The Magician: A Novel [Paperback]

Sol Stein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2000

This is a tale of two magicians, of high school extortion and violence, and of a criminal trial in which the guilty go free. Selected by the Book-of-the-Month Club, The Magician has sold over one million copies. Webster Schott wrote in the New York Times Book Review, I cannot recall a novel of this type with greater pleasure. Beautiful and gripping.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I cannot recall a novel of this type with greater pleasure. Beautiful and gripping." -- The New York Times Book Review

About the Author

Sol Stein is a prize-winning playwright produced on Broadway, an anthologized poet, the author of nine novels, and an award-winning teacher of writers. Stein has edited some of the most successful writers of the century, and is the author of Stein on Writing and the creator of the computer programs WritePro, FictionMaster, and FirstAid for Writers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 278 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse (June 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595093167
• ISBN-13: 978-0595093168
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #678,424 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yet another unexpected surprise..., September 10, 2004

By 

Feneesna (Queensland, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Magician: A Novel (Paperback)

It's hard to believe how few people know of this book. I first heard of it while reading one of Sol Stein's books on writing. From his own descriptions of it my curiosity was piqued and I resolved to find a copy of it if I could. Two years later I was fortunate enough to pick it up at a book sale and read the whole thing during the course of a six hour road journey and two nine hour flights on my way to and from Japan.

I was not expecting it to be as good as it was. Surely more people know of this book?

In a way, dare I say it, this book recalls To Kill a Mockingbird to my mind. They are similar in that they both deal with legal ethics, youngsters and America in the 20th century. The similarity probably stops there.

The premise is that Ed Japhet, aged sixteen, is an ameteur magician, and a pretty good one at that. Not only is he skilled in sleight of hand, he also oozes charisma and intelligence. He is the sort of young man that people can often be jealous of, and this is where the trouble begins.

To speak more of the plot would be to give it away, as I found that part of the pleasure in reading this book was not knowing anything about what was going to happen.

It is part legal thriller, part social commentary, and definitely worth a look at.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It was a pleasure, February 18, 2006

By 

SueAnn O Kern "Liah Oakes" (Washington, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Magician: A Novel (Paperback)

This book kept me on the couch totally absorbed and turning pages. I don't want to give any of it away but if this was required reading in high school many more students would come to love reading and the history of the book is just as interesting. Go ahead spend the day with these characters, you won't be sorry.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unmatched smoothness., October 3, 2003

By 

stratocumulus (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Magician: A Novel (Paperback)

"The Magician" allows your eyes to sail through the pages as if there weren't words but actual events and thoughts occurring before you. Entertaining, powerful, emotional, and immensely smooth, Stein's masterpiece will not disappoint.