The Magician’s Assistant

by Ann Patchett

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.

Genres: Fiction, Book Club, Literary Fiction, Audiobook, Contemporary, Novels, Magic

372 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Patchett was born in Los Angeles, California. Her mother is the novelist Jeanne Ray.

She moved to Nashville, Tennessee when she was six, where she continues to live. Patchett said she loves her home in Nashville with her doctor husband and dog. If asked if she could go any place, that place would always be home. "Home is ...the stable window that opens out into the imagination."

Patchett attended high school at St. Bernard Academy, a private, non-parochial Catholic school for girls run by the Sisters of Mercy. Following graduation, she attended Sarah Lawrence College and took fiction writing classes with Allan Gurganus, Russell Banks, and Grace Paley. She later attended the Iowa Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa and the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts, where she met longtime friend Elizabeth McCracken. It was also there that she wrote her first novel, The Patron Saint of Liars.

In 2010, when she found that her hometown of Nashville no longer had a good book store, she co-founded Parnassus Books with Karen Hayes; the store opened in November 2011. In 2012, Patchett was on the Time 100 list of most influential people in the world by TIME magazine.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 until you finish it, so you keep reading and reading until it is 12:15 in the am and you are finally done, but then you can't believe it ends. What!! Ends!! You are not ready, but there you have it. You sit there for a while, because you're thinking if you open the book again, you will have found that you missed a chapter, that there is MORE.

When a story ends but leaves you still thinking about each character and who they are and why they do what they do, that they are probable, even if their situations aren't, and what would happen if the story kept going, then it is a story worth reading. So read it!

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 this story is going to work, which is the beauty of how well it draws you in. It's a beautiful example of story-telling, and the writing is flowing and enticing.

A few problems: A lack of chapters. I know this is a clear choice of style, but I found it really hard to be able to start the book up again after putting it down for the night, so the book that was meant to flow so perfectly ended up being a bit choppy because there was never a good place to stop and think. Also the ending was very... abrupt, and unsatisfying.

Definitely enjoyed the book, and it convinced me to try another book of hers.

[Dawn · Rating 1 out of 5]

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 - the landscape is not all flat, the kitchens aren't decorated with roosters, and husbands are not wifebeaters or mild nerds. I flipped to the back cover to read the author bio. The first sentence: Ann Patchett lives in Los Angeles...no kidding!

Yawn.

[Elyse Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 recently died -
- the wife/assistant is grieving -
she loved him deeply - romantically - desiring more than she bargained for.
The further we read, it becomes clear the plot is much more tangled and thorny…than meets the eye.

Sabine married Parsifal knowing he was gay……knowing he had a lover, named Phan. It was inspiring how these three characters had love and respect for one another.
Parsifal only married Sabine, twenty years after his lover died so that she would be financially taken care of — after ‘he’ died.
Sabine learns of her husband’s ‘humongous’ lies….after his death…..
affecting a lot of other people.

Like pulling a rabbit out of a hat — literally and figuratively —unexpected surprises continue unfolding — and unfolding — and unfolding….to the very end….
EVERY MAIN and SUPPORTING characters were dealing with substantial messy obstacles-suffering quietly with their secrets, uncertainty, and grief…..
The ‘details’ (every aspect) of the characters are multifaceted…..

The deceased magician- Parsifal was ‘not-the-only’ magician….
Slowly,……Sabine reveals a few tricks of her own….

I found this story achingly sad about the circumstances itself …..but was also inspired by the ways things unfolded with those twists and surprises.
I adored getting to know the main and supporting characters: Dot, Kitty, and Bertie, (the Fetter’s family who lived in Alliance, Nebraska),….
and was inspired by the transformation of Sabine - (discovering her own voice, her own identity, and that the ingredient of love really is magical).

It felt like a ‘ duo’ ending to me—
part of ending leaves us with certainty….in regards to new relationships taking hold….
but for Sabine …back home in Los Angeles …..we know she will be starting a new life ….yet we are not clear how she will maneuver her desires. ….leaving open ended interpretation.

As always — Ann Patchett knows how to spin a story … Her prose is lush, controlled, and evocative…..and in “The Magician’s Assistant”, she’s our master illusionist. I soooo love this woman- this author!!!

