The Magician's Assistant

By: Ann Patchett

Narrated by: Karen Ziemba

Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

When a gay Los Angeles magician named Parsifal dies suddenly, he leaves behind his heartbroken assistant, Sabine, and a secret past that leads her to Nebraska and a father she never knew he had.

©1997 Ann Patchett (P)2008 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"The kindliness of The Magician's Assistant is beguiling, and Patchett is an adroit, graceful writer. . . she is especially practiced at the razzle-dazzle of odd juxtapositions." (New York Times Book Review)

"A saga of redemption tenderly and terrifically told." (Kirkus Reviews)

Interesting not compelling

Well written. But what happened to books with a beginning, body, and ending? Many books like this one just end as if the author got tired of writing. Otherwise I liked it.

I agree with several others.... disappointing..

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I enjoyed the narration, however, the story didn't seem to go anyplace...

Was The Magician's Assistant worth the listening time?

Im not sorry I listened. I just wish it had left me with a smile... and feeling like recommending it to my friends.

Any additional comments?

That goofy jazz music between chapters was really distracting...

10 minutes short of satisfaction

Spellbinding. Great narration. But the story is not complete and leaves the listener questioning what happens next. Perhaps the author doesn’t know either

A let down

Good for 3/4 of the book, then it fails miserably. Your interest in, and sympathy for the characters is pushed to the breaking point and Patchett seems to have no idea how to end the story. Initially, the narrators style is disconcerting, with a voice that sounds as though she has no endings to her words, but soon you grow accustom to it - unfortunately, even the best narration could do nothing to save the book from it's final pages.

Loved it until the ending

If you could sum up The Magician's Assistant in three words, what would they be?

Finish the book

What did you like best about this story?

I loved the characters, how they were developed, and how they grew together.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. I really enjoyed the book until the very ending. I felt like it just left you hanging. I mean that was it? One more paragraph that gave me some closure, and I would have more than loved the book.

Mediocre

Everything about this book was middle of the road for me. The only exception was the music; why must there music at the end and beginning of every chapter? It did nothing but annoy me and detract from the story as it seemed completely unrelated.

Not a bad book, but not the author's best

I absolutely adored two other books by Ann Patchett: State of Wonder and Bel Canto. If you are new to the author, pick one of those books as your introduction. I would give both five stars.

This book wasn't bad at all, but I had a hard time caring as much about the characters. There was a little too much "magic" in this book for me in the form of very involved flashbacks that bordered on magical realism. I could also never really understand why the very appealing heroine would decide to spend decades of her life so intimately connected with her gay husband who was openly in love with another man.

Ended too quickly

Story ended at such a strange place. Hated the musical transition between chapter. I did enjoy the story, just wished the conclusion wrapped the story up better

Just ok

Love this author yet this story seemed to ramble without any real compulsion for engagement…

enjoyable

I'm a huge Ann Patchett fan. She is unparalleled in her story telling. In The Magician's Assistant Patchett takes the intricacies of grief and healing and pairs it with the ache of unrequited love. Her subtle weaving of details is simply sublime.

A unique story, multi- faceted characters and a pleasure to listen to this narrator.