This book was fantastic and I am thrilled that I chose it as my first Patchett novel. There is so much tenderness in this beautiful story; each character (even the dastardly “villain”) is developed and handled with such care; I didn’t want the story to end because of the people involved. There is sadness here, and secrets and complicated family dynamics and love...and love...and MAGIC. Oh, and of course there’s a rabbit too. Time spent with this book was simply delightful.

(3.5) The first third of the novel takes place in Los Angeles, where Sabine lived with her husband Parsifal, the magician she assisted for 20 years, but the rest is set in winter-encased Nebraska. The contrast between the locations forms a perfect framework for a story of illusions versus reality. (view spoiler)[Patchett opens with the terrific lines “Parsifal is dead. That is the end of the story.” Ironically, his brain aneurysm burst while he was inside a hospital MRI machine, but it’s a mercy...

The Magician’s Assistant *** ½ Ann PatchettI 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...

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...

This morning, my belligerent son used his well-honed fingernails to pierce a hole in my hand, drawing blood. When I felt the pain, I smacked his hand away in self defense. I don't feel like talking to him, or even looking at him, for a week. I think he feels the same. He is six, and he has beautiful eyes.Of course, were he to be diagnosed with brain cancer, my heart would explode and die, and my will to live would wane faster than you could say intentional overdose. Can a person overdose on Advi...

When I was about two thirds of the way through The Magician’s Apprentice, I seriously doubted that I was going to finish it. The story seemed to be bogging down in an uncomfortable snowbound Nebraska household, domestic violence was in the atmosphere and I didn't want to spend time in that space. So I did what I often do now, I read the last 15 pages or so to see how it ends, and whether it would be worth persisting.Well, the ending was such a surprise there was no way I could work out what had

she loved Parsifal, he was a good friend to her, and married her to save her from having to pay a large inheritance tax. And, well, from some problems that might arise.His lawyer will inform her about the problems two weeks after her husband's death. It turns out he has a family. No, not in the sense of "wife and children", not at all. The family that each of us had in childhood. Mom. And sisters. In twenty-two years of dating, he never mentioned them, except for the one time when he said that t...

I already knew Ann Patchett has a certain unique magic to build these deep and interesting character-driven stories, but I also knew that she's a shapeshifter who can move through all kinds of settings and people. There are a lot of books about romantic or familial love, but this book is about a rather unique little corner of love that is not quite right, redirected love, the kind that isn't perfect but that takes what it can. What a lovely and heartfelt book.Sabine is newly a widow at the begin...

Digital audio book performed by Karen Ziemba3.5***From the book jacket: Sabine – twenty years a magician’s assistant to her handsome, charming husband – is suddenly a widow. In the wake of his death, she finds he has left a final trick: a false identity and a family allegedly lost in a tragic accident but now revealed as very much alive and well. Named as heirs in his will, they enter Sabine’s life and set her on an adventure of unraveling his secrets, from sunny Los Angeles to the windswept pla...

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...

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...

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...

I admit to having an Ann Patchett fixation recently….(since listening to this years recent treasure “These Precious Days”……(I’m crazy over it!!!!)I was pleasantly surprised with this novel (after seeing low reviews)..I’m in ‘awe’ at the cleverness-revealing numerous complex serious themes….Themes and tales that would be complex today in 2021…..but even more so in 1997…..(when the book was first published)At first the plot seems very straightforward: a handsome charming magician/husband has recen...

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 inher...

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...

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...

1/2/14: Rereading an old favorite is interesting. I still love this book, still love the glittering magic of LA and the gritty, land-bound Nebraska setting. What surprised me was how my perception changed. I loved this book at 19, then at 22, then at 24. Everyone felt so much older then; reading it now, I'm older than the youngest main character in the story, Bertie, and what hit hardest was how this was a story of grown ups not knowing what the hell they're doing and making poor decisions. But

Five stars with reluctance since I couldn't describe what the attraction this book had for me. Whether it was the grass is greener concept or we're all the same, or the draw of magic. The sad life of Sabine moved to a new chapter although she will likely continue to live propelled with other people's direction.I absolutely loved the character of the rabbit who seemed a cross between a cat and dog.