The Magician's Assistant

Product Information

It isn’t until the charismatic Parsifal, Sabine’s husband and the magician she assisted for years, dies suddenly that Sabine discovers his secret: the family he claimed perished in a car accident long ago is actually alive and well in middle-of-nowhere Nebraska. When Kitty and Dot Fetters, sister and mother, respectively, of Guy Fetters — that’s Parsifal to Sabine — decide to visit Los Angeles to meet Sabine and see where Guy lived, Sabine finds herself drawn into Parsifal’s past, seeking comfort in these women who were so close to her husband and partner so long ago. arsifal is dead,'' reads the startling opening of ''The Magician's Assistant,'' Ann Patchett's third novel. ''That is Magicians Are Wizards: A possible subversion. While eminent conjurer Shandu the Magnificent knowingly keeps custody of a genuine magic wand, he warns that actual use of the wand can summon evil.

The Magic Assistant - Facebook The Magic Assistant - Facebook

When I first started working as a magician’s assistant in a late-night cabaret show in a small central-London theatre, I couldn’t have anticipated just how much it would change my performing life. Stage magic and illusion had not, unsurprisingly, been part of my training at university and drama school, but they opened up a whole new world of stagecraft, audience interaction, pacing and physicality that helped me unlearn and relearn ways to be and communicate on stage, as well as to direct and focus the attention of audiences. Over the weeks that follow, Todd rehearses with Shandu, and although he makes numerous mistakes, thus earning the ire of his impatient mentor, he is determined to learn from them as Shandu shares Magical Rule #2: "Only let them see what you want them to see." The real appeal of ''The Magician's Assistant'' lies in the small, accumulating ways in which Sabine and the Fetters family assist one another out of isolation and sorrow. By the end, they have all been somewhat transformed --Exact Words: Todd extracts a promise from Nazrak that he must leave Mrs. Marker alone if he wants the wand. When Nazrak agrees and Todd hands over the wand, the demon points out that he never said he would leave Todd himself alone, and he prepares to banish him to the vortex with Shandu.

The Magician’s Assistant by Ann Patchett | Waterstones

Has The Magician’s Assistant restored my willingness to try more by Ann Patchett? I’d say it has. I do have Run and The Patron Saint of Liars on my shelf already, so I’m sure I’ll try at least one of those. For readers who have had similarly disappointing experiences with Ann Patchett’s novels, The Magician’s Assistant is different enough that I’d recommend it as a nice change of pace. Thanks to JoAnn for suggesting it to me! Magic Wand: Used by ancient sorcerers to draw power from the earth, such an item is guarded by Shandu. or that by posthumously reuniting Parsifal with his mother and sisters, she helps unchain them from a painful past. But it is still gratifying to watch Patchett pull each rabbit out of the hat.TVTropes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Shandu catches Todd replacing the wand and realises he has broken Magical Rule #1, "Never, ever touch another magician's wand unless he hands it to you." Todd tells him about Nazrak, and Shandu is horrified; Nazrak is an evil demon sorcerer who has been imprisoned for centuries and seeks Shandu's wand, which can potentially grant enough power to pose a threat to the entire world. He angrily dismisses Todd, who rides off on his bike before realising he still has Shandu's bow tie. some sort of connection with the Parsifal she has just discovered. ''When Parsifal died she lost the rest of his life, but now she had stumbled on 18 years. Eighteen untouched years that she could have; early, forgotten volumes However, as he admires the effects of the spell, a blue glow appears behind him and coalesces into a female figure calling herself Nazrak, the spirit of the wand. She tells Todd the wand has special powers - contrary to Shandu's instructions, he can use it whenever he pleases.

The Magicians Are You Afraid Of The Dark Season 2 The Tale Of The Magicians

Neb., where his mother and two sisters still live, though he hadn't seen them for decades. When the frumpy Dot Fetters and her daughter Bertie show up in Los Angeles to meet Guy's wife and see his grave -- right next to Phan's A comedy magic show might not seem like the perfect place to challenge the lazy sexism of traditional performative presentations of gender onstage, but in my experience a female assistant can send up and subvert the stereotypes by encouraging the audience to laugh at them. As the assistant in a comedy magic show, the constant direct engagement with the audience and use of audience volunteers was a total departure from my previous experience as an actor. I learned through trial and error to develop a sense of who might play along if invited on stage. Does that (somewhat clumsy) summary make this one sound odd? Don’t get too hung up on it. Patchett manages to make it all work, somehow! My Thoughts: Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While irascible, Shandu is a supportive mentor, warmly congratulates Todd on his defeat of Nazrak, and gives a hearty performance to a party of kids (despite his longing for the old days).Sealed Good in a Can: When Shandu is trapped in the vortex, he appears in a reflection to advise Todd. After disliking both Bel Canto and State of Wonder, I’d all but given up on Ann Patchett’s novels. JoAnn suggested I try The Magician’s Assistant as a last chance, and I chose to listen to it. About the Book: Shandu arrives and deduces Todd's minimal experience, but Todd insists he is a fast learner and a hard worker. Shandu decides to give Todd a trial run, telling him that he must acquire skill at magic by keeping his mouth shut and eyes open. The audiobook was read by Karen Ziemba. She’s a new narrator to me, but I liked the way her cool, polished voice matched the way I imagined Sabine. I very much enjoyed the audio production and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it. can flourish; strange havens do exist. Becoming accustomed to sad endings may be more naive than believing, now and then, in happily ever after.