Last…
I’m reminded just how much life is a combination of enchanting magic and illusionary magic….
and that enchantment itself has the ability to change our mental or emotional state.

Full 5 stars from me ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading the book, but after reading it I couldn't say that I loved it (hence, three stars).

Sabine, the main character, spends time with her dead husband's family, none of whom she knew existed. The reader is supposed to come along on the journey with her to discover the missing parts of her longtime friend/spouse, but I didn't gain any new insights to him from her visit back to his roots. The West Coast magician reinvented himself too well to have any connection to the Midwestern teenager (by the way, the Midwest is NOT as bleak and backward as portrayed in the book--the stereotypes were obnoxious). After a traumatic childhood, he left town and ended up with love and friendship and happiness. Ta-da. But, the novel is called The Magician's Assistant, and really is about Sabine's search for...something (I'm from the Midwest and not "with it" enough to figure out what). I just hope she found it because I never quite understood her living a half-life and found her contentment in always serving as the second banana tiresome.

My best description of the novel, after reading it, was that I felt like I was eavesdropping on someone else's conversation: I wasn't in earshot for the beginning and didn't get to hear the end, but it helped pass the time while I was sitting there.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catching up on my book reviews for Goodreads.

The book starts with Parsifal’s death. His character, drives the story, even though readers never meet him. Sabine’s entire adult life has been defined by her relationship to him. She was his magic assistant and his wife.

As readers we spend the entire novel with Sabine figuring out what she is going to do with her life, now that he is gone, a process that becomes even more challenging when she discovers that he had a life and a family she was unaware of.

So how does one cope with this loss?

Will learning more about Parsifal’s childhood, about who he really was, allow her to imagine her own life in a new context?

Readers will be able to watch Sabine meet loss with courage and open-mindedness.

And…

See her grow into a new opportunity.

Will she be able to see the value of coming to terms with a new family that can possibly guide and grow to love her through her grief?

[Jsiva · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have no good reason as to why it took me so long to read another Patchett Book after how much I loved "Bel Canto" (which I also passed over numerous times over the years before I read it). I really liked Sabine and her strength, her loving parents and even the Fetters clan. I liked the pragmatic and realistic way that being a magician was described. I cannot understand the love of Parsifal and Sabine but I wouldn't rush to say it wasn't love...It was a beautiful unique love. I liked how Patchett didn't try to tie everything into a neat bow at the ending. I loved how much the Fetters embraced Sabine, that truly was lovely. It was a good book to read at a leisurely pace, it wasn't a page turner but it had an enchantment all its own. (was a vacay read for me).

[luce (cry bebè's back from hiatus) · Rating 5 out of 5]

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Quietly meditative yet incredibly evocative. I find it difficult to pick favorites when it comes to Patchett's work but The Magician's Assistant has my heart.

Published in 1997 Ann Patchett’s third novel, The Magician's Assistant is her most underrated work to date. Like with any other novel that I hold dear to my heart, I find it difficult to articulate my feelings towards The Magician's Assistant, but I will nonetheless try to (please bear with). Luminous, subtle, and enchanting, The Magician's Assistant is all of these and so much more. It is a work of rare beauty, one that showcases Patchett’s gracefully restrained prose. The Magician's Assistant is characterized by a dreamlike atmosphere that lends Sabine’s experiences an ethereal quality. That one of the story’s main motifs is magic, undeniably contributes to its underlying fairytale-esque mood. Sabine’s journey of self-discovery, however reluctantly embarked upon, and the story’s preoccupation with life and death carry soft echoes of ancient myths and folktales. Yet, as with most of her work, much of the ‘action’ in The Magician's Assistant remains grounded in the mundane: from the characters’ conversations and exchanges, which often occur in the kitchen, after dinner, or driving someplace else, to their ordinary routines and experiences. Far from boring, these glimpses into the characters’ everyday lives feel precious. These ordinary backdrops feel intimate, as we are able to see the characters’ at their truest. In these spaces and conversations, we see their vulnerabilities, desires and anxieties.

