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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Clever Book - Very Readable, February 21, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The Escape Artist (Paperback)
Set in the 1900's, young Jewish Lesbian, Sofia Teitelbaum, is taken from her parents home under false circumstances to a bordello in Argentina. Eventually she encounters a charismatic magician, Hankus Lubarsky, and realizes Hankus is a woman masquerading as a man. Interesting plot twists & turns develop as the two young lovers, Sofia & Hankus, outwit the Jewish gangsters who are trying to control and exploit both of them. The book is written in an interesting style, told mainly in the first person by Sofia, it has her relating the story to Hankus. The author also creates scenes that Sofia could not have witnessed personally, but she does so in a very believable way that causes no abrupt break in the storyline. I found the book quite interesting, and a bit different from the usual lesbian fiction novels I read. The only reason I did not give it 5 stars was because some of the plotting seemed a bit too lengthy to me before the results are reached,but over all, this is an excellent book, which I highly recommend
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Story, June 24, 2000
This review is from: The Escape Artist (Paperback)
One of my fellow students reviewed this book in my recent Modern Lesbian Literature. Her synopsis was so unusual, I ordered the book the next week and read it over the weekend. The story is written in an unusual style, with Sofia narrating events to both her lover, Hankus, and the reader. The story of how two young Polish Jews meet in an Argentine brothel is imaginative and holds the readers interest throughout. In a very few parts, the story gets tedious, but it doesn't last long. The ending was intuitive, but still good. In conclusion, a really good story and I have recommended it to several friends.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Writing but Unlikable Characters, May 20, 2010
The novel The Escape Artist by Judith Katz takes place over 17 years and travels from Eastern Europe to Argentina. Sofia Teitelbaum is a young Jewish girl when her poor parents decide to marry her off to a wealthy Jewish businessman who boasts of taking Sofia to Argentina where she will be treated as a princess. The wealthy businessman, Tutsik Goldenberg, is clearly not who he says he is but Sofia's family can not offer her a better life in their Polish town so they agree to the marriage. Before Tutsik and Sofia can be wed, Tutsik takes Sofia to another village where she meets "tante Sara" who pretends to be Tutsik's aunt. Tante Sara, Sofia, and Tutsik board a boat for Argentina on which Tutsik promises to marry Sofia. Of course the marriage does not take place, and instead Sara teaches Sofia about the art of seduction. When they arrive at the dock in Argentina, Sofia is brought to Tutsik's sister's brothel where Sofia will work as a prostitute for three years until she meets Hankus. Hankus, formerly Hannah, has a story of his own which Sofia tells the reader. When Sofia meets Hankus he is already working as a magician and about to take his talent to the big stage. The love between Hankus and Sofia is the crux of the story that leads to betrayal, secrets, and magic.
Katz is simply an excellent writer. She is able to describe a scene with such precision and detail that the reader can almost feel it. In addition, she peppers the text with Yiddish words which deepens the issue of Jewish identity in the novel. However, readers who do not know Yiddish will still understand the text and might even pick up some Yiddish verbiage. The story is written in sections that each have denoted years. One of the sections is specifically Hankus' section. Yet, it is not told by Hankus but instead by Sofia as it was told to her by Hankus. Therefore, she uses the second person when writing this section which is a fantastic technique and works very well in this book.
Overall, the novel was a very good read. Still, I only have it 3.5 stars because I could not sympathize with the characters. Though they certainly developed throughout the novel, they were not likable and at times I could not even understand the love between Sofia and Hankus. However, Katz proves herself to be an excellent writer and I look forward to more works by her in the future.
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