From the author of Big Fish comes this haunting, tender story that weaves a tragic secret, a mysterious meeting with the Devil,... read full description
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Sep 12, 2007
Xtina
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In the growing genre of circus-set literature, "Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician" beats "Water For Elephants," at least where sophistication of writing is concerned. Wallace's characters are more evocatively drawn than Gruen's, and their destinies more rattling. Gruen supplies a page-turner; Wallace, a rumination that serves to illuminate the darkness inherent in every brightly lit carnival.
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Dec 17, 2009
Jane
rated it: 
Haunting, that's the word that's been used to describe this story. It does stay with you. Its beautiful and so sad. I loved the writing style, the way the story is told from multiple angles, and the little sprinkles of the supernatural throughout. I really wanted to believe the magic, even when I knew better.
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Dec 27, 2007
Christie
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i'm still reading this, but i am always a sucker for a tale about bargaining with the devil - not because i strike such bargains myself, mind you. I have not figured out what really happened yet, and I really want to figure out what the heck happened to Henry's sister. Wallace loves to tell his tale from mulitple points of view - so each colorful character gets to tell his or her side of Henry's story through their own lens. Each version is fascinating in its own way - there are some great twist
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Nov 19, 2007
Eva
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read this a short while ago, picked it up because it seemed like something that should be picked up by someone who loves robertson davies and took a history of magic class... and who doesn't adore "big fish" (the movie, not the book, which i (!) haven't read)? this one is really lovely. there seem to be a lot of complaints about how it isn't "big fish," but i think that is as tender and insightful about the love and loyalty between siblings here as he was tender and insight
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Nov 27, 2007
Paula
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This book was not exactly what I expected--which, I suppose, is what you should expect from a story about magicians.
Henry Walker, the magician in question, works at a traveling circus until he his accosted by some unfriendly locals. In his absence, his circus freak friends all tell their version of Henry's life, leading to quite a few contradictions and the requisite plot twists. It's complicated but not deep, and it sped along fast and enjoyably enough. My biggest problem was that More...
Henry Walker, the magician in question, works at a traveling circus until he his accosted by some unfriendly locals. In his absence, his circus freak friends all tell their version of Henry's life, leading to quite a few contradictions and the requisite plot twists. It's complicated but not deep, and it sped along fast and enjoyably enough. My biggest problem was that More...
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Sep 28, 2007
Laura
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I'm not quite sure what to say about the book. It was gripping, and I was grouchy to have to put it down to answer the phone or go to work, but parts of it made me angry. Some of the characters are so selfish that I had a hard time enjoying their points of view. I felt so sorry for Henry and yet, at other moments, I wanted to shake him and tell him to pay more attention to what was actually going on around him. I know at least that I enjoyed the book and Wallace's writing style, so I'm sure I
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Jan 04, 2010
Paul
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I bought this book because I liked the movie Big Fish, and the premise seemed intriguing.
I heard a quote once that said something like, "Every author has one story to tell", the implication being that an author often tells the same story over and over. This seems to be the case with Daniel Wallace.
The themes of Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician are very similar to Big Fish. Again we are reminded that the way someone tells a story can be closer to the truth More...
I heard a quote once that said something like, "Every author has one story to tell", the implication being that an author often tells the same story over and over. This seems to be the case with Daniel Wallace.
The themes of Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician are very similar to Big Fish. Again we are reminded that the way someone tells a story can be closer to the truth More...
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Nov 14, 2009
Krystyn
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Dec 15, 2008
GirlwiththeBraids
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It was in the early 1930’s when Henry Walker was ten years old and he supposedly met the devil in person. The devil gave him the powers he would have to live with for the rest of his life. Then one day Henry’s beautiful little sister disappeared and Henry knew it had been the devil who took her. Struggling through his life, motherless and living desperately with his drunken father, Henry (at the brink of being homeless) is given pigmentation pills so that he may lead a life as a Negro magician.
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Mar 03, 2009
Christine
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This was an interesting but dark book. I read it very quickly, but still can't decide if I really liked it or not.
Henry Walker was 9 when his mother died tragically. His father fell into hard times, became an alcoholic and move Henry and his sister, Hannah, to a hotel where he worked as a handyman. Times were lean -they ate left overs from the kitchen, sometimes not entirely edible.
One day Henry met a guest in room 702 and it changed his life forever. This guest looked od More...
Henry Walker was 9 when his mother died tragically. His father fell into hard times, became an alcoholic and move Henry and his sister, Hannah, to a hotel where he worked as a handyman. Times were lean -they ate left overs from the kitchen, sometimes not entirely edible.
One day Henry met a guest in room 702 and it changed his life forever. This guest looked od More...
Dec 30, 2010
Carrie
rated it:
I really like Daniel Wallace’s writing style. This was the first book I’ve read by him and I’m sure I’ll read more.
