Illusionist

by Jennifer Johnston, Triin Tael (Translator), Kirsti Sinissaar (Editor)

Raamatu peategelane Stella kohtus illusionist Martyniga rongis ning see tõi ta ellu muutuse. Hiljem arutles ta, et ilma selle kohtumiseta oleks ta elu olnud kindlasti lihtsam, kuid temast ei oleks siis saanud ka kirjanikku. Kirjanikuks sai ta tõenäoliselt kõige selle tõttu, mille tunnistajaks ta oli olnud Martyni kõrval elades ning jälgides, kuidas armastus mehe vastu asendus vähehaaval sügavas hingepõhjas hõõguva vihaga.Jennifer Johnston, üks Iirimaa stiilitundlikumaid ja peenemaid inimeste hingeelu kujutajaid, on pärit kirjanduslikust perekonnast. Ta ise on saanud tuntuks romaanidega, mida on sageli nimetatud impressionistlikeks, sest olukorrad, inimeste suhtumised ja tunded on seal edasi antud nappide, kuid väga täpsete ja mõjuvate vahenditega. Johnstoni romaane on avaldatud paljudes maades ning ta on saanud palju auhindu, sh. Robert Pitmani auhinna, Whitbreadi auhinna, ka on ta olnud Booker Prize'i kandidaat.

Genres: Fiction, Irish Literature, Ireland, Literary Fiction

214 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Jennifer Johnston was an Irish novelist. She won a number of awards, including the Whitbread Book Award for The Old Jest in 1979 and a Lifetime Achievement from the Irish Book Awards (2012). The Old Jest, a novel about the Irish War of Independence, was later made into a film called The Dawning, starring Anthony Hopkins, produced by Sarah Lawson and directed by Robert Knights.

Reviews

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

A real disappointment from an author whose previous work ("How many miles to Babylon?", "The Captains and the Kings") I (still) find exceptional. The book is a first-person narrative of victimhood - the main protagonist is such a self-pitying classic wife as victim you just want to smack her. OK, lady, so your man done you wrong, get over yourself already - nobody wants to listen to you whine about it for 200-odd pages! And the shocking "plot twist" at the end? Guess what - I saw it coming after reading only about 80 pages of this sorry excuse for a book.

Really, Ms Johnston, Anita Brookner already has the market cornered on this kind of victim fiction. Why go there to waste your considerable talents?

I left this book in a hotel room in Ireland. I probably should have stuck a warning note on it - for lovers of self-indulgent, self-pitying emotional wallowing only.

[Tiina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Arvustus vaid mulle endale, sest oma tõelistest lemmikutest rääkimine eriti välja ei tule.

Jennifer Johnston oskab. Kuigi raamat ei ole lemmikute killast, siis ootamatult on mõned laused on sellised, et loed läbi ja siis uuesti. Ja uuesti. Süžeed pole ollagi, aga Iirimaa kumab iga lause tagant läbi.
Johnston lihtsalt on endiselt (ka pärast kahte lõputööd!) mu lemmik moodne klassik, lemmik iirlane ja lemmik mitte-ajaviitekirjanduse autor.

Kõige parem soovitus neile, kes mind teavad, et raamat kätte võtta: ainus autor, kelle ebameeldivaid tegelasi ma lugeda suudan.

[Chris Waterford · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved "Two Moons" but struggled with this book. For me, the structure didn't flow, and the characters unappealing. The writing was the only thing that kept me in it.

[Katrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I had mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I liked it more than I expected to. Once I got used to all the jumping between past and present, I liked it well enough. It was intriguing. It pulled me in. It was a decent story.

On the other hand, there was plenty I didn't like. The writing style and content was sometimes too whimsical for me. Too floaty and daydreamy. Occasional song lyrics that meant nothing to me. I understand that the author's intent was clearly to bring the reader into Stella's whimsical head, but it just left me confused and a little frustrated.

And speaking of frustrations, there were numerous occasions where I wanted to shake some sense into the woman. Why did she stand back and do nothing while Robin became daddy's little girl, to the point of excluding Stella herself? Why did she let her daughter hate her all those years, when a single conversation revealing Martyn's true colours could have cleared up a lot? Why did she apologise during an argument where he physically hurt her and was nasty towards her? She had nothing to apologise for. Why did she let him walk all over her for so long? Why didn't she confront him and leave as soon as she realised he was cheating on her? Why did she not set those bloody birds free after he ripped up her manuscript? I would've done it, and then left him a note saying, "Eye for an eye, you rotten bastard."

