Helpful Score: 14
After reading Patchett's novel "bel canto" I was hesitant to read another of her works but, the premise of this book sounded interesting so I decided to give it a try. I have to admit I liked this one. Her style brought just the right amount of weight to the depression the wife feels after her husband's death without making the mood gloomy. My only complaint is I felt let down by the ending. It felt unfinshed in some way.
Helpful Score: 11
I loved this book. The story and the characters just take you along on a crazy ride from LA to Nowhere in the midwest. You keep wondering how it will all turn out. At first, I did not like the author's ending, however, after a day, I realize that the ending is all part of the magic of the book. A great read!
Helpful Score: 10
I love how there are no villians in Ann Patchett's novels but the conflict is still very gripping. This novel was not as wonderful as Bel Canto, but still was a very enjoyable read.
Helpful Score: 7
Lovely and sad with a perfectly magical ending.
I liked Bel Canto, but everything else I've read by Patchett (including this) has been disappointing. The early part of the book was pretty interesting, but as it went on, it was just weak and reminiscent of a million other family dramas. The ending was a little too neat and I found myself rolling my eyes.
Helpful Score: 2
I really enjoyed this book. It helped me understand how a family member was married to a gay man & how she still loves him. They still seem like they would make a good couple. He however needed someone he could be more honest with. for w/o hoesty there is no real intimacy. This book was a fast read and provacitve.
Helpful Score: 1
I really enjoyed this book. It was a very sweet story. Although the end was left a bit up in the air... though it was pretty obvious where it was going to end. It's kinda nice to hold the happy ending in your own hand. My only complaint was the lack of chapters, but, honestly, that lack worked rather well in this story. It wasn't great, but it WAS good... very solid.
Helpful Score: 1
I greatly enjoyed this story! Such interesting characters whom you really end up caring about. One particular thing I like about reading Ann Patchett's writing is her ability to bring the people to life. This to the point that you feel like you know and understand them even if you can't identify with their situation. You CAN identify THROUGH the person she paints. A very unusual but deeply satisifying read!
Helpful Score: 1
The magic of this book was lost on me. I kept reading, because I felt I should feel something, or that something was going to unfold. But it didn't. Just a sad story.
Helpful Score: 1
Mystical but concrete at the same time. Sound impossible? Read this wonderful book to see what I mean. Stays with you long after the last page is read.
As if it wasn't bad enough to have spent 20 years of her life loving a gay man, Sabine finds out, after he dies, that his family is alive and well in Nebraska and not dead as she'd been led to believe. The story that follows is Sabine's search to learn about the man she loved - why did he lie, what was he hiding, who was Parsifal the Magician? At the same time, it is his family's quest to find out about their son and brother, Guy.
I thoroughly enjoyed the story though did not necessarily understand why Sabine spent so much time dreaming of and/or talking to Parsifal's deceased lover...I'd recommend it though as Ann Patchett's writing did not disappoint.
I thoroughly enjoyed the story though did not necessarily understand why Sabine spent so much time dreaming of and/or talking to Parsifal's deceased lover...I'd recommend it though as Ann Patchett's writing did not disappoint.
I loved this book. The characters were fantastic...engaging, believable and deeply felt. I would have loved another 300 pages to get to know them better.
I found this novel compelling and beautiful. A lovely description of love, devotion and everyone's need for companionship. Reading it felt made me feel warm, comfortable and appreciative of the companions I have in my life.
This was a great book, I didn't want it to end. Even though it had a distinct ending, I still want to know more about the characters and and their lives in the future.
Enjoyable journey reading this novel.
Wonderfully told story of love and loss.
I enjoyed this book, but I didn't enjoy it as much as Ann Patchett's more recent works of Bel Canto and Run. I think that she does a marvelous job of mixing some pretty heavy topics with a style that doesn't make you feel drained with dealing with those topics. I enjoy the way she mixes people's differences and choices so that you can see what it's like to be a human living amongst other humans.
Ann Patchett has the most colorful characters, put in awkward situations with redeeming outcomes. Isn't that vague?
I loved this book but the ending left me wondering what happened next...maybe a sequel with be forthcoming? I hope so.
As good as Bel Canto. I enjoyed this book very much.
