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Product Description
Product Description
Third – and breakthrough – novel by an acclaimed American writer with an enchanting, quirky voice. ‘The Magician’s Assistant’ is at once a love story and a brilliant portrayal of reinvention about a magician who dies leaving his assistant/wife to discover he has lied about his past.
A magician (with one memorable appearance on the Johnny Carson Show to his credit) takes the name Parsifal. He is gay. He has a Vietnamese lover, Phan. When Phan dies of AIDS, Parsifal marries the woman who has always adored him and who has lived with them both, his assistant Sabine.
Then Parsifal himself dies in California, suddenly and shockingly, of an aneurysm. Parsifal always said that he had no living family and that he came from wealthy upscale Connecticut stock. The reality is very different, as Sabine learns from his lawyer. He came from a poor Nebraska family and they are very much alive. Indeed his mother and sister are on their way to California to meet Sabine, the daughter- and sister-in-law they know nothing about. It is bad that her husband has died. What Sabine must now cope with is coming to terms with his horrific past and the reason he divorced himself from his family and roots.
From the Back Cover
A magician (with one memorable appearance on the Johnny Carson Show to his credit) takes the name Parsifal. He is gay. He has a Vietnamese lover, Phan. When Phan dies of AIDS, Parsifal marries the woman who has always adored him and who has lived with them both, his assistant Sabine.
Then Parsifal himself dies in California, suddenly and shockingly, of an aneurysm. Parsifal always said that he had no living family and that he came from wealthy upscale Connecticut stock. The reality is very different, as Sabine learns from his lawyer. He came from a poor Nebraska family and they are very much alive. Indeed his mother and sister are on their way to California to meet Sabine, the daughter- and sister-in-law they know nothing about. It is bad that her husband has died. What Sabine must now cope with is coming to terms with his horrific past and the reason he divorced himself from his family and roots.
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PARSIFAL IS DEAD. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
PARSIFAL IS DEAD. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
On one level, this is an incredibly simple book. Sabine has been the magician Parsifal's assistant for twenty years. After his death, she discovers a family she never knew he had, and they piece together the truth about the man.
Once we discover what some of that truth is, however, we begin to see a more complex situation. Parsifal was married to Sabine, but the two of them lived with Phan, Parsifal's gay, true lover. Guy, the boy his family knew, was instrumental the death of his father. And so it goes on: Sabine, Dot Fetters the mother and Kitty and Bertie the sisters, each adding to the picture and discovering new ways of looking at the man they had loved.
Criticism has been made of this book for its lack of plot, and if big plot is what you are looking for, you had better look elsewhere. This book is about character, about truth and the nature of love; you might think you were looking at an illusion, and then find that you were looking in a mirror instead. As any magician knows, the truth revealed has no impact until the illusion has been well set-up, but the set-up may be a slow and subtle process. That is what this book is about.
I want particularly to mention Patchett's perfect translation to the page of the too-large physicality and grunting non-verbal communication of Kitty's adolescent sons. Witty, literate adolescents are one thing to write, but these rather more realistic ones are a real achievement. Her writing goes beyond words.
Definitely recommended, and responsible, like I needed it, for adding another author to my "get everything she's ever written" list.
Once we discover what some of that truth is, however, we begin to see a more complex situation. Parsifal was married to Sabine, but the two of them lived with Phan, Parsifal's gay, true lover. Guy, the boy his family knew, was instrumental the death of his father. And so it goes on: Sabine, Dot Fetters the mother and Kitty and Bertie the sisters, each adding to the picture and discovering new ways of looking at the man they had loved.
Criticism has been made of this book for its lack of plot, and if big plot is what you are looking for, you had better look elsewhere. This book is about character, about truth and the nature of love; you might think you were looking at an illusion, and then find that you were looking in a mirror instead. As any magician knows, the truth revealed has no impact until the illusion has been well set-up, but the set-up may be a slow and subtle process. That is what this book is about.
I want particularly to mention Patchett's perfect translation to the page of the too-large physicality and grunting non-verbal communication of Kitty's adolescent sons. Witty, literate adolescents are one thing to write, but these rather more realistic ones are a real achievement. Her writing goes beyond words.
Definitely recommended, and responsible, like I needed it, for adding another author to my "get everything she's ever written" list.
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The less you know about the plot of this novel the better. Let the story unfold from page to page and I think you will be as enchanted as I was. The characters are so real and mostly likeable, and the settings, particularly Nebraska, are evocative. It also has some funny parts (especially the plane journey) and the details about magic are enthralling. Before I had even finished it I was wondering how soon I could read it again!
