsifal's lover dies of AIDS, and he marries Sabine because he wants her to inherit everything he and Phan had without a massive tax bill (Phan was a programmer who wrote a massively successful game); he dies soon afterwards not from HIV but from an unexpected aneurysm. It is only a few days la...more
Sabine has worked most of her life as a magician's assistant, hopelessly in love with her partner Parsifal even after she realises that he is gay. Then Parsifal's lover dies of AIDS, and he marries Sabine because he wants her to inherit everything he and Phan had without a massive tax bill (Phan was a programmer who wrote a massively successful game); he dies soon afterwards not from HIV but from an unexpected aneurysm. It is only a few days la...more
Parsifal, a handsome magician, dies suddenly, leaving his widow and magic assistant Sabine, to find out that his family, who he said had died, is still alive and well in Nebraska. Sabine is left behind to unravel his many secrets, and she meets his mother and sisters, going from Los Angeles to Nebraska's windswept plains. Ann Patchett, the author of Bel Canto, wrote this one, which is equally amazing. Like Bel Canto, nothing really astounding actually happens in the book; it's more the lush and...more
Whew. I've been muddling through 2 and 3 star books for a while; it was quite a relief to find this beautiful specimen. I have State of Wonder on my to read list and was browsing stacks in the library by author and figured I'd pick up something else by Patchett to see what I thought. And I loved it.
This book was very compelling, beautifully written, amazingly perceptive, funny, and wise. The characters were complex, the plot unfolded well, and I really only have one very small criticism.
I thou...more
This book was very compelling, beautifully written, amazingly perceptive, funny, and wise. The characters were complex, the plot unfolded well, and I really only have one very small criticism.
I thou...more
I love all of Ann Patchett's writing - novels, nonfiction, and essays alike - but I think The Magician's Assistant is my favorite. Sabine (the assistant) is grieving over the death of Parsifal (the magician) in their home in Los Angeles, CA. She is startled to find out that, contrary to what Parsifal told her, his real name is Guy Fetters and his family did not die in a car crash but is alive and living in Nebraska.
Guy's mother and one of his sisters fly out and meet Sabine, and later she goes...more
Guy's mother and one of his sisters fly out and meet Sabine, and later she goes...more
Once, when I was in my early 20s, I traveled from Chicago to Cincinnati on a Greyhound Bus "local" route. That meant that we rode the highways and byways from one Indiana town to another, stopping at bus stations near courthouses or town squares to pick up some people, drop off others, and give us a chance to stretch our legs. The trip lasted somewhere between nine and twelve hours. There was a lot of waiting around.
I felt that way going through this book. Although Patchett can describe a person...more
I felt that way going through this book. Although Patchett can describe a person...more
It is rare to find a literary page-turner, but Ann Patchett never fails to give us exactly that. Her writing is elegant, sophisticated and quiet; it never gets in the way of the story. The closer I got to the end of this book, the more obsessed I became with it, wanting to make sure that everyone was going to be okay, at least in some sense of the word.
The Magician's Assistant follows the same pattern of Patchett's other novels: An unsuspecting character is thrust into a world full of people he...more
The Magician's Assistant follows the same pattern of Patchett's other novels: An unsuspecting character is thrust into a world full of people he...more
Michelle, I have to agree with you on your comments about this book.
I am a fan of Patchett's writing, but this book just didn't live up to my expectations.
Last week, while vacationing in New Orleans, I finished the 2 library books I had taken along with me and had to have another book to read, so we found this wonderful little book store in the Garden District of New Orleans and when I saw this one, I didn't think twice about it and bought it. After all, Patchett is the author of "Bel Conto,",...more
I am a fan of Patchett's writing, but this book just didn't live up to my expectations.
Last week, while vacationing in New Orleans, I finished the 2 library books I had taken along with me and had to have another book to read, so we found this wonderful little book store in the Garden District of New Orleans and when I saw this one, I didn't think twice about it and bought it. After all, Patchett is the author of "Bel Conto,",...more
The Magician's Assistant begins with "Parsifal is dead. That is the end of the story." It really is not the end of the story, but just the beginning. Sabine was Parsifal, the magician's assistant for 20 years. They have been married for one year and only after his partner Phan dies of AIDS.
Yes, this is an unorthodox marriage and why Sabine accepted this unusual arrangement is not clear. Why a beautiful woman like her falls in love with a man she knows is gay, is unusual, yet the author hints at...more
Having enjoyed State of Wonder and Bel Canto, I though I'd try some of Patchett's other titles. While I enjoyed this as I read it, once I put it down, I felt like there could have been more to it. We only see Parsifal and Phan though dreams, and since they comprised Sabine's life, I felt like we could have gotten to know them better. I was also surprised at how little magic was really discussed. I though we'd hear more of where they went to perform, their mishaps while learning tricks, their vis...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Magician's Assistant | 6 | 74 | Sep 24, 2012 08:16pm |
Ann Patchett is an American author. She received the Orange Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award in 2002 for her novel Bel Canto. Patchett's other novels include The Patron Saint of Liars, Taft, and The Magician's Assistant, which was shortlisted for the Orange Prize. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and received the Nashville Banner Tennessee Writer of the Year Award in 199...more
More about Ann Patchett...
Share This Book
3 trivia questions
More quizzes & trivia...
“Nothing comforted Sabine like long division. That was how she had passed time waiting for Phan and then Parsifal to come back from their tests. She figured the square root of the date while other people knit and read. Sabine blamed much of the world's unhappiness on the advent of calculators.”
—
3 people liked it
More quotes…
May 04, 2012 05:04pm
Jun 03, 2012 05:32am