As State of Wonder, The Magician's Assistant begins with the death of a loved one. Parsifal, a magician of irresistible charm and beauty, dies, leaving his closest friend and assistant, Sabine, bereft. Sabine was Parsifal’s assistant for more than twenty years, and the two had recently married so she could inherit. Although Sabine was in love with Parsifal, she was content with being his friend and being part of his and Phan’s, his beloved partner, lives. After their deaths Sabine sleepwalks through her life, losing herself in memories of their days together and roaming their gorgeous house in LA, a place that no longer feels as if brimming with endless possibilities. When Sabine learns that Parsifal’s family, who he’d claimed to have died in his youth, are not only alive but on their way to meet her, Sabine is jolted out of her grief-stricken daze. How could the person she loved the most in the world, and who was closest to her, have lied to her for so long? Did they cut him off because he was gay? Did they abuse him? What led him to leave his small town in Nebraska to reinvent himself in LA as the magician Parsifal?

While Sabine is uneasy about meeting Parsfial’s mother and younger sister, wondering what they did to make Parsifal want to bury them in his past, she yearns to learn the truth, hoping that hearing about Parsifal’s youth, what was he like as a child and a boy, will prevent his presence and memory from fading. The surreal experience of meeting his family and the unremitting shock brought by his absence, eventually lead Sabine to acquiesce to their ‘demands’, that is to visit them in Alliance, Nebraska. Although Sabine seeks to find the truth behind Parsifal’s ‘renunciation’ of his family, she finds herself forging a deep bond with them: from his lively and hard-working mother, Dot, who for years has carried the guilt of his departure, to his sisters, Kitty, whose resemblance to him makes Sabine feel all sorts of ways, and Bertie, and even his sweet yet bickering nephews, Kitty’s sons.

Recurring magic tricks, family traditions, and dreams accompany Sabine’s throughout the narrative. The vastly different settings of LA and Alliance, as well as Sabine and the Fetters’ different realities, contribute to the novel’s subtle sense of surreality. Sabine’s dreams, in particular, blur the line between life and death, but it is ultimately up to each reader to view these as a manifestation of her psyche or as her being reunited with her loved ones. In this dreamspace, Sabine meets Phan, and their moments of shared understanding as well as their mutual love for Parsifal and their lives before were as heartrending as they were bittersweet.

I love that Patchett is able to imbue everything with a sense of longing. An example: "The closets were empty except for some summer dresses pushed down hard to the far end of the bar; a few pairs of sandals, stacked one on top of another, sat beneath them as if they knew to stay close to the dresses they belonged with." What could have been a boring line describing objects becomes a moment of melancholy. I also love Patchett’s refusal to write about people who are either good or bad, as she always emphasizes those shades of gray, those that make us complex and often idiosyncratic. I love that Patchett is able to capture family dynamics and people’s essences in a way that is at once subtle yet evocative. I love her story’s strong sense of place, to the extent that LA and Alliance are characters in their own rights. I love that she is able to write of regret, love, and grief with such insight and empathy.
In short: I love this novel.

The Magician's Assistant is a dazzling work brimming with beauty and sorrow that I cannot recommend enough (especially to existing patchett fans). I doubt I will ever tire of re-reading this novel, it is a salve to my soul.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 friendship that was unbreakable. When Parsifal’s lawyer notifies Sabine that he had a family (who he claimed were dead) and that his name is really Guy Fetters, Sabine’s world gets turned on its head. Suddenly, the man she though she knew most in the world is a stranger to her, and she wants to learn everything about his past that he has kept from her. So the Fetter family enters Sabine’s life, and the book follows the development of these new relationships seamlessly.

There is a hint of magic in Patchett’s writing, and not just the tricks and illusions she recalls in The Magician’s Assistant. She writes relationships and dialogue in a manner that seems effortless. Her characters are entirely human – flawed and lovable. This was a great read and a touch of magic amongst the ordinary.

