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Loading... The magician's wifeby Brian Moore
None.  bookwoman247 | Jul 7, 2012 |  The most amazing thing about this book is that I finished reading it! Mostly boring, too much complex political stuff for me. I don't know what the reviewers liked about this book. The protagonist seemed confused and was not easy to like. Some of her reactions to circumstances were totally unlike her character. (  ) bibliophileofalls | Nov 6, 2010 | This is a story set in the 1870's in France and Algeria, and based very loosely an actual events. The amazing content of the story is the magician and his "bag of tricks" to fool the "ignorant" masses. The detail given to the clothes and food and setting propelled the story. The story has a hint of forbidden romance, but the final resolution is sad. A look at the life and inhibitations of the 1870's. The scenes at the get-together with the Emperor and Empress are both amazing and disgusting. I might feel tempted to read Brian Moore again. delphimo | Apr 28, 2010 | read twice (  ) CynthiaScott | Jan 21, 2010 | Just could not enjoy the author's writing style. Usually a book like this, a combination of history and clash of cultures is right up my alley but I didn't find the female character very believable and the rest of the main characters just seemed superficially fleshed out. Some of the minor characters however where very interestingly portrayed, the husband's assistant, the daughter of the leader etc. I am not sorry I read it and I may research the true story that this novel was inspired by. It certainly was a good read for the $1 I spent at the library sale. (  ) jmg12 | Apr 11, 2009 | no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0452279593, Paperback)Brian Moore is best known for his mysteries of faith and fanaticism. The Statement focuses on a murderously uncontrite Vichy collaborator whom the French Catholic church has long sheltered. And in The Color of Blood (1987)--set in an unnamed Iron Curtain country--a cardinal wonders if people aren't using religion "as a sort of politics." Religion and politics again feature in The Magician's Wife, but this time they are accompanied by their long-time companion, illusion. Once again, France is the setting--Second Empire France, though, along with its prospective colony, Algeria.Moore opens the novel with a bizarre detail. It is 1856 and Emmeline Lambert watches a mechanical gatekeeper salute a departing dignitary. This nuts-and-bolts major-domo is the creation of her autocratic husband, Henri, formerly France's greatest magician, retired and hard at work on such minor contrivances. "Now he was an inventor, a scientist," Emmeline thinks. "But would a real scientist spend his days making mechanical marionettes?" Her impatience with his compulsive tinkering is only one part of a troubled marriage, which seems to consist largely of fossilized accommodations and painful discretion. According to their visiting dignitary, however, the prestidigitator's country needs him. Colonel Deniau, head of Arab affairs and in many ways the real magician of the tale--or the magician's enchanter--has a mysterious project in mind. The plan is to flatter Henri into creating a series of mind-blowing tricks. According to the colonel, an Algerian marabout, or living saint, is "said to possess miraculous powers" and might call for a holy war. If Henri outperforms the Algerian, he will seem the greater marabout" and convince them that God is not on their side but France's." The Magician's Wife is a condemnation of colonialism, of which illusion is always a key ingredient. Moore's novel, however, is far from a tract: he infuses his drama of the past with our present anxiety. He also creates, quite literally, a magical narrative. Though the Algerians may consider Henri the devil incarnate, and his wife may slight his legerdemain, you will be awed by his fantastic skills and the apparent effortlessness with which the author relates them. (retrieved from Amazon Tue, 15 Jan 2013 15:56:54 -0500) A novel on the 19th century French colonization of Algeria. In a bid to forestall a revolt, Napoleon III dispatches France's top magician, hoping an exhibition of his powers will impress rebellious sheiks with the superiority of European civilization. But the magician's wife--events are seen through her eyes--finds Arab civilization superior. By the author of The Statement.… (more) |
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Emmeline, his wife, is sent with him. She ultimately makes a decision that could ruin the mission and destroy her husband and their marriage.
This book was not great, but it was interesting and enjoyable. (