Lisa Goldstein

I received an advance reading copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

YA fantasy that really works well. I can certainly see why it received awards as this short novel does what few of this type are able to do. Magical Realism is a tricky genre. Embraced by masters such as Borges and Garcia Marquez, it often comes off muddy and confusing in the hands of lesser writers. The fantasy elements predominate and the storyline bears little or no resemblance to the real world; or the show more realistic takes center stage and the fantasy elements feel either out of place, or tacked almost as an after-thought. Not so with The Red Magician--both the fantasy and the realistic elements seamlessly weave into the story, yet even more is going on here.

I would put this novella up there with The Book Thief and Maus as great YA treatments of the horror of the Holocaust. There are scenes here that evoked memories for me of the great Elie Wiesel trilogy. The horrible beyond comprehension image of families separated by a gesture from the Angel of Death---right leads to death, left to undeath in the camps—which is worse? Even in the end, liberation of the body does not also liberate the spirit. The crippling effects of survivor guilt are felt for the remainder of one’s life.

A wonderful story of magic, and folklore. A harrowing, yet complex, tale of evil. All painted in colors of deep Jewish tradition and history. Heartbreaking characters. Inescapable truths. Unforgettable. show less

Here, Goldstein brings the feel of the mythopoeic into a WWII story.

Kisci is a young Jewish girl who's never been outside her insular, rural community. She longs to experience the wider world, and when a red-haired traveler comes to town, he captures her imagination, even though his warnings of doom are nothing anyone wants to hear. The local rabbi insists that the traveler is an enemy, and works himself up to a raging vendetta against him, ignoring evil omens... and the source of the real show more threat.

However, soon enough, the outside world will encroach on Kisci's village in a way that none of her neighbors could believe. War is on the way...

Traditional Jewish folklore is prominent, with the myth of the Wandering Jew and the legend of the Golem woven into the narrative. The format of the story is a familiar fantasy: the battle between two powerful wizards. But, while crafting a fairy tale; the story deals with historical horrors with a delicate yet moving touch.

Recommended: this story is a bit what I expected Jane Yolen's 'Briar Rose' (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/10632913) to be like.

I've only previously read one other book by Goldstein, and I much preferred this one. (I'm glad that, when deciding to read this, I actually hadn't remembered that I'd read it - I might not have chosen to, and I would've missed out!)

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me the opportunity to read this novel. As always, my opinions are my own. show less

Very enjoyable novel about two friends at school in Berkeley in the early 70s. They become involved with two young women, members of a wine-growing family in the Napa Valley. It turns out the family of these two women has a strange history, and the boys get sucked into it, one on purpose. The family's history was encapsulated in a suppressed story from the Brothers Grimm, about a family who always experiences good luck, but has to put one young woman in each generation into bond for another show more world of fairy.

It's a fast-moving book, with memorable characters, dealing with the places where the world of fairy joins our world. The times and places are well-rendered. Recommended, a very different book from what I normally read. show less

Lisa Goldenstein has crafted a twisty, turny tale worthy of its title. The reader is drawn along with Molly Travers and Private Investigator John Stow as they traverse the maze trying to uncover the history of Molly's recently discovered family of travelling illusionists. Is the magic real? What happened to Thorne? Who hired the investigator? The answers only beget more questions --and nobody gives a straight answer-- as they travel across the globe from Oakland to Chicago to London. They show more must be careful as the more they uncover, the more people are after the secrets of Molly's family and the mysterious Order of the Labyrinth.
Molly is a well-drawn and dynamic character who is as much in the dark as the rest of us. The suspense and wonder and confusion are keenly felt by both her and the reader. Both make suppositions and begin to guess at the eventual outcome; some inferences are right and others are wrong. The cast of supporting characters are fascinating and amusing, and as the web between them grows, amazing things begin to happen. Molly will never look at the world in the same way, and neither will the reader.
I'd like to thank NetGalley and Open Road media for the chance to review this amazing book, and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to see the world in a different way. show less