[Carol Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Magician’s Assistant *** ½ Ann Patchett

I 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, intelligent, talented woman did not have a clue about her own sexual orientation. She was not living “apart” from the gay world after all. Other aspects that were too idealized: Sabine’s relationship with her parents and what it’s like living in L.A.
The ending was odd. There was obvious foreshadowing, which went on for too long. Kitty and her boys need to move to L.A. and move in with Sabine. The reader figures out this is where things are heading. Sabine finally realizes she should ask them to move to L.A. That’s fine, but the novel then ends abruptly. It’s not that the reader needed to know exactly whether they would move to L.A. It’s that the ending has to be satisfying.
I did like reading about a magician's life, having known little about this before, and I did like the way Patchett used dreams in this novel to advance the story or add information that would have been hard to introduce otherwise. They weren't your usual dreams, but more like dialogues with the dead--well, mainly Sabine and Phan, leading up to Parsifal's appearance at the end. The dreams put the reader in touch with Sabine’s grief and how the grief changes slowly over time. I enjoyed the way Parsifal’s mysterious past was gradually revealed.
The writing is superb. One pitch-perfect sentence after another kept me hooked. I’m remembering the decriptions about magic tricks, and the times Sabine did some tricks for her “new family”. I felt like I was there. I could see the family watching the same Johnny Carson segment every night. That was also a good device for advancing the story and showing the way grief slowly changed.
The narration for the recorded book was excellent. Dot, the mother/grandmother, was fabulous. Her character came alive. Descriptions of the cold and snow in Nebraska were unforgettable. The portrayal of small town life was realistic.

[peefer · Rating 2 out of 5]

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 Advil? It's all I've got in the house.

I don't know what I need. Rather, what I want is impossible. What I want is to start over, not just today, but everything.

Sorry, I don't really have a point here, so I think I'll just end this aimless post mid-thought. Anne Patchett did. Why can't I?

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up a few times and lost interest before finishing the first page. But when I finally got past the first three or four pages, I was really hooked. This characters are just so, so compelling. They're actually so compelling that when I was partway through the book I almost lit a candle at church for two of the characters in it, temporarily confusing them with real people. Which I _think_ is more a testament to how well-written and absorbing the book is than to how socially maladjusted I am.

[Майя Ставитская · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 they died in an accident and it hurts him to remember it. And now they are alive, some sums have been left to them by will, and the worst of all is that they are coming here. Sabina thinks so, imagining the need to communicate for some time with strangers, strangers and strangers. So alien that Parsifal never once spoke to her about them.

And you, the reader, are already tuning in to the squabble over the inheritance and all the possible nastiness perpetuated in folklore by the sayings "mother-in-law - all in the blood", "sister-in-law - snake's head". But the woman who comes, seems to be delighted with her daughter-in-law. With her is a slightly stiff young woman - the younger sister, whom Guy (that was his husband's name before he became a magician) saw only once, when she was two years old, before finally leaving her parents' home in Nebraska.

True трюк
Не каждый готов утруждать себя ради каких-то людей из прошлого.
Она сорокалетняя вдова. Хорошо обеспеченная унаследованными от мужа и друга мужа деньгами. Это не считая большого дома в Лос-Анджелесе и успешного магазина ковров. Она хороша собой, на самом деле - сказочно хороша. У нее любящие родители, которые живут совсем близко, и она тоже любит их. Милосердная мгновенная смерть мужа от аневризмы избавила их обоих от его долгого мучительного умирания больного СПИДом, каким за полгода до того умер его партнер.

Иллюзионист Парсифаль, чьей бессменной ассистенткой она была двадцать лет, прежде, чем стать женой, ушел, не утратив достоинства и красоты Ее жизнь словно бы тоже закончилась. То есть как? Ясно ведь, что при таком раскладе это был фиктивный брак. Ну и что? Любила она его по-настоящему, а их тройственный союз с Фаном был довольно устойчивой пирамидой: она дружила с Фаном, он был ей добрым другом, она любила Парсифаля, он был ей добрым другом, и женился на ней, чтобы избавить от необходимости платить большой налог на наследство. И, ну еще от некоторых проблем, которые могли бы возникнуть.