Henry’s father is a widower has fallen on bad times and takes a job in a hotel in the 1930’s. There his two children, Henry and Hannah, spend their days exploring. One day Henry comes across a room with a man whom is as white as snow. Without Hannah, he secretly starts to visit this man who is the devil (Mr. Sebastian) and he begins to teach Henry magic. Henry has More...
Henry’s father is a widower has fallen on bad times and takes a job in a hotel in the 1930’s. There his two children, Henry and Hannah, spend their days exploring. One day Henry comes across a room with a man whom is as white as snow. Without Hannah, he secretly starts to visit this man who is the devil (Mr. Sebastian) and he begins to teach Henry magic. Henry has More...
Dec 16, 2009
christopher
rated it: 
Do you find it creepy when a book is cute AND disturbing? Because this one has all of the cuteness of "Big Fish" but also deals with beatings, horrendous sex, child abduction, and racism. On that last note, it is also a little weird to deal with the issue of 50's southern racism without [50th page spoiler alert] having a single character who is, actually, black. Still, an entertaining read.
Dec 17, 2009
Bradley
rated it:
Though the only book I have read by Daniel Wallace, this seems to fit into the Big Fish, non-linea style - truly a story told by many storytellers. It is at times very sad and dark, exposing the hard underbelly of life, while at others uplifting and funny. In the end nothing in the novel is what it seems, a pretty appropriate notion for a novel about the tumultuous life of a magician.
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Jul 29, 2011
Lea
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This is probably more like a 3.5 star book for me, but the writing was very good and the story interesting enough to round it up rather than down.
On it's surface, this is the story of Henry Walker <spoiler> -- raised with wealth, but living in poverty; born white, but living as a black man during the 1950s; a brilliant magician who cannot do any magic tricks; a man who has lost everyone he ever loved, but who is surrounded by those who love him . . . </spoiler> Henry is More...
On it's surface, this is the story of Henry Walker <spoiler> -- raised with wealth, but living in poverty; born white, but living as a black man during the 1950s; a brilliant magician who cannot do any magic tricks; a man who has lost everyone he ever loved, but who is surrounded by those who love him . . . </spoiler> Henry is More...
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Nov 27, 2007
Anne
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Henry is an intriguing character; his tragic story captured by people who passed through his life. It's an engrossing, mesmerizing read, compelling in its multiple voices and its circus setting. Daniel Wallace sets the reader firmly in a time and place. The writing is lovely. The lives I glimpsed in this novel haunt me now a week after finishing it.
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Aug 10, 2011
Steve
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An entertaining novel that's easy and fun to read, but I found the ending disappointing.
The reader follows Henry Walker through a life that includes meeting the devil, fighting in WWII, performing hundreds of magic shows in front of crowds of all sizes and even becoming the title Negro Magician. The story of how Henry lived is life is told by some of the people who witnessed it and therefore takes an interesting spin. Life as told by those who observed it, not the man who actually lived it.
Wal More...
The reader follows Henry Walker through a life that includes meeting the devil, fighting in WWII, performing hundreds of magic shows in front of crowds of all sizes and even becoming the title Negro Magician. The story of how Henry lived is life is told by some of the people who witnessed it and therefore takes an interesting spin. Life as told by those who observed it, not the man who actually lived it.
Wal More...
Aug 16, 2007
Kris
rated it:
"Big Fish" was a book I loved, in part for it's non-linear storytelling. Wallace uses similarly unconventional techniques here, with a series of narrators who each know a part of the story. Packed full of memorable characters and moments that really resonate.
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Feb 05, 2009
Daniel Wallace is best known for Big Fish, a clever tale about a son's search for the man behind his father. Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician uses some of the same fictional ruses but tackles the far more troublesome issues of race and hypocrisy. A few reviewers found fault with an extremely convoluted plot and some extremely unreliable narrators. But most praised Wallace's unique characters and unpredictable plot twists. "In the end," concludes the Portland Oregonian, "we lea
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Sep 09, 2009
HHS
rated it: 
This novel begins with a Depression-era circus. The book has so many twists and surprises I could not stop reading. There are multiple narrators which adds to the mystery throughout. It reads somewhat like Twain, requiring suspension of disbelief while maintaining enough realism to make you question the craziness.
You can't tell much about this book without ruining some of the mystery, but if you read to page 45 I don't think you'll be able to stop. Expect this to become a movie More...
You can't tell much about this book without ruining some of the mystery, but if you read to page 45 I don't think you'll be able to stop. Expect this to become a movie More...
Sep 25, 2009
Thorin
rated it:
I picked this book up on a whim due to the title. I also noticed it was the same author as Big Fish. Having really enjoyed the MOVIE big fish and being thoroughly disappointed in the book I thought I'd give him another chance. I found the book interesting enough though I wouldn't recommend it to anyone really. I think that Daniel Wallace is really right on the line of creating some fantastic stories but somehow always falls well short of the stories potential. There are some wonderful characters
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Feb 15, 2011
Emily
rated it:
My husband recently selected Mr. Sabastian and the Negro Magician off of my library shelves and I was reminded that I had not placed this gem in my Goodreads jewel case.