It was a book full of questions, and very few answers. We never find out what the hell those men were doing back there. We never find out anything about Martyn's past life and who he really was. We never find out where he spent his time, although I assume a good chunk of it was spent with his mistress and other daughter.

I expected some sort of climax towards the end of the book, or a big reveal, or something. But there was nothing like that - with the exception of the Angela thing possibly. Mostly it was just a sad tale of the slow death of a marriage, caused by a dirtbag with secrets.

But I guess that's alright. It's not what I expected, but it did its own thing reasonably well anyway. As I've said already, I did like the story itself, and I don't regret reading it.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I try not to read reviews before I read a book and I'm glad I didn't as they may have put me off.

This story is about Stella and her abusive husband Martyn who isolates her, belittles her and controls her all whilst making it seem like its her fault. He turns their daughter against her and damages their relationship long term with his lies and false representations of reality.

Martyn is secretive and thinks his wealth is contribution enough for a happy marriage. He puts on shows for others and makes them love him and favour him so in that respect he is an illusionist.

I'm glad he is dead. I also liked that there wasn't a happy ending, secrets he kept hidden came out in the end. Although there wasn't a reconciliation between Stella and Robyn, at least by the end Robyn realised her father wasn't the hero she thought he was.

It's very easy to read this and say "oh why did she marry him?", "why didn't she leave him sooner?", but Stella deserves compassion not questioning. Martyns abuse spanned over a few years and gradually escalated to the point where he quite literally threw her dreams(the typewriter) out the window and took the daughter away. Even when Stella left he was still up to his dirty work, assassinating her character and brainwashing his daughter.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am biased. I love Jennifer Johnston - How many miles to Babylon, Captains and the Kings and Shadows on our skin - all of which I read ages ago. I was fortunate to have listened to her and my other favorite author Colum McCann speak to one another at the literary festival (Cuirt) in Galway two years ago. Now I want to catch up again on her other books.

I enjoy Johnstons easy flowing prose which packs in so much - that I have to make sure not to gloss over something - somewhat similar to William Trevor.

The story switches back and forth between different times - yet does so easily. It is about a woman who looks back on her disasterous marraige after her ex husband is killed. It explores the relationships between herself and her mother and her daughter aswell.

I ma not sure about what other people refer to as a plot twist - indeed I had to think what it was - as I thought it was inevitable rather than a twist.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book god did I love to hate it. I mean the idea of it was a good book but dear god did I hate Martyn. Johnston did a brilliant job in creating characters which you just despised with everything you had both Martyn and Robin. Stella I felt bad for although I did find her quite annoying at times but when I saw the abuse that Martyn put her through well then I had empathy for her after all.
The book was fantastic and the ending was very well thought off and I didn't see it coming. She has managed to create characters which really get under our skin and I can't complain cause that is a sign on a brilliant author.

[Adriana Bonilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this was the complete opposite of what I was expecting. It was not a dissapointment, but neither was spectacular.
The story of a woman who was trapped in an awful marriage for years and lost any connection with her daughter bc of it.
Is a new kind of literature for me so I have nothing to compare it, but I think it was well written, structured and developed. This stories must be told so other woman know that they are not alone.
It was nice and Im intrigues about other books by this author, maybe Ill give it a go.

[Ulla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd never even heard of Jennifer Johnston before and through some happenstance I found and read this one. I loved it, I love the no-fanfare beautiful style it's written. Shall definitely read more of her books!

[Alannah Clarke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first Jennifer Johnston book which I read for A-level and I really liked her. While many others in my class found this book boring, I found it quite enchanting. I loved how it explore women's relationship, between mother and daughters.

[Hannah Mcginn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simplistic yet exquisite portrayal of love, abuse and detachment.

[Mollie · Rating 5 out of 5]

FUCK YOU MARTYN

[Kate Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an amazing book. I can’t believe I just discovered this brilliant author. I’m not going to explain the plot, but I will say what I enjoyed about the writing style.

The author is clever. She gives fragments of information, shards of sentences. She gives us just enough to understand what is going on. The short, sharp sentences weaved between regular ones, along with her use of refrains, is clever and poetic.