О проблемах ей сообщит его адвокат, спустя две недели после смерти мужа. У него, оказывается, есть семья. Нет, не в смысле "жена и дети", вовсе нет. Та семья, которая была в детстве у каждого из нас. Мама. И сестры. За двадцать два года знакомства он ни разу не упомянул о них, кроме того единственного случая, когда сказал, что они погибли в аварии и ему больно об этом вспоминать. И вот, теперь они живы, им оставлены по завещанию некоторые суммы, а хуже всего, что едут сюда. Так думает Сабина, представляя необходимость общаться некоторое время с незнакомыми чужими и чуждыми людьми. Настолько чуждыми, что Парсифаль ни разу не заговорил с ней о них.

И ты, читатель, уже настраиваешься на грызню за наследство и все возможные гадости, увековеченные в фольклоре поговорками "свекровь - всех в кровь", "золовка - змеиная головка". А приезжает простецкая тетка, которая, похоже, в восторге от невестки. С ней чуть скованная молодая женщина - младшая сестра, которую Гай (так звали мужа до того, как сделался фокусником) видел всего раз, двухлетней, прежде чем окончательно уйти из родительского дома в Небраске.

Стоп, а где провел два предшествовавших тому, года? Обо этом и о многих других вещах будет в книге. И еще о неожиданном прекрасном обретении на том пути, где думаешь, найти одни потери. И о том, как дружеское участие помогает справляться с горем. И о том, как неосознанно жестоки бываем мы к тем, кто нас любит, кого мы любим. И о том, что есть вещи, совершенные в отношении тебя, которые прощаешь и забываешь, но быть с теми, кто это сделал, уже никогда не сможешь. Ну, если у тебя будет выбор, а о том, чтобы был, ты позаботишься.

Это Энн Пэтчетт, близкая одновременно к уютно-примирительной позиции Энн Тайлер и Фэнни Флэгг, но стальные коготки социальной прозы под мягкой кошачьей лапой семейного романа Элизабет Страут ей не чужды. "Прощальный фокус" отличное чтение на пару осенних вечеров.

[Lorna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Magician’s Assistant by Ann Patchett was first published in 1997, a book that I have resisted for some time, perhaps because of my resistance to magic, that’s another story. But how wrong I was, this was a beautiful narrative about Sabine. As the book opens, we are part of the sudden death of Parsifal in Mount Sinai from a cerebral aneurysm as Sabine is forced to grapple with the death of her husband of a few months and her professional partner for twenty-two years. Sabrina is suddenly faced with the past of Parsifal of which she had no idea. Hence the realization of a family that she thought was dead are in fact living in Nebraska. And as Ann Patchett does so well, we explore a lot of family dynamics with raw emotion as the characters are fleshed out in the course of this narrative. Masterful is the contrast of the life of Angeleans to that of the Great Plains. While not my favorite by Ann Patchett, it was a beautiful book that was tenderly told.

”There was no answer, not unless you were willing to sit down and look at all of the footage, sift through the ephemera.”

“But Sabine never thought in terms of having allegiance to her country. She loved Los Angeles. Sabine would always choose to stay. She had lived through every tragedy and shame and they only served to draw her and her city closer together. What would she be without the palm trees, without the Hollywood Hills? She had been born in Israel, but she was shaped by tight squares of regularly watered lawns, by layers of deep purple bougainvillea blooming on top of garages. She heard languages she could not identify and they were music. She smelled the ocean. She loved to drive.”

[Lyn Elliott · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 happened in the household relationships to get there. So back I went to where I’d left off and finished it.

I enjoyed it, but I was left wondering what drew Patchett to write this story, why she had structured it the way she did in two completely different sections, one set in Los Angeles and the other in small town Nebraska.

So then I listened to three long interviews Ann Patchett has recorded over the last decade or so, in which she talks about her approach to writing. None of them was specifically about this book, but I learned a great deal listening to her, and think I can apply some of what she said to this book.

In the first podcast I listened to, she was interviewed by Alan Alda. The interview focus was on empathy https://www.aldacommunicationtraining.... Patchett says she has empathy for almost all her characters, not necessarily sympathy but empathy, so that she understands why they do the things they do. This, she says, makes her bad at writing villains, because she understands how they came to be the way they are. This may be so, but I felt that she went some way to having villains in the violent coercive domestic abusive men whose actions precipitate dramatic leaps in the story.

