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The Magician's Assistant
- Narrated by: Karen Ziemba
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
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Great story!
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Ann Patchett’s award winning, New York Times best-selling Bel Canto balances themes of love and crisis as disparate characters learn that music is their only common language. As in Pratchett’s other novels, including Truth & Beauty and The Magician’s Assistant, the author’s lyrical prose and lucid imagination make Bel Canto a captivating story of strength and frailty, love and imprisonment, and an inspiring tale of transcendent romance.
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My favourite novel
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It's a winter evening in Boston and the temperature has drastically dropped as a blizzard approaches the city. On this fateful night, Bernard Doyle plans to meet his two adopted sons, Tip the older, and more serious and Teddy, the affectionate dreamer, at a Harvard auditorium to hear a speech given by Jesse Jackson. Doyle, an Irish Catholic and former Boston mayor, has done his best to keep his two sons interested in politics, from the day he and his now deceased wife became their parents, through their childhoods, and now in their lives as college students.
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Another great Ann Patchett story!
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These Precious Days
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“Any story that starts will also end.” As a writer, Ann Patchett knows what the outcome of her fiction will be. Life, however, often takes turns we do not see coming. Patchett ponders this truth in these wise essays that afford a fresh and intimate look into her mind and heart.
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J'ai adoré
- By Amazon Customer on 2023-09-24
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Commonwealth
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One Sunday afternoon in Southern California, Bert Cousins shows up at Franny Keating's christening party uninvited. Before evening falls, he has kissed Franny's mother, Beverly - thus setting in motion the dissolution of their marriages and the joining of two families.
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not good, not bad.
- By Amazon Customer on 2019-12-07
Written by: Ann Patchett
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State of Wonder
- A Novel
- Written by: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Hope Davis
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
-
Performance
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Story
Research scientist Dr. Marina Singh is sent to Brazil to track down her former mentor, Dr. Annick Swenson, who seems to have disappeared in the Amazon while working on an extremely valuable new drug. The last person who was sent to find her died before he could complete his mission. Plagued by trepidation, Marina embarks on an odyssey into the insect-infested jungle in hopes of finding answers to the questions about her friend's death, her company's future, and her own past.
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Great story!
- By Sheelagh on 2023-08-24
Written by: Ann Patchett
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The Patron Saint of Liars
- Written by: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Julia Gibson
- Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
St. Elizabeth's is a lovely old place in a small town in Kentucky that used to be the beautiful Hotel Louisa. In the 1960s, it is a home for unwed mothers run by nuns. Life at St. Elizabeth's is not unpleasant, but it is temporary. All the pregnant women who come there will go home within the year. Except for Rose, a beautiful, mysterious woman, who is neither unwed nor alone. She is simply pregnant and doesn't want her husband or her mother to know. She plans to give her baby up because she knows she cannot be the mother the baby needs.
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The Patron Saint of Liars
- By Simeon Doucette on 2023-01-17
Written by: Ann Patchett
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Bel Canto
- Written by: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Anna Fields
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ann Patchett’s award winning, New York Times best-selling Bel Canto balances themes of love and crisis as disparate characters learn that music is their only common language. As in Pratchett’s other novels, including Truth & Beauty and The Magician’s Assistant, the author’s lyrical prose and lucid imagination make Bel Canto a captivating story of strength and frailty, love and imprisonment, and an inspiring tale of transcendent romance.
-
-
My favourite novel
- By Beeswax on 2020-11-11
Written by: Ann Patchett
-
Run
- Written by: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Peter Francis James
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's a winter evening in Boston and the temperature has drastically dropped as a blizzard approaches the city. On this fateful night, Bernard Doyle plans to meet his two adopted sons, Tip the older, and more serious and Teddy, the affectionate dreamer, at a Harvard auditorium to hear a speech given by Jesse Jackson. Doyle, an Irish Catholic and former Boston mayor, has done his best to keep his two sons interested in politics, from the day he and his now deceased wife became their parents, through their childhoods, and now in their lives as college students.
-
-
Another great Ann Patchett story!
- By CherylN on 2023-11-27
Written by: Ann Patchett
-
These Precious Days
- Essays
- Written by: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Ann Patchett
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
“Any story that starts will also end.” As a writer, Ann Patchett knows what the outcome of her fiction will be. Life, however, often takes turns we do not see coming. Patchett ponders this truth in these wise essays that afford a fresh and intimate look into her mind and heart.
-
-
J'ai adoré
- By Amazon Customer on 2023-09-24
Written by: Ann Patchett
-
Commonwealth
- Written by: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Hope Davis
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One Sunday afternoon in Southern California, Bert Cousins shows up at Franny Keating's christening party uninvited. Before evening falls, he has kissed Franny's mother, Beverly - thus setting in motion the dissolution of their marriages and the joining of two families.
-
-
not good, not bad.
- By Amazon Customer on 2019-12-07
Written by: Ann Patchett
Publisher's Summary
When a gay Los Angeles magician named Parsifal dies suddenly, he leaves behind his heartbroken assistant, Sabine, and a secret past that leads her to Nebraska and a father she never knew he had.
What the critics say
"The kindliness of The Magician's Assistant is beguiling, and Patchett is an adroit, graceful writer. . . she is especially practiced at the razzle-dazzle of odd juxtapositions." (New York Times Book Review)
"A saga of redemption tenderly and terrifically told." (Kirkus Reviews)
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What listeners say about The Magician's Assistant
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- AJDahl
- 2019-10-25
Stilted read
The story may be good, but it's difficult to listen past the stilted read. I'm finding it difficult to listen past the first chapters. I don't recommend buying this audio version.
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1 person found this helpful
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- CherylN
- 2023-11-03
Another great story from Ann Patchett!
I’ve loved all her books! The only reason I gave this “4” instead of “5” is that I liked her others even more.
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- Beth Stephen
- 2020-11-24
classic ann patchett great story
another great story from Ann Patchett. excellent story and performance. will definitely look for her next novel.
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- Kent
- 2018-03-27
I Love This Trick
I loved the book when I read it many years ago. A beautiful story of magic and relationships and the the magic of relationships.
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Overall