Mr. Sabastian and the Negro Magician(in my book ;) ranks up there with 'The Two Deaths of Senora Puccini' by Stephen Dobyns.
It showcases the tragedies of stereotyping, survival, and assumptions in a heartbreaking tale that spans America's 1930s to 1950s.
Maybe someday Hollywood will bring Henry an More...
Mr. Sabastian and the Negro Magician(in my book ;) ranks up there with 'The Two Deaths of Senora Puccini' by Stephen Dobyns.
It showcases the tragedies of stereotyping, survival, and assumptions in a heartbreaking tale that spans America's 1930s to 1950s.
Maybe someday Hollywood will bring Henry an More...
Jan 18, 2009
Shelley
rated it:
Recipe for this book:
2 cups Faust
1 song by The Decemberists, preferably off the Picaresque album
A heaping handful of Barnum and Bailey
A splash from either of the following two movies: The Illusionist and The Prestige
A sprinkle of the classic computer game The Curse of Monkey Island
The cantankerous and hopelessly unsuccessful magician from the beloved kids Christmas film, Frosty the Snowman
Mix together More...
2 cups Faust
1 song by The Decemberists, preferably off the Picaresque album
A heaping handful of Barnum and Bailey
A splash from either of the following two movies: The Illusionist and The Prestige
A sprinkle of the classic computer game The Curse of Monkey Island
The cantankerous and hopelessly unsuccessful magician from the beloved kids Christmas film, Frosty the Snowman
Mix together More...
Dec 05, 2011
Caitlin
rated it:
Fresh off the excitement of The Night Circus, which I just couldn’t get out of my mind, I decided to embark on another circus-themed book and was directed to Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician, written by Daniel Wallace, most known to me as the author of the wildly imaginative tall tale, Big Fish. Henry Wallace uses his novelty as a black magician to find a job with Jeremiah Musgrove’s Chinese Circus. His race is his greatest selling point in the 1950s rural South. His act…is a disaster.
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Oct 16, 2009
David
rated it:
I have wanted to read something by Daniel Wallace for sometime and decided on Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician as my first go.
The story follows a man named Henry Walker. The story opens at the end as Henry is confronted by three teens and disappears. We have his story recounted by the family of the circus sideshow that Henry has become part of.
I love stories that have a retell factor and produce a sense that the perspective is as important. A sense of “that’s not More...
The story follows a man named Henry Walker. The story opens at the end as Henry is confronted by three teens and disappears. We have his story recounted by the family of the circus sideshow that Henry has become part of.
I love stories that have a retell factor and produce a sense that the perspective is as important. A sense of “that’s not More...
Sep 23, 2008
Kirby
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This is possibly the first time that national mood has significantly affected my ability to enjoy a book. I finished it, but kept returning to the beginning scenes, where an elderly Black magician repeatedly fails in front of a white audience that has paid to see him do just that. It has the effect of soothing their racial anxieties and signaling that the social upheaval around them has left their position undisturbed. An admittedly long excerpt: "A black man with green eyes- a Negro- a
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Sep 03, 2008
nimrodiel
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Henry Walker, the negro magician, is a weak, thin and shaky black magician. An un-coorordinated sort of person, every night he drops cards, misses his cues and fumbles his way through his act. His show, part of the attractions offered at Musgrove’s Chinese Circus, is the sort that gives those watching a feeling of well being because even if life is bad, it can’t be as bad as this guy’s. But one summer night when the circus is stopped outside a small town in rural Mississippi Henry disappears as
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Oct 04, 2010
Sarah
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I am a complete sucker for anything circus-related. Perhaps it's because, when I was three, I was nearly crushed by an elephant when I ran into the ring at a circus. Perhaps it's because I'm unabashedly attracted to freaks and oddballs. This book ranks high on my list of circus-themed books I have read. One thing I think Wallace does very well is shifting perspectives. In 'Big Fish' he explored the idea of fact/fiction, and in this one he takes on how a story shifts and morphs and is embell
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Jun 10, 2011
William
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Anybody who has read the book or seen the enjoyable movie "Big Fish" knows that this author writes of Southern tinged fantasy. Though the title is regrettable the truth is that in the 40s and 50s South Black people were called Negroes. So I forgave him (a White author) that. I even forgave the fact that the Negro in the title was not actually a Negro but a White man who used his ability to become a Negro to his advantage. And as is repeatedly pointed out, this is an insane strategy in
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Oct 17, 2008
Tung
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I can’t really tell if I’m a Daniel Wallace fan or not. I loved his first book Big Fish; his second novel Ray in Reverse was okay, but a bit disappointing; but I despised his third novel The Watermelon King. This is not a healthy trend. However, I like two things about him: first, I think his prose is fairly good – engaging and usually sharp, though nothing brilliant; second, I like his unique attempts at letting a story unfold. In Big Fish, the reader has to separate the truth from the tall tal
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Jan 07, 2008
Chris
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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