In another interview, she talks about her pattern of not describing in detail things that happened in the past. The reader needs to be able to fill in some things themselves. The past event may be the worst thing that happened in the lives of one or more characters but it’s in the past now, and everybody has managed to survive it, to move past it, although the long ripples from that event affected everyone profoundly. You don't need to know the details of something that happened to know what its effects were.

Here, she writes a story of effects, with past events progressively revealed in quick flashes of conversation that always surprise and are sometimes shocking.

In this case, the original terrible thing was the violence that Parsifal’s dead father had perpetrated against his mother and himself. Parsifal killed him, not meaning to kill him, but to stop him kicking his pregnant mother after he’d knocked her to the floor. Parsifal was then sent to reform school, never returned home, went to LA where he became a magician with Sabine as his assistant.

The story in the book begins with Parsifal’s death and we move with his assistant and wife Sabine into her life after his death and, as in a good magic show, we deal with revelation after revelation.

A review in New York Times outlines the story and notes many of the things I noted myself as I read it. Here’s a nice quote from that review, which picks up on the empathy that Patchett shows for her characters: ‘The kindliness of ''The Magician's Assistant'' is beguiling, and Patchett is an adroit, graceful writer who knows enough tricks to keep her story entertaining’. One obvious line is that Patchett keeps pulling rabbits out of the hat as the plot moves along.
https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytim...

A couple of other interesting things that Patchett says about her own writing practice:

She thinks about the story of a book a lot before she starts to write, playing through many different scenarios in her mind so that she knows how the structure and flow will work out. She has a plan, she knows the order in which things are going to take place. Once she has written the story, she will do what research she needs to avoid making errors, and she any then too will she enter details like the colour of a dress. I wonder how she chose the tricks she Parsifal and Sabine performed. Did she know before she started what they would be? When did she learn the explanations of the levitation trick and card tricks?

Patchett likes to play with the idea of ‘what if?’ What's the worst thing that could happen to this person? What will happen afterwards?

There is no magic in writing or in magic, she says – there’s a lot of hard work in creating illusion. It’s about performance, dominance, being able to convince people to believe you.

[Karolyn Sherwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

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/she never even dreamed of, replete with drama and emotion and confusion—as well as hope and love. Her stories can be one-sided, but she creates sympathetic characters who come to life for me in ways that few authors can manage. I always find myself wanting to hug the protagonist like my sister or brother. In this book, Sabine could have been my best friend—the one who has suffered so much sadness. Certain passages of this novel actually made me cry; that is how well Patchett creates authentic characters with real emotions. And whether her stories take us to Nebraska or the South American Amazon (State of Wonder), Patchett paints a picture of the environment so clearly that I almost needed a sweater to read the part of this book that takes place in the brutal cold of a Midwestern winter.

Ann Patchett is such a wonderful storyteller that I finish each of her books totally spellbound.

5 Stars.

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written in 1997, The Magician's Assistant is Ann Patchett's third novel. In this story, we learn of a widow named Sabine who recently lost her husband (Parcifal). He was a famous magician and Sabine was his assistant. Shortly after her husband's passing, Sabine learns about the existence of Parcifal's mother and sisters (who she previously thought were dead). The women are desperate to meet Sabine, but she is not sure if that is a wise decision since Parcifal kept them secret from her. This revelation begins a journey for Sabine of healing, reconciliation, and finding purpose after losing the love of her life.

**This novel was brilliantly written. Although there is a very serious undertone throughout, there also were extremely funny moments that made me lol. I absolutely fell in love with Parcifal's family and found myself wanting to be a houseguest in Dot's home. I also adored the "dream" chapters that brought everything together in the end, making Sabine's ending a bit of a magic trick. 🎩 🪄

Easy 5 🌟 's and one of my best reads of 2025. 👌

[Una Tiers · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 loved the character of the rabbit who seemed a cross between a cat and a dog.

Second read 2024. I listened to the audiobook. There is a nice combination of words that I took notes about. This time I understood the main character to get what she wanted all along is a peculiar twist.

[Provin Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by the way this book turned out. It was a difficult start but it built up speed In the middle and was pure fire by the end. I could not predict any of the plot. The characters were fun and each was unique. I recommend this book for those who go into books without expectation.

