The Spirit Cabinet [Bargain Price] [Hardcover]

Paul Quarrington (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 31, 2000

After a long, slow climb out of the strip clubs of Europe, Jurgen and Rudolfo have hit the big time in Las Vegas, headlining a magic act as slick as their own buffed and usually half-naked bodies. Rudolfo is content orchestrating the spectacle and attempting to twin his soul with Jurgen's. But Jurgen hungers for more--and finds it in a mysterious collection of magician's paraphernalia that once belonged to Harry Houdini. With the knowledge he finds there, and his own faith in the unknown, Jurgen becomes the miracle worker of the Las Vegas strip. "Darkly comic, deeply sad, and always ironic" (Library Journal), The Spirit Cabinet takes dead aim at the place within us that yearns for miracles. "It is not a book about magicians and their pursuit of magic," wrote Alan Beaton in The National Post; "it is a book about human beings, and their pursuit of faith."

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Canadian screenwriter (Due South) and award-winning novelist Quarrington (Whale Music) poignantly uses the tacky, tricky background of Las Vegas to tell the story of two magicians who pay the price for a great and dangerous wisdom. German Jurgen Schubert and Swiss Rudolfo Thielmann (think Siegfried & Roy) are sellers of wonder--a flamboyant Vegas magic act, spawned from a seedy club in Munich. At the height of their fame, they pay $4.8 million for the much sought-after Houdini collection, which includes the Davenport Spirit Cabinet and ancient books containing history's greatest magic secrets from all over the world. Labeled showmen, not "real" magicians, by their contemporaries, towering illusionist Jurgen and animal trainer Rudolfo are compared by the World-Famous Kaz to "chimps [who] bought some books about brain surgery." Quarrington reveals the pair, often rude and showy, as having been shaped by the traumas and disappointments of their pasts: Rudolfo was a pathetically lonely child raised in an opium den in Bern, and Jurgen is still desperately trying to prove that real magic exists. Jurgen proclaims to Rudolfo and to sensuous female assistant Miranda, as well as to lovable albino leopard Samson, that he wishes to change their lucrative, successful show by the dark wizardry gleaned from the mysterious teachings of Houdini's dusty books. But Jurgen is seduced into another world through the creepy doors of the Spirit Cabinet, and a story that begins as an entertaining lark--uneven yet humorous--ends up tender and heartbreaking. As Jurgen becomes more deeply involved with his supernatural metamorphosis, he becomes Christ-like, levitating and performing miracles while he drifts irreversibly away from Rudolfo, his life partner. Quarrington gathers most of Vegas to see the duo's final act, powerfully blending tears with philosophical enlightenment in a novel to be treasured, even by those who don't believe in magic. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The eighth novel by Canadian Quarrington (who received good reviews here for Whale Music and Hockey Is a Lot Like Life) recounts the Las Vegas success of gay German magicians Jurgen and Rodolfo, whose rippling, well-oiled muscles and feats of prestidigitation won them acclaim in the louche nightclubs of Europe. They are aided by a nearly naked woman, Miranda, and Samson, an elderly albino leopard with a rich inner life who may alone be worth the read. At auction, the men acquire a collection of books and magic paraphernalia owned by Houdini, including the Spirit Cabinet, which becomes Jurgen's vehicle for transcendence. Darkly comic, deeply sad, and always ironic, this novel shows us that the difference between true magic and everyday charlatanism depends on a willingness to suspend disbelief and open oneself to miracles. Along the way, the alert reader learns some animal-taming methods, how to perform a variety of card tricks, and why Miranda is so lightly clad (largely to divert the audience from onstage stratagems). This novel will find readers in all types of libraries but with sharper editing could have been a sensation.
-Judith Kicinski, Sarah Lawrence Coll. Lib., Bronxville, NY
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• ISBN-10: 0871138050
• ASIN: B0001PG3VO
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,102,179 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The world of magic, April 20, 2000

By 

Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Spirit Cabinet (Hardcover)

On Terry Pratchett's Discworld, there are eight colours in the rainbow. The eighth is The Colour of Magic. Like the other colours, its intensity may be measured - using a thaumometer.

On our world, as Paul Quarrington depicts here, magic is measured with a bank account book. Its practitioners are showmen not wizards. They are sleight-of-hand artists, illusionists well versed in the motto 'the hand is quicker than the eye'. They are highly competitive for audiences and recognition. The issue of selecting routines for their performances looms large, both for the sake of the audience and thier competitors.

