The Magician's Assistant
by Ann Patchett
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 2412)
Read in July, 2008
This is the story of Sabine, a magician's assistant and what happens to her after her magician (also her husband) dies. The book begins with his death and the story goes on from her memories and dreams to what is happening in the present. The will reveals a family that she never knew about and as she becomes involved with them she learns a lot about her husband that she hadn't ever been aware of. The relationship between Sabine and Parsifal is unusual as he was gay (not a spoiler--on the jacke...more
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Read in March, 2008
I don't really recommend this book. It's an interesting enough story, and near the end it has a couple of "I have no idea what's going to happen, and gosh I wonder how it'll all turn out" moments, but for the most part, it left me feeling flat and ambivalent.
In the first part, I felt like the story was told in the first few pages, but it just kept going, indulging in flashbacks and moments of "reflection" without any apparent reason. I, the reader, was desperately hop...more
In the first part, I felt like the story was told in the first few pages, but it just kept going, indulging in flashbacks and moments of "reflection" without any apparent reason. I, the reader, was desperately hop...more
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Read in June, 2008
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 Midwester...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 Midwester...more
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Read in January, 2008
like all of ann patchett's books, the magician's assistant is a beautiful and moving story with insightfully drawn characters that seem so real you feel like you know them by the time the book is over. that being said, this was probably my least favorite of ann patchett's novels. i enjoyed it very much, but it faces some pretty stiff competition, as many of her books rank among my favorites ever (bel canto, the patron saint of liars).
the story itself is a bit odd: it be...more
the story itself is a bit odd: it be...more
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Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
fans of Anne Patchett, fans of good writing, people who live in LA, people who like to cry
First off, I should make one thing clear: this is a well-written, beautifully crafted story with layers that totally pay off. That being said, it was nearly impossible for me to get through. I put it down for several days at a time, hoping it would stop making me cry, and then I'd pick it up and cry some more. Since the same thing happened with the other Anne Patchett book I've read (Truth & Beauty) I wonder, kind of, if that's a talent of hers. In this case, it's the kind of poignant, heart...more
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Read in August, 2007
This book suprised 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...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...more
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
Angelenos considering a move to Nebraska
Pleasantly engaged in and surprised by "The Magician's Assistant," which I enjoyed *far* better than "Bel Canto" (overwrought and overpraised, in my humble opinion). A thoughtful construction puts the reader smack dab in a disconcerting and decontextualized situation--the unexpected death of the protagonist's husband. We acquaint ourselves with the dead magician in real time with his widow as she gradually learns of the dramatic former life that he had escaped and eschewed....more
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Read in November, 2007
I read another review of this book on goodreads that said she wasn't sure how much she was enjoying the book, yet she couldn't wait to pick it up again. I felt the same way.
It started out well enough in that it was intriguing because there were questions that needed to be answered right away and then I got a little bored, but still wanted to read it. At times I wanted to hurry up and read it so I could move on to another book. Then it became a little interesting again with a few surprising ...more
It started out well enough in that it was intriguing because there were questions that needed to be answered right away and then I got a little bored, but still wanted to read it. At times I wanted to hurry up and read it so I could move on to another book. Then it became a little interesting again with a few surprising ...more
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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...more
My only real complaint with the novel involves the pacing. Some of the narrative changes...more
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Read in June, 2007
recommended to Julie by:
Laura Steffen
Read this for book club--I was traveling a ton for work at the time and happened to end up in LA during that whirlwind, just as I was reading in the story about things taking place in the same area I was staying in LA.
Things that were going on at that time in my life were oddly similar to some of the themes that were in the book and it was all in uncanny, but in a nice way.
The story is really a very deep and interwoven love story between mainly a husband and wife, but beyond that, it's d...more
Things that were going on at that time in my life were oddly similar to some of the themes that were in the book and it was all in uncanny, but in a nice way.