Readers who like Anne Tyler's books will also like this.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
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First I want to get something off my chest. When I selected this book the blurb advertising it suggested it was going to be a very diferent read to what it turned out to be. Ultimately I'm glad I got it but the original Amazon write-up made it seem like a fantasy novel. However even that original blurb would be preferable to the current Amazon write-up, which is a bit too spoilery for my tastes.
Sabine's long term showbusiness partner and sometime husband, Parsifal, has died, following almost on the heels of the death of Parsifal's true love, Phan, who happens to be a bloke. Sabine is left feeling empty and desolate in their LA home but is still faced with the task of tidying up Parsifal's financial matters. It's then that she discovers his family, who he claimed were dead, are in fact alive and well, living in Nebraska.
And that's about as much of the plot as I'm giving away because it's a delicate thing which is best left to unfold in its own time, like the blooming of a rare orchid.
All the sleight of hand and illusion allusions have been used up already but they hit the nail on the head. Part of the charm of this book is the way it leads you in one direction, making you think you have the measure of a character, then bam! you realise you were wrong all along. It's not overdone and there's more to it than just that. There's some very clever subtle writing throughout that left me thinking about certain passages long after I'd finished them. I actually had to leave it several days before writing this review because I was still getting scenes straight in my head.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to people who enjoy character driven fiction, though the focus here is primarily on Sabine herself with only a few of the other characters being fleshed out. I was left feeling that a couple of the people who're central to the story don't become fully rounded but that's such a little thing overall.
Sabine's long term showbusiness partner and sometime husband, Parsifal, has died, following almost on the heels of the death of Parsifal's true love, Phan, who happens to be a bloke. Sabine is left feeling empty and desolate in their LA home but is still faced with the task of tidying up Parsifal's financial matters. It's then that she discovers his family, who he claimed were dead, are in fact alive and well, living in Nebraska.
And that's about as much of the plot as I'm giving away because it's a delicate thing which is best left to unfold in its own time, like the blooming of a rare orchid.
All the sleight of hand and illusion allusions have been used up already but they hit the nail on the head. Part of the charm of this book is the way it leads you in one direction, making you think you have the measure of a character, then bam! you realise you were wrong all along. It's not overdone and there's more to it than just that. There's some very clever subtle writing throughout that left me thinking about certain passages long after I'd finished them. I actually had to leave it several days before writing this review because I was still getting scenes straight in my head.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to people who enjoy character driven fiction, though the focus here is primarily on Sabine herself with only a few of the other characters being fleshed out. I was left feeling that a couple of the people who're central to the story don't become fully rounded but that's such a little thing overall.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Disappointed
I thought I would love this book; from the blurb and the gorgeous cover I should have but I just never found my momentum with this book. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Boof
Beautifully written study on grief
Ann Patchett's third and (not difficult to understand why) break-through novel is the first novel by the author I've read and with it she has certainly acquired one more admiring... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Fantasy Lore
Lacking magic
I come to this book after admiring State of Wonder and Bel Canto, and so find myself disappointed. Though Patchett's ability to create strong characters is palpable,the absence of... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Banuta Rubess
Beautifully Written
I am just coming to the end of The Magician's Assistant and will be very sad indeed when I arrive. Some may say that I am foolish to write a review without knowing how the book... Read more
Published on 6 Oct 2009 by Susan Creed
Unusual and enjoyable
I enjoyed reading this novel. It is based around the platonic love affair between a gay male magician, Parsifal, and his heterosexual female assistant, Sabine, through whose eyes... Read more
Published on 19 Sep 2009 by Mr. N. Daws
Enjoyable Novel
Ann Patchett has added herself to a list of authors that I am now 'following' thanks to this novel, and there can be no higher praise than that. Read more
Published on 7 Sep 2009 by J. P. Ellison
A Magical Journey
This was a very sad tale of hopeless love and painful loss. The characters are beautifully written and tenderly observed. Read more
Published on 18 Jun 2009 by M. S. Richards
Enjoyable & Recomended read.
An interesting and reflective work on many subjects, grief, familly life, town life and friendships. Unfolds slowly and sensitively. Nice to read and paced quite well. Read more
Published on 17 Jun 2009 by R. Hallett
An original and emotional novel
I enjoyed every moment of reading this book. It's rare that a book enthralls the reader almost from page one. Read more
Published on 14 Mar 2009 by S. Diment
Unimpressed
Simone's life is built entirely on lies and illusion and I found it difficult to have any empathy with her either in California or Nebraska. Read more
Published on 1 Mar 2009 by A. Horner
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