Performance magic relies heavily on deception and devices. Quarrington relates how little novelty there is in this trickery. Manuevers and mechanisms are frequently handed down over generations to apprentices or favored associates. In The Spirit Cabinet it is a collection of material derived, almost inevitably, from the greatest magical showman of them all, Henry Houdini.

Assembled from such diffuse origins as Germany, Switzerland and Saskatchewan, a melange of conjurers gathers in Las Vegas to acquire a collection of Houdini memoribilia. Quarrington takes great pains in demonstrating the trade draws unusual people. Jurgen and Rudolfo are an unusal couple, in more ways than one. A rarity in the craft, they are a team. Most magicians, such as Kaz and Preston the Adequate [his father was Preston the Magnificent] work alone, or with no more than a decorous assistant. All covet the Houdini material, although why, since so much of it has been duplicated, remains hidden. Jurgen and Rudolfo acquire the collection. From that point on, their relationship takes a new course. A hint of real magic emerges, confounding all their lives.

Quarrington has drawn these people well. In describing their origins, there are numerous unexpected twists. The memory of Preston's father overshadows his life. Jurgen and Rudolfo have what can only be described as bizarre childhoods. As partners in performance and life, they become lovers. Few books reach publication these days without some form of sexual dysfunction as at least a minor theme. Kaz is Jewish, causing him to view every slight or competition as anti-Semetically based. Only Miranda seems stable; the account of her show business career is one of the best episodes in the book.

Quarrington obviously spent much effort researching this book. Combining this information with his prose skills he restores the value of personal performance to a generation inundated with special effects in TV and film. As he did in Whale Music, he depicts the life of entertainers. Stage magic is not for the inept and Quarrington portrays well the stresses these practitioners endure. This book is a fine addition to any library.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Spirit Fusion, March 24, 2003

By 

Lee Armstrong (Winterville, NC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Spirit Cabinet (Paperback)

"The Spirit Cabinet" uses the world of magicians and magic as an allegory for an exploration of self-worth. Much of the story takes place through the eyes of Rudolfo, who is the showman partner of Jurgan. The two come from colorful pasts. They are lovers as well as partners in a magic act. The novel contains several romantic graphic gay sexual encounters, one in a hail storm & one on an exercise bike. Rudolfo has a flare for working with animals, most notably Samson whose thoughts & fears are most humanely told. Samson is like the cowardly lion, although at times he's alternately bored or suffering from indigestion. The plot revolves around an auction where Jurgan buys a collection of books & magical equipment that belonged to Harry Houdini. This apparently contains secret magical information. We're not absolutely clear about what happens within the spirit cabinet, but Jurgen appears to undergo a transformation where he becomes increasingly less material, his body translucent, and less responsive to physical gravity. The culmination event reminded me of the idea of spirit fusion presented in The Urantia Book. Other magicians swirl in subplots. Preston the Adequate steals Jurgen & Rudolfo's lovely assistant Miranda. Envious magician Kaz tries to steal the Houdini collection. There is also a chauffeur from the African Dogon tribe who appears to have magical qualities. Quarrington peoples the novel with a collection of oddballs who all seem to question their self-worth. The quasi-mystical becomes magical and possible. Jurgen's climax where he seems to explode skyward into luminous bits is wonderful. The barriers to enjoyment come from the construction which is a bit hard to follow. One chapter is in the present, the next in flashback, and another in a dream. Sometimes it's hard to tell what's what, which may be the point. Overall, this is an interesting and entertaining tome, if a bit off-center. Enjoy!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good writing, a little hard to swallow, June 27, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Spirit Cabinet (Hardcover)

I have to say I enjoyed this book, but saw room for improvement. While Quarrington's descriptive and narrative style is quite tasty and the plot decidedly provocative and well-researched, I found the telling a little loose and frayed around the edges and the last portion of the book seemed rushed and clumsily tied together. It takes place in a believable world (if you can call Las Vegas believable) where magic (not mere illusions) exists and animals have emotional and intellectual maturity. These devices worked and their "unrealness" was "believable" and enjoyable. Yet, for example, when one's lover/partner starts to turn literally translucent, begins wasting away before your eyes and performing ACTUAL magic learned from ancient books & scrolls and paraphernalia, one would probably react with something other than sulking, annoyance and self-centered anger. This is the sort of unbeleivability that I disliked about this book, even for it's well drawn characters, good humor and surprising twists of plot. Also, some of the out-of-chronological-order storytelling left me confused and back-tracking rather than being able to watch the subplots eventually fall satisfyingly into place. In sum: Enjoyable but not wholly satisfying.