The story is really a very deep and interwoven love story between mainly a husband and wife, but beyond that, it's d...more
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Read in January, 2007
I liked this book at first because it was well written and was just so odd. Odd characters and a plot-line that was unlike any other book I'd read. But what started out as unique soon showed itself to be just plain contrived. The story was both unbelievable, phony and dull all at once. The characters were vapid and it was difficult to relate to the main voice, Sabine, let alone care about what happened to her. It felt for awhile that something big was building up and I kept waiting for a high-in...more
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
anybody
This is the best book I've read in a long time, considering my level of sadness when I finished it. It's not just that there were a few unanswered questions at the end; I wanted the storyline to continue before my eyes.
Things I loved about this book: Sabine, the main character, a magician's assistant who falls in love with the magician, a gay man with a partner; the tiny architectural models that Sabine builds in her spare time; the descriptions of Southern California that make you feel li...more
Things I loved about this book: Sabine, the main character, a magician's assistant who falls in love with the magician, a gay man with a partner; the tiny architectural models that Sabine builds in her spare time; the descriptions of Southern California that make you feel li...more
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Read in September, 2007
I really enjoyed this book, enough so that I stayed up far too late last night reading it, far later than I'd expected to. This story starts out simply: Sabine is married to Parsifal, a stage magician, and was his beautiful assistant for many years. At the start of the book Parsifal dies suddenly at the tale end of a long sickness, and Sabine is left to pick up the pieces. However, the beauty of this story is the way Patchett carefully manages information, releasing just enough to keep you int...more
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Read in December, 2007
She’s famous for Bel Canto, which is now on my reading list. My father-in-law gave me The Magician’s Assistant for Christmas, and I started reading it that day. It’s a wonderful real-human story of a woman who married her gay stage partner after performing with him for 20 odd years. She then lived with him and his partner, nursing them in their illnesses until both passed away. The story begins with the aftermath of her husband’s death, and her discovery of his past. The tolerance, the f...more
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Read in September, 2007
I enjoyed many things about this book. It's beautifully written and you come to know the main character, Sabine so well. I wept for her loss at the beginning of the novel. She's the third wheel and I think most of us can relate to that. There are some very interesting characters as well. I loved the contrast of her life in LA and her trip to Nebraska.
However, the novel just didn't do it for me. I finished it because I felt I needed to (and because I must have had some vested interest...more
However, the novel just didn't do it for me. I finished it because I felt I needed to (and because I must have had some vested interest...more
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Read in July, 2006
Sabine is the long-time assistant of a stage magician who calls himself Parsifal, and also his wife, although since Parsifal is gay they aren't lovers and don't cohabitate. When Parsifal dies Sabine learns that many of the things he'd led people to believe about his past weren't true, and she sets out to his childhood home in Nebraska to learn the truth from the family from which he'd fled.
This is an affecting, unusual romance about reinvention and coming to terms with loss, and about a pla...more
This is an affecting, unusual romance about reinvention and coming to terms with loss, and about a pla...more
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Read in June, 2008
My brother gave me a copy of Bel Canto, Ann Patchett's best know book, a few years ago, but I couldn't get into it and never read past the first chapter. Then I recently read The Patron Saint of Liars, which I enjoyed, though it was not a perfect book. When I saw this one in the library, I thought I'd give it a whirl. I'm about halfway through and I've enjoyed it very much. The main character, a beautiful Jewish woman (about my age) named Sabine, is relatable and the other characters are int...more
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Read in October, 2006
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. CO...more
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Read in December, 2007
I enjoyed this book, although I was fairly well into it before I was truly engaged.
A very unusual concept, and the magician's assistant herself is a most unusual protagonist, given her realtionship with the magician and his lover.
The book begins with the death of the magician, and the discovery by his assistant (also his wife) that the family he told her was long dead is in fact very much alive. She then embarks on a journey to discover the man she only thought she knew.
The ambiance...more
A very unusual concept, and the magician's assistant herself is a most unusual protagonist, given her realtionship with the magician and his lover.
The book begins with the death of the magician, and the discovery by his assistant (also his wife) that the family he told her was long dead is in fact very much alive. She then embarks on a journey to discover the man she only thought she knew.
The ambiance...more
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Read in December, 2007
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
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