'Read this book for my book club. It was not one of my favorite reads. It wasn't awful, just kinda boring and somewhat predictable. This is just my opinion. Most of the other ladies in the reading group liked it just fine. Biggest negative was that it wasn't as good as other books by Ann Patchett that they had read. Since I hadn't read any other of her books that comment saddened me. The consensus of opinion was that it was a good, interesting read. Well, guess that is what makes the world go round LOL
Excellent, engrossing, typical Ann Patchett.
Awesome! As good as Bel Canto.
Another Ann Patchett great. She writes to keep you guessing all the way to the end. Her research makes the characters seem like real people and the reader a part of the story.
beautiful writing. Ann Patchett has great prose style, and the redemptive story is unique and unexpected.
If you liked Bel Canto, you will love this one!
A good read.
Captivating story of love and loss. Sabine is the widow of Parsifal, the magician. His past becomes known after his death and she goes in search of his family to try to better understand him. What follows is illuminating and surprising. I very much enjoyed this book.
After knowing her husband over 20 years, Sabine finds herself alone. "Parsifal is dead. That is the end of the story." Yet it is only the beginning of Sabine's poignant journey to find who her husband truly was and what she needs to become in order to go on without him. This story isn't just about a magician's assistant, but the everyday magic that people work on each other to improve their outlook on life. The magic of everyday miracles that people become so accostumed to that they overlook--the magic of friendship and family.
I liked this book. But, for some reason, I expected more.
I found this book extremely boring and kept waiting for it to get better. After reading Bel Canto I couldn't wait to read another one of her books but this one was so disappointing. Not only did it drag along (I found myself skipping over entire paragraphs) but the ending left you with no idea what happened or was going to happen. It just suddenly ended and I was like, "Seriously? This is it??" I was kind of annoyed that I wasted my valuable time on this book and had hoped that it would at least have a good ending. Don't waste your time on this one. Sorry, just being honest.
Enjoyed very much.
DELIGHTFUL!
I've read twenty pages out of this book and absolutely love it. I am really having a hard time putting it down and cannot wait to finish it. Ann Patchett is one of the foremost storytellers of our time and this book is a gem. Read it and love it.
Quite a page turner!
Loved loved loved it - so different fromother books truly contemporary life
I love this author, and this book did not disappoint.
This was OK - not what I thought it would be but it was good.
Intriguing.
Wonderful book and an easy read. The book really sucked you into the story and the characters really came alive.
From the back;
When Parsifal, a handsome and charming magician, dies suddenly, his widow Sabine-who was also his faithful assistant for twenty years-learns that the family he claimed to have lost is alive and well. Sabine is left to unravel his secrets.....
I don't want to give away too much of the story. Great book.
From the back;
When Parsifal, a handsome and charming magician, dies suddenly, his widow Sabine-who was also his faithful assistant for twenty years-learns that the family he claimed to have lost is alive and well. Sabine is left to unravel his secrets.....
I don't want to give away too much of the story. Great book.
"Patchett's third novel is something of a magic trick itself -- a '90s love story wrought with all the grace and classic charm of a nineteenth-century novel....We read [this] with the same pleasure and awe of an audience watching a chained Houdini escape from an underwater chamber." --Newsweek
When Parsifal, a handsome and charming magician, dies suddenly, his widow Sabine -- who was also his faithful assistant for twenty years -- learns that the family he claimed to have lost in a tragic accident is very much alive and well. Sabine is left to unravel his secrets, and the adventure she embarks upon, from sunny Los Angeles to the bitter windswept plains of Nebraska, will work its own magic on her. Sabine's extraordinary tale will capture the heart of its readers just as Sabine herself is captured by her quest. (from back of book)
When Parsifal, a handsome and charming magician, dies suddenly, his widow Sabine -- who was also his faithful assistant for twenty years -- learns that the family he claimed to have lost in a tragic accident is very much alive and well. Sabine is left to unravel his secrets, and the adventure she embarks upon, from sunny Los Angeles to the bitter windswept plains of Nebraska, will work its own magic on her. Sabine's extraordinary tale will capture the heart of its readers just as Sabine herself is captured by her quest. (from back of book)
When Parsifal, a handson and charming magician, dies suddenly, his widow Sabine - who was also his faithful assistant for 20 years - learns that the family he claimed to have lost in a tragic accident is very much alive and well. Sabine is left to unravel his secrets, and the adventure she embarks upon will work it's on magic on her.
Book is paperback.