[Jessica Woodbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 beginning of the book, but not in the way anyone would think. She was married for just a year or so to Parsifal, the man she has loved her whole adult life. He was the magician, she was the assistant, and even though she knew he was gay and would never love her the way she'd hoped, she devoted her life to him anyway. Sabine is used to the disappointments that come with this kind of love, but his death leaves her unmoored. Her disorientation only increases when she finds that he has kept from her for decades the truth of where he came from.

As Sabine meets the people who knew Parsifal as a child, she has to face questions about why he wasn't honest with her and the limits of their relationship. She also finds herself feeling a new sort of affection for them, even if it is only because of their attachment to her late husband.

The characters in this book are treated so tenderly. I was a little nervous at first when we meet these new characters that they would be presented negatively but there is so much empathy for everyone here, as we learn about the life Parsifal had as a child and the ways in which it impacted these other characters. So much about grief and the ability to change.

[Barb H · Rating 4 out of 5]

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, filled with implausible coincidences which did not meet my expectations for "suspense", as was publicized. In this novel, Patchett had previously 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 Sabine, recent widow of Parsifal, a talented, complex magician. Following his death, she discovers that he had another family, the existence of which he had never revealed. In the midst of Sabine's deep grief, she then has to contend with yet a new aspect of dealing with his absence. Throughout this book, Sabine's heartache and sense of loss is poignantly felt. Patchett has written a tender, sad, often symbolic and sometimes humorous tale. Sabine 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.

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really loved the story telling and writing/beautiful use of language of the book. It was different from any books I've previously read. Loved the well rounded characters even better than bel campo in my opinion. Will go on to explore. Pachett's other books just based on this.

[nomadreader (Carrie D-L) · Rating 3 out of 5]

(review originally posted at http://nomadreader.blogspot.com)

The basics: At the beginning of the novel, Parcifal, the magician of the novel's title, dies suddenly. Sabine, the assistant of the title, is left to grieve.

My thoughts: After having loved State of Wonder, Bel Canto, and Run, I was convinced Ann Patchett was one of my literary soul sisters who could do no wrong. Sadly, I didn't connect with The Magician's Assistant at all, and I struggled to even finish the novel. My problems with this novel really begin with Sabine. While I'm normally an empathetic reader, I found myself instead wanting to shake Sabine. She fell in love with Parcifal years ago and worked as his assistant for more than twenty years. Parcifal, however, is gay, and he was in love with Phan, who died of AIDS. Parcifal was also sick with AIDS, and he and Sabine were preparing for his death, but something else killed him. As Sabine is dealing with her grief, I failed to understand her weakness. Her behavior seemed to be that of a teenager or woman in her early twenties. Patchett kept reminding me Sabine was in her forties, and I couldn't help but feel sad for her: she married a man who only loved her as a friend and has nothing else after his death but his money and the money of Phan.

As pitiful as Sabine was, I still kept hoping to connect with this novel. When Sabine learns Parcifal's mother is in fact alive and well in Nebraska, she welcomes her and Parcifal's sister when they visit Los Angeles. I hoped the preposterousness of this situation would carry humor and grace, but instead, it just seemed sad and somewhat far-fetched all around. Despite these long-held secrets about Parcifal (his family still knows him as Guy), something always felt off about the people; they never felt real either. There were a few digs at Midwestern life I didn't buy either, but I could have overlooked some of the caricature if I felt the emotional depth I have in Patchett's other works.

Favorite passage: "Most people can't be magicians for the same reason they can't be criminals. They have guilty souls. Deception doesn't come naturally. They want to be caught."

The verdict: Despite my love of Patchett's writing, I never connected with Sabine in this story, and I never felt truly engaged with the narrative. While her writing excelled, plot and character development were lacking, and overall, this novel left me cold.

Rating: 3 out of 5

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

(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.

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 that he died quickly; he could have lingered for years with AIDS – like his lover, Phan, who died 14 months before. You see, while Parsifal while Sabine’s best friend, and in some ways the love of her life, their marriage was only a formality so that she could receive his assets. She knows little of his past; in taking on the name and persona of Parsifal the magician, he created a new life for himself. Only after his death does she learn from the will that his real name was Guy Fetters and that he has a mother, Dot, and sisters, Kitty and Bertie, back in Nebraska.

