The Magicians Assistant by Ann Patchett (English) Paperback Book

Description: The Magicians Assistant by Ann Patchett The Magicians Assistant is a love story and a portrayal of reinvention about a magician who dies leaving his assistant/wife to discover he has lied about his past. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description Shortlisted for The Womens Prize for Fiction.From the bestselling author of The Dutch House, Commonwealth and Bel Canto, Winner of The Womens Prize for Fiction and the Pen/Faulkner Award. 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. Notes Anne Patchetts third novel, following The Patron Saint Of Liars and Taft. Shortlisted for the Orange Prize 1998, it is both a literary love story, recounted in a distinctly quirky voice, and a brilliant portrayal of one mans reinvention of his own past. "... delightful, original, moving... " The Independent. This is one of three quality authors that Fourth Estate really want to push this month. The other two being Naeem Murr and Sarah Harris. Back Cover 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. Flap 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. Author Biography Ann Patchett is originally from Los Angeles and is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College. She is the author of two earlier novels, The Patron Saint of Liars and Taft. She lives in Nashville and is the Tennessee Williams Fellow in Creative Writing at the University of the South Review Original, sparkling, funny and sad – a book you read in one gulp and want to revisit immediately Penelope Lively, Daily TelegraphA delicate exploration of impossible love and new-found friendship GuardianThe kindliness of The Magicians Assistant is beguiling, and Patchett is an adroit, graceful writer Suzanne Berne, New York Times Book Review Promotional The Sunday Times best selling author of The Dutch House and Bel Canto, Winner of The Womens Prize for Fiction Kirkus US Review Having produced wonders in two earlier novels (The Patron Saint of Liars, 1992; Taft, 1994), Patchett here conjures up a striking tale of pain and enchantment as an L.A. woman, who lost the love of her life after a few short months of marriage, finds unexpected consolation from her husbands family - a family she never knew he had. When Parsifal the Magician died suddenly of an aneurism, he left his assistant of 22 years, the statuesque Sabine, whom hed recently married after his longtime gay partner Phans death, heartbroken and numb. He also left a rude surprise: The family he always spoke of as dead is in fact alive and well in Alliance, Nebraska - and his mother and younger sister are soon on their way to see Sabine. Seemingly decent folk, the two women return home leaving her mystified as to why Parsifal (born Guy Fetters) would have denied their existence. And so, lonely and still paralyzed with grief, Sabine decides to visit them in the dead of a Nebraska winter, hoping for relief and some answers. She gets more than she bargained for when older sister Kitty, herself married to an abusive husband, reveals that Parsifal had accidentally killed his father in trying to keep him from beating their pregnant mother. After he did time in the reformatory, his family lost touch with him completely - until one night when they saw him and Sabine on the Johnny Carson show. The nightly replay of a video of that show became a family ritual of hope, especially for Kittys two boys, now teenagers as desperate to get away as their uncle had been. Sabine, quite a magician herself, begins a process of healing for them all, and with it comes realization of the hope that the family had long cherished. Masterful in evoking everything from the good life in L.A. to the bleaker one on the Great Plains, and even to dreams of the dead: a saga of redemption tenderly and terrifically told. (Kirkus Reviews) Prizes Short-listed for Orange Prize for Fiction 1998 Long Description Third - and breakthrough - novel by an acclaimed American writer with an enchanting, quirky voice. The Magicians 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. Review Quote Original, sparkling, funny and sad - a book you read in one gulp and want to revisit immediately Penelope Lively, Daily Telegraph A delicate exploration of impossible love and new-found friendship Guardian The kindliness of The Magicians Assistant is beguiling, and Patchett is an adroit, graceful writer Suzanne Berne, New York Times Book Review Feature * Shortlisted for the 1998 Orange Prize * First paperback British publication of a highly acclaimed young American author * The Patron Saint of Liars and Taft both to be published by Fourth Estate in 1999 * Expect miracles when you read Ann Patchetts fiction. Comparisons are tempting to the unabashed romanticism of Laurie Colwin, the eccentric characters of Anne Tyler, the enchantments of Alice Hoffman. But Patchett is unique: a generous, fearless and startlingly wise young writer. The New York Times * Enchanting in every sense of the word Literary Review * As in all the best magic tricks, the reader gradually peels away layer after layer to find yet another unexpected item, and this book becomes unputdownable. Observer Competition: The Testaments; Olive Kitteridge; Normal People; Fleishman is in Trouble; Milkman; Life After Life; How to Be Both; May We Be Forgiven; The Poisonwood Bible. Margaret Atwood; Elizabeth Strout; Salley Rooney; Taffy Brodesser-Akner; Anna Burns; Kate Atkinson; Ali Smith; A.M. Homes; Barbara Kingsolver Description for Sales People Third - and breakthrough - novel by an acclaimed American writer with an enchanting, quirky voice. The Magicians 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. * Shortlisted for the 1998 Orange Prize * First paperback British publication of a highly acclaimed young American author * The Patron Saint of Liars and Taft both to be published by Fourth Estate in 1999 * Expect miracles when you read Ann Patchetts fiction. Comparisons are tempting to the unabashed romanticism of Laurie Colwin, the eccentric characters of Anne Tyler, the enchantments of Alice Hoffman. But Patchett is unique: a generous, fearless and startlingly wise young writer. The New York Times * Enchanting in every sense of the word Literary Review * As in all the best magic tricks, the reader gradually peels away layer after layer to find yet another unexpected item, and this book becomes unputdownable. Observer Details ISBN1857028155 Author Ann Patchett Pages 368 Publisher HarperCollins Publishers ISBN-10 1857028155 ISBN-13 9781857028157 Format Paperback Place of Publication London Country of Publication United Kingdom DEWEY 813.54 Media Book Language English Edition New edition Imprint 4th Estate UK Release Date 1999-02-04 Year 1999 Publication Date 1999-02-04 AU Release Date 1998-11-30 NZ Release Date 2001-03-18 Alternative 9780007385539 Audience General We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:1161815;

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