- Pamela Harvey
- 2008-06-10
Patchett Has It
This book will delight and entertain but ultimately enlighten the reader with its detailed introspection, empathy and surprising revelations. Patchett excels at what some critics call "odd pairings" but I regard this novel as a full demonstration of what this author has to say about learning from unexpected sources, and an implied caution against what I would call "contempt prior to investigation". In other words, you never know who your next teacher will be.
I have read most of Patchett's work, including her interview and her Sarah Lawrence commencement address, and she never fails to deliver in narrative skill, characterization and insight.
Can't wait for the next one!
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78 people found this helpful
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- Brian PDX
- 2012-06-18
Stellar writing and narration-Pachett is a winner
Ann Pachett, an author who is new to me, has written another wonderful, introspective novel which I found so enjoyable I dedicated a couple of days to listening instead of multi-tasking, which is my usual way of listening to audio books. I've only heard 2 of her novels-this and "Bel Canto" and, IMO, both are 5 star listen...I don't give out a lot of 5 stars because I think it takes a really unique book and reader combo to rate that high of a score.
I've read some of the other reviews and, apparently, Pachett's writing does not apppeal to everyone. She is not an action oriented writer, instead she develops her characters fully and spends time weaving their inner thoughts, and dreams in the case of this story, with the plot. And, this plot is somewhat unusual in that one of the main protagonists is already dead and comes to the primary character in her dreams. It's a great interplay between living person and dream person. Additionally the personal relationships ae unusual. Still this story really pulled me in and kept me enthralled and I suspect I will be listening again to it soon.
The story line is not complex, for anyone who has lost a loved one to unexpected death the feelings of the main protagonist will be familiar. The numb and vacant and feeling unwilling to get out are typical of a woman dealing with death of her husband. Pachett delves deeply into these feelings and those of husbands family, which she had never met until after husbands death. Additionally, the marriage is truly unique and requires the listener to understand that not all relationships are the same.
I recommend the novel for those who don't need scary excitement in everything they read..this book is literature rather than a typical mass market book that gives thrills and chills. It does move slowly and is deeply involved in the thoughts and feelings of the family as they get to know each other.
I did feel the ending abrupt-but so was the ending in "Bel Canto" so that might be part of Pachetts writing style.
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54 people found this helpful
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Overall