The author’s ability to conjure emotion in the reader is second to none, conjure hatred. I hated the husband beyond measure, and still do! I wish he would materialise so I could punch him in the face!

Do yourself a favour and discover this author. I want more, more, more!

[Jack Bates · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw a whole shelf of Jennifer Johnston in the library and remembered I read one once that was pretty good. This is also pretty good. It's kind of old-fashioned, but only in the way that this is what lit fic was like when I was younger. It's very well written and structured and reminds you that marrying someone who won't tell you anything about themselves is often a mistake. The relationship between Stella and her daughter is very painful to read about and one can't help but be pleased that Stella's ex-husband (Robin's father) was exploded by the IRA. It can only be said to serve him right.

[T · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was an intricate portrayal of the thoughts and feelings of a person at pains to make sense of their relationship and their place in it. Affecting and possibly assuring to read for anyone who has had a dysfunctional or abusive relationship.

[Reelika Raimet · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://raamaturiiulike.wordpress.com...

[Irene Ojeda · Rating 4 out of 5]

valiente hijo de put4

[Dave Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

http://electrichalibut.blogspot.co.uk...

[Persephone Abbott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book in a freebe book box, started reading and couldn’t put it down. It hit the spot like a cherry coke drunk but once a year. You think, putting down the empty glass, feeling the imprint of the carbonization on your tongue, “Just what I needed.”

[Ali · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book infuriated me. Martyn has to one of the worst, most despicable characters I have ever read. And I just finished Wuthering Heights. (Which I loved, but let's be honest the majority of the characters are terrible people). I somewhat liked the ending, but the book in general just made me angry. I think it would have been better if the author hadn't tried so hard. It seemed that she was desperately trying to have achingly, beautiful prose that was deep and thought provoking. But instead it was fragmented and whiny sounding. I read this for my Irish Book Club at school, and I highly recommend never picking up with book. Unless you want to make a bad mood worse.

This is kind of spoilery, but you shouldn't want to read this book anyway. It took Stella 220 pages to tell Martyn to go fuck himself. She should've said it the moment he took her book on the train whilst she was reading. Because that's what I would've done. Not fall in love with a manipulative douchebag who would never answer any question she asked.

[Cian Ó Tuathaláin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first Jennifer Johnston, and I can safely say that it did not disappoint. I enjoyed the novel, but I must admit that it was quite difficult to grasp the format of the book - which is not divided into chapters, but into slices of memories and flashbacks which vary from half a page to five pages long.
The reader is let into the subconscious of Stella Macnamara, who narrates 'The Illusionist', and it is Johnston's ability to connect the reader with Stella's mind that makes the book a constant page turner. The ending is predictable, but I found myself eager to read every word of Stella's memories in discovering her exact encounters with the vile illusionist, Martyn.
Congratulations to Johnston, having won the Bord Gáis Literary Lifetime award. If 'The Illusionist' is an indicator to her other works, the award is much deserved.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a devastating - and devastatingly-told - story. A quietly relentless account of a marriage, of meekness and the fear of offending that is part of marriage. But not to this abnormal extent.

This slender book, re-discovered during a necessary emptying of bookcases, reminded me that discovering Jennifer Johnston's writing was a total delight. Nevertheless, I confess I had no recollection of reading this. Having just re-read I doubt I can better my first review - devasting.

Re-read and this time now consider this a purer example of 'horror' than a lot of book purporting to be so attain. And its slenderness gives me a chance to add another book to my Goodreads target within 24 hours.

[Tammy Hennig · Rating 1 out of 5]

-too much jumping around between current and past
-got restless every time i read
-don't like the writing style
-have to figure out who the characters are whenever the author starts a new part
-breaks up into many parts, not chapters
-never finished reading it

[Andreea · Rating 2 out of 5]

http://passionatebooklover.com/2010/0...

[Michael D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicely rendered domestic mystery - definitely worth a read.

[Grace Mc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional

[Hayfa AlNuwaiser · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a wonderfull book, I want to read it again and again over the years, and I love the movie"The illusionist"with Edward Norton and Jessica Biel.I`ve watched 5 times till now.

[Heidi Maginness · Rating 1 out of 5]

if i could give it no stars i would

[Rubyryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting yarn!! Lots of questions remain. She can write such captivating novels !!

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wanted a book about a magician, got a book about spousal abuse. Now feel pretty depressed, but I suppose that means it was well executed.