About this title: For 20 years Sabine was the assistant of the magician, Parsifal. Deeply in love with him despite his homosexuality, she had to settle for his friendship. After his death, Sabine learns that Parsifal has surviving relatives in Nebraska, so she decides to visit them in an attempt to learn more about his past. In the place where her beloved came of ...
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Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Harvest Books
Date Published: 1998-09-17
ISBN-13:9780156006217ISBN:0156006219
Description: Fair. 1998. Harvest Books. Paperback. Clean text. Coffee colored stains on page edges. Tilted spine. Fold crease on front cover. Light wear and scuffing. Ship same or next day. More fiction books in our store. Matching ISBN. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Harvest Books
Date Published: 1998
ISBN-13:9780156006217ISBN:0156006219
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. clean, well bound and unmarked, light wear. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 368 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Description: Good. Purchasing this book supports the King County Library System Foundation. Thriftbooks and KCLSF have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Almost in new condition. Book shows only very slight signs of use. Cover and binding are undamaged and pages show minimal use. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Fair. Purchasing this book supports the King County Library System Foundation. Thriftbooks and KCLSF have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Dust Cover Missing. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Purchasing this DVD supports the North Central Regional Library. Thriftbooks and NCRL have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Library ID found on DVD and case. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Fair. Purchasing this item supports Pierce County libraries. Thriftbooks and PCL have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Fair. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Fair. Dust Cover Missing. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Purchasing this DVD supports the North Central Regional Library. Thriftbooks and NCRL have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Library ID found on DVD and case. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Fair. Purchasing this DVD supports the North Central Regional Library. Thriftbooks and NCRL have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Library ID found on DVD and case. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Very Good. Great condition for a used book! Minimal wear. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Acceptable. Shows definite wear, and perhaps considerable marking on inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
"I loved Bel Canto, thoroughly enjoyed The Patron Saint of Liars, and only just liked Run (it was much less satisfying than the other two) and am pleased to find I loved reading The Magician's Assistant. Though friends of mine who had read it were not so enamored with it, I thought this quiet book about a woman coping with the death of the man she loved for over two decades was just right, especially her willingness to embrace, almost fall into, loving again in a most unexpected way. Sabrine's story just makes sense and Patchett has wonderful down-to-earth insights about what we choose in life and the possibilities that are open to us. Her treatment of Nebraska might have been a bit stereotyped and yet it rang true on many levels to my own midwestern roots and culture. I felt such a kinship with Sabine, it was like I was visiting an old friend each time I sat down to read this book."
"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 the 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 could almost hear the music!
"The Magician's Assistant" is Sabrine, recent widow of Parsifal,a talented, complex magician. Following his death, she discovers that he had a family, the existence of which he had never revealed. In the midst of Sabrine's deep grief, she then has to contend with a new aspect of dealing with his absence. Throughout this book, Sabrine's grief and sense of loss is poignantly felt. Patchett has written a tender, sad, often symbolic and sometimes humorous tale. Sabrine is obviously downcast, but warm and likable. Other characterizations are vivid, varied and, for the most part, engaging.
Although the subject of mourning and grief would appear unappealing, Patchett has created a compelling, warm novel."
"With The Magicians Assistant, Ann Patchett has performed the proverbial "Hat Trick" with a tale that is filled with beautiful writing but contains nothing new in the way of plot.
By diverting our attention with conversations with the dead, flashbacks, dreams and vicarious travel being experienced by Sabine, the title character of this piece and widow of Parsifal the Magician, she manages to make us think we are experiencing a tale of substance when, in fact, it is really all just smoke and mirrors. This story of a woman in love with a man who is in love with a man, as well as the "tragic" childhood experiences and hidden family with a trunkful of secrets are classic Hollywood fodder and not worthy of the woman who gave us Bel Canto and Patron Saint of Liars.
Okay, I get the premise. Everyone is searching for love and acceptance and at sometime in our lives we all have to deal with death, or loss, or grief ..... or a combination of all of the above. This search, however, was boring and it's final outcome less than satisfying and definitely without true resolution. Ms. Patchett was probably going for an abstract look at one woman's spiritual journey. All I can say is you had better pack a large lunch to take along on this trip, because that is the only thing that will sustain you, since there is little in this story to feed your grey matter."
"Might be a little hard to take if you are recently widowed yourself as the lead character has just lost her husband. It hits close to home. A different kind of story throwing together unlikely characters. Patchett has a great way with dialogue and characterization. After loving Bel Canto and Run, I was pleased with this one and will seek out another novel by Patchett."
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