- Mary
- 2011-08-26
What's with the cheesy music?
I liked the narrator. The story kind of limps along, never really developing fully into anything. And then it just ends. The characters aren't quite convincing to me, and I guess I didn't really feel invested in them enough to care when the story abruptly ends. I won't miss them, like I do characters in stories that have more richness, complexity and depth. What really annoys me about this audio book is the cheesy jazz riffs they put at the beginning and between chapters, often continuing it over the narration. It doesn't fit at all. What were they thinking?
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47 people found this helpful
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Overall

- Samantha
- 2008-07-23
Poetic
This is a wonderful, wonderful book. The story unfolds like a flower. She has such a way with words; it's wonderful to listen to. The narrator is terrific as well and really captures the mid-west dialect of Nebraska. I've only read one other book by this author but I now plan on reading her others.
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29 people found this helpful
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Overall

- Angela
- 2008-10-30
Listened to it Twice
Get this book you will not be disappointed..It is in the class of story that you do not want to end, and as you get close to the end you stretch it out to be able to savor every last detail. The narration could not have been better
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21 people found this helpful
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- Barbara
- 2008-10-08
Love, grief, healing--Patchett has it all
I love Ann Patchett's work. She writes beautifully while making it seem effortless. I always worry about the interpretation of books in audio form, though. This is a wonderful story, artfully narrated.
After 20 years of working with Sabine as his magician's assistant, Parsifal (and before him, his lover, Phan) dies. Before he dies, Parsifal marries Sabine, leaving her with his estate and his secrets (and they aren't just magic tricks). Sabine discovers Parsifal's family--one she didn't know he had. Layer by layer, Sabine discovers why Parsifal left them and created a new life for himself. She acts as the agent of healing--for Parsifal's family and for herself.
The story is deep, touching and well-written. I finished it 2 weeks ago and am still thinking about it.
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20 people found this helpful
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Overall

- Jbug
- 2010-05-14
Rambled on and on
The book was very well written, but it just had no point. I listened to this while I peeled wallpaper off the wall. I would have given up on it had I been listening for pleasure.
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19 people found this helpful
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Overall

- Dennis
- 2010-10-24
Patchett Pulls a Rabbit out of the Hat
Ann Patchett kills off her protagonist at the beginning of the story, but Parsifal
pervades the story from beginning to end. Although gay and living with his dying boyfriend, Parsifal marries his assistant, Sabine, who loves him so deeply that she accepts her status as a virginal wife. The plot follows her relationship with the family he never told her he had. The beauty of the story comes in the relationship that develops between a beautiful, wealthy, and hip L.A. woman and the corn-fed Nebraskans who her husband rejected as a teenager. Patchett tells a heat-warming story that moved me to want more.
The ending leaves one hanging, but not every author has to tie up the loose ends.
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15 people found this helpful
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Overall

- Cynthia
- 2008-09-13
Interesting
Interesting story that easily kept me listening,but the ending was a huge disappointment. I was left cold.
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15 people found this helpful
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- Robin
- 2010-05-13
Unsatisfying Ending
Interesting story with well developed characters. I enjoyed most of the story but felt the ending was very abrupt. It left me feeling like I had forgotten to download part of the book. Loved Bel Canto but had a similar feeling at the end of that book. Perhaps it is a feature of all of Ann Patchett's books. I will learn from this experience and may not download another.
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12 people found this helpful