The Magician's Assistant

A secretive magician’s death becomes the catalyst for his partner’s journey of self-discovery in this “enchanting” book (San Francisco Chronicle) “that is something of a magic trick in itself-a 1990s love story with the grace and charm of a nineteenth-century novel” (Newsweek).

Newsweek

Patchett's third novel is something of a magic trick itself -- a 90s love story wrought with the same grace and classic charm of a 19th-century novel...We read Patchett's novel with the same pleasure and awe of an audience watching a chained Houdini escape from an underwater chamber.

After selling her first story to the Paris Review while still in college, Ann Patchett was steadily publishing her poignant, award-winning novels by her early 20s. In fact, her first novel sold 24 hours after it had been sent out. From the fantastical Bel Canto to the heartrending memoir Truth and Beauty, Patchett's precocious beginnings have blossomed into a major literary career.