Customer Reviews

The Magician's Girl

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The book isn't what I expected--it's probably better! I thought it would be a lighthearted look at three college friends, but it has some very grim and depressing scenes about childhood incidents that leave permanent psychic scars on the characters. Added to that are the physical damages to subordinate characters (Maud's brother Spencer, the unfortunate Aaron who suffers from a form of giantism, and a surprise revelation about the famous English Channel swimmer Gertrude Ederle). Nevertheless, there is room in this slim volume for humor, insight, and self-revelation. The author starts with the childhood circumstances of Minna, Maud and Liz and follows them to college at Barnard and life's successes and failures and that ultimate punctuation to life--death. P.S. I've got to ask Doris Grumbach if she sees this--where did she come up with a character from the choir of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Lincoln, Nebraska? That's the church where I was baptized, confirmed, and where my mother was married and my sister was married. I even sang in the youth choir although not in the adult choir (I can't carry a tune and want to sing the soprano melody line although my voice is more suited to alto). I also chuckled at her one- or two-word description of the Midwest. These provided some of the lighter moments for me.