The Magician's Assistant

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Has The Magician’s Assistant restored my willingness to try more by Ann Patchett? I’d say it has. I do have Run and The Patron Saint of Liars on my shelf already, so I’m sure I’ll try at least one of those. For readers who have had similarly disappointing experiences with Ann Patchett’s novels, The Magician’s Assistant is different enough that I’d recommend it as a nice change of pace. Thanks to JoAnn for suggesting it to me! A contradiction in herself, the beautiful Sabine has rejected many admirers to devote her entire adult life to loving Parsifal, assisting his magic act and finally helping him tend his dying Vietnamese lover, Phan. Now middle-aged and alone in Phan's In a minute or so when my cue comes, I’ll slip off the top layer of my costume, get in position and prepare to reappear in what seems like a different outfit and from what seems like a tiny space. It’s magic. The audience applaud, delighted that they have been fooled. of her favorite work. A childhood that could be mined month by month. Parsifal would not get older, but what about younger?''

The Magician’s Assistant” by Ann Patchett Thoughts on “The Magician’s Assistant” by Ann Patchett

yes, by the magic of love. If it is hard not to squint at some of the flashy paradoxes Patchett uses to construct her narrative, then perhaps a struggle with credulity is precisely what she wants to encourage. Improbable relationships Magicians Are Wizards: A possible subversion. While eminent conjurer Shandu the Magnificent knowingly keeps custody of a genuine magic wand, he warns that actual use of the wand can summon evil. Magic Wand: Used by ancient sorcerers to draw power from the earth, such an item is guarded by Shandu. Sabine's dreams to report on the afterlife and advise her on her quest. We are reminded several times that Parsifal was a magician, and ''without magicians, the assistants were lost,'' but that answer isn't

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Does that (somewhat clumsy) summary make this one sound odd? Don’t get too hung up on it. Patchett manages to make it all work, somehow! My Thoughts:

The Magician’s Assistant: The Sunday Times best selling

enormous house in Los Angeles with only a rabbit for company, she slides into a dangerous, somnolent despair, mourning the loss of a man she never had -- which means there is no need ever to quit mourning him. Like Sleeping Beauty, she It isn’t until the charismatic Parsifal, Sabine’s husband and the magician she assisted for years, dies suddenly that Sabine discovers his secret: the family he claimed perished in a car accident long ago is actually alive and well in middle-of-nowhere Nebraska. When Kitty and Dot Fetters, sister and mother, respectively, of Guy Fetters — that’s Parsifal to Sabine — decide to visit Los Angeles to meet Sabine and see where Guy lived, Sabine finds herself drawn into Parsifal’s past, seeking comfort in these women who were so close to her husband and partner so long ago. As Todd's attention falls on the wand again, Shandu impresses on him the importance of Magical Rule #1: "Never, ever touch another magician's wand unless he hands it to you." Todd finally asks why Shandu is so grumpy, and the magician ruefully recalls his once illustrious career, performing on Broadway before royalty and starring in his own movie series... which hasn't even been released on video. After disliking both Bel Canto and State of Wonder, I’d all but given up on Ann Patchett’s novels. JoAnn suggested I try The Magician’s Assistant as a last chance, and I chose to listen to it. About the Book:Rule #1: Over the course of the first act, Shandu reveals three cardinal rules of magic to Todd. Rule #1: "Never, ever touch another magician's wand unless he hands it to you." Rule #2: "Only let them see what you want them to see." Rule #3: "Never, ever get caught in your own reflection." After Todd uses the three rules to defeat Nazrak, Shandu passes his wand on to him, and just before he disappears, he reveals Rule #4: "Always leave them wanting more." Shandu arrives and deduces Todd's minimal experience, but Todd insists he is a fast learner and a hard worker. Shandu decides to give Todd a trial run, telling him that he must acquire skill at magic by keeping his mouth shut and eyes open.

the magician’s assistant creates the illusion | Wellcome How the magician’s assistant creates the illusion | Wellcome

The difficulty with this unusual romance is that it is never clear why Sabine loves Parsifal so obsessively. He was generous and good-hearted, but so are his mother and sisters and nearly everyone else she encounters, including Phan, who regularly visits arsifal is dead,'' reads the startling opening of ''The Magician's Assistant,'' Ann Patchett's third novel. ''That is The audiobook was read by Karen Ziemba. She’s a new narrator to me, but I liked the way her cool, polished voice matched the way I imagined Sabine. I very much enjoyed the audio production and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/AreYouAfraidOfTheDarkSeason2TheTaleOfTheMagiciansAssistant Follow ing Recap / or that by posthumously reuniting Parsifal with his mother and sisters, she helps unchain them from a painful past. But it is still gratifying to watch Patchett pull each rabbit out of the hat.

The demon knows that, according to Magical Rule #1, he can only take the wand with Todd's consent - so uses Mrs. Marker as a means of persuasion. Todd agrees to give him the wand only if Nazrak leaves his mother alone. Nazrak agrees, and Todd hands over the wand. Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: Shandu, with a promise to remain close by, willingly fades from earthly existence. At first, I didn’t think I’d be able to connect much with Sabine, a glamorous magician’s assistant living the a cushy life in Los Angeles with her husband and his gay lover (I’ll let you read the book yourself to learn about that situation). Yet, as Sabine’s story unfolded, I found myself warming to her as she struggled to come to terms with her grief and redefine her suddenly solitary life. Through the Fetters family, Sabine encounters a world so different from her own that it both forces her to face reality and helps her on her journey. Patchett ended The Magician’s Assistant in precisely the right place, in my opinion, which left me feeling both satisfied and relieved this particular ending hadn’t gone the way of the others of Patchett’s I’d read! As Sabine notes: ''People long to be amazed, even as they fight it. Once you amaze them, you own them.'' Few readers will be amazed that Sabine's search for Parsifal in Nebraska leads her to find love unexpectedly can flourish; strange havens do exist. Becoming accustomed to sad endings may be more naive than believing, now and then, in happily ever after.