Dot and Bertie come out to L.A. to see how Guy lived and pay their respects at the cemetery, and then Sabine, lost without a magician to assist, flies out to Nebraska to stay with them for the week leading up to Bertie’s wedding. There is a tacit understanding among the family that Guy was gay, and Sabine assumes that’s why he was sent off to a boys’ reformatory. In fact, it’s because he was involved in his father’s accidental death. This kitchen has seen more than its fair share of climactic events.

The long section set in Nebraska went in directions I wasn’t expecting. It’s mostly based around late-night kitchen table and bedroom conversations; it’s a wonder it doesn’t become tedious. Patchett keeps the tension high as revelations emerge about what went on in this family. There are two moments when threat looks poised to spill into outright violence, in an echo of previous domestic violence.

For a long time I didn’t know what to make of the novel. It’s odd that all the consequential events happened before the first page and that we never truly meet Parsifal. Yet I loved the way that Sabine’s dreams and flashbacks widen the frame. Magic initially appears to be an arbitrary career choice, but gradually becomes a powerful metaphor of deception and control. Parsifal’s family are obsessed with a Johnny Carson performance he and Sabine once gave: they watch the video recording nightly, longing for the magic to be real. Maybe it is in the end?

Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.

[Book Concierge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Digital audio book performed by Karen Ziemba
3.5***

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 plains of Nebraska, that will work its own sort of magic on her.

My reactions:
The first book by Patchett that I read was Bel Canto , and I was struck with how masterfully she portrayed those characters. Once again, I marvel at Patchett’s skill in drawing fully realized characters. Even the deceased – Parsifal, Phan, Albert – are alive in the way they are remembered by Sabine, by Dot, or by Kitty.

The story unfolds in bits and pieces, much as it would in real life. You don’t tell everything at once to someone you’ve just met, and likewise Sabine keeps some things to herself in describing her years with Parsifal to his mother, and Dot keeps key bits of information from Sabine in relating Parsifal/Guy’s childhood. In this way, the reader feels the same hesitancy as these characters. And yet, their ultimate decisions seem correct and reasonable, even when relayed as abrupt and hasty.

I also really liked how the environment affects their actions. Sabine is a different person in sunny Los Angeles than she is in snowy Nebraska.

Karen Ziemba does a fine job performing the audio book. She has good pacing and a facility for voices that made it clear who each character was.

[Sandie · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 then there are the good decisions, too. And I still remain curious about Sabine. This is never her story, so it's interesting she's the narrator. Part of me thinks that's why I like it so much. Every time I read it, I hope to know more about her.

It's not her story though. It never is, and it probably never will be. And yet...that's okay. She gets to tell the story anyway.

[Joy D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Initially set in 1990s Los Angeles, this book opens with the death of the magician, Parsifal, stage name of Guy Fetters. His wife, Sabine, is devastated. She had been the magician’s assistant for over twenty years. They had married after Parsifal’s partner, Phan, had died of AIDS. The storyline follows Sabine’s journey to understand her husband and uncover what she needs in order to endure without him. It is a story of family secrets and friendships.

The author employs extended dream sequences to provide information about the relationship between Parsifal and Phan. The story contains magical elements, with the implication that there is magic in everyday life that we often overlook. Sabine experiences a transformation as she learns more about Parsifal’s nuclear family.

Patchett’s writing brings the characters to life, and for me, characterization is the highlight of the book. Curiosity about what happened to Parsifal in his earlier life creates dramatic tension. The story takes a few unexpected turns, especially in the second half. In learning about her husband’s past, Sabine learns something about herself. I very much enjoy Patchett’s writing, and this one is definitely worth reading if you enjoy character-driven stories.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this to be a quick, somewhat compelling read, but it really fell flat for me when there was no good resolution. I expected the ending to be much more significant/meaningful/profound than it was - instead, it felt really empty. I also predicted it about 1/3 of the way through the book, and it played out in a really hollow way, I thought. Probably not worth reading if you haven't already, though it's quick so you could always try it w/out wasting much time.