THE MAGICIAN'S ASSISTANT BY ANN PATCHETT

The book, THE MAGICIAN'S ASSISTANT BY ANN PATCHETT was an extremely interesting one. I had never read a book like it.

The book told the story of Sabine, an Israeli young lady, living in California who was a magician's assistant.  She was in love with a magician named Parsifal who was a gay gentleman and who had a lover named Phen, a Vietnamese computer expert who also made the costumes for the act.  Eventually, Sabine marries Parsifal after Phen dies.   Both Parsifal and Phen die.  It is implied although never said that they had AIDS.   Sabine is to inherit everything.

Sabine is told by a lawyer that Parsifal's real name is Guy Fetters.  Parsifal has told Sabine that he is from Connecticut, where his family died in a car accident.  This is not true.  He hails from Alliance, Nebraska, where his mother Dot, sisters Kitty and Bertie, nephews, How and Guy and brother-in-law Howard still live.

To learn about this family and the reasons Parsifal (Guy) left, Sabine travels to Alliance on the invitation of Dot and Bertie who have come to meet Sabine in California.

It is a novel with many secrets.  As the story evolves one sees the dysfunction in the family.  For example, Guy kills his father after the father has abused the mother too many times.  He did not lock himself in a refrigerator as he told Sabine, but was locked in there by his father.

I found the book to be a page turner.  I also enjoyed the way the main characters were fleshed out and the descriptions of the different places.