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The magician's wife
  
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The magician's wife (Hardcover)

by Brian Moore (Author)
3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)

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4 used from CDN$ 10.70

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Customer Reviews

18 Reviews
5 star:
 (7)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (4)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.7 out of 5 stars (18 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most helpful customer reviews

 
3.0 out of 5 stars a master storyteller falters? (a bit)., May 21 2001
By Cipriano "www.bookpuddle.blogspot.com" (Planet Claire) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: Magician's Wife (Paperback)
He was a marvelous writer who served up 5-star books like Judith Hearne, The Luck of Ginger Coffey, The Statement, and my favorite of all, An Answer From Limbo... among many others. So, I would not consider The Magician's Wife to be the best introduction to him.

If a reader is maybe terribly interested in the actual story of the subjugation and conquest of Algeria by France in 1857, this book may provide sort of a fictional backdrop to those events, but none of the main characters grabbed me as being admirable (which means nothing as concerning a review) or memorable (which DOES mean something as concerning a review). I will grant the author this: he made me loathe the religious chicanery of the fanatical patriot magician Lambert, and he made me sympathetic towards the Arab Muslims upon whom Lambert was attempting to foist his spiritual supremacy hooey! And since I see this as the author's intention in the story (strengthened by Lambert's wife Emmeline's later disillusionment in the cause) I give it the three stars.

But seriously though, if you only have room for ONE Brian Moore book in your vacation luggage... I say, "pick a book... any other book!"

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2.0 out of 5 stars Sadly lacking in magic, May 1 2001
By William M. Begert (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Magician's Wife (Paperback)
The only thing mystifying about this novel is why it was necessary to write it. Through a fair amount of stilted writing, we follow the tale of a couple from Tours - a magician and his wife - as they are pulled from their complacency in small town France and are convinced by Napoleon III to embark upon a rather ridiculous mission to bedazzle the native populace of colonial Algeria. The story meanders without drama or poetry through their audience at court, vague flirtations with powerful, transparently manipulative men, and the exoticism of Algeria before finally getting around to the moral you knew was coming all along: colonialism was alienating and evil. There are many more interesting texts on the subject, two of the best being about the situation of the French in Algeria (Camus' "The Stranger" and Fanon's "Black Skin, White Masks"), which only makes this effort seem more twee. I cannot recommend this novel unless you have a specific fascination with French North Africa, and even then only if you are stranded without other options for killing the afternoon.
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2.0 out of 5 stars Huh...?, Oct 24 2000
By cxd "cxd207" (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Magician's Wife (Paperback)
I also cannot figure out the high praise for this book. It was dreadfully boring & the ending was a huge letdown. Not one truly interesting character in the entire book.
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 		 Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A Magical Read
An intriguing story about a French magician who travels to Algeria with his wife to perform the ultimate sleight of hand. Read more
Published on Oct 22 2000

2.0 out of 5 stars Insipid Prose / Interesting Idea
I've never heard of Brian Moore, and the only reason I picked up this book is because I lived in Algeria for 5 years. Read more
Published on Oct 12 2000 by A. Ross

1.0 out of 5 stars I am a Brian Moore fan, and could not finish this book
I have read a number of Moore's earlier works. Reading the Magician's Wife, I began to wonder if there were 2 Brian Moore's, and actually checked Amazon. Read more
Published on Jul 19 2000 by algo41

3.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating story, shallow characters.
Anyone interested in the historical relationship between Algeria and France or between fundamentalist Muslims and Christians will find the story... Read more
Published on Jun 27 2000 by Mary Whipple

2.0 out of 5 stars Good idea, but a very boring execution of it
I had heard high praise of Brian Moore comparing him to Graham Greene; however, I found that to be very misleading. Read more
Published on May 8 2000

4.0 out of 5 stars Spellbinding
The Magician's Wife is Moore at his best. From the view-point of Emmeline, the magician's wife, the story is told with her honest heart, understanding of politics, just emotions... Read more
Published on Mar 12 2000 by Ellen Chan

5.0 out of 5 stars Unforgettable and clearly should be a film
This book is compelling, has well drawn characters, and has such a powerful ending that it's easy to picture it as a wonderful film. Read more
Published on Mar 9 2000 by Alex Ruttenberg

4.0 out of 5 stars something for everyone
Here's a very good novel with something for everyone. Written by an Irish man who lived in California about a French woman in Africa--and all this multicultural material comes... Read more
Published on Sep 14 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars A very pleasant surprise
I read this book only because it was the assigned book for my book club. I did not expect to like it. Was I ever surprised. I loved it! Read more
Published on Jul 11 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautifully understated tale of inner strife.
More fabulous storytelling from Brian Moore. An intelligent and sensitive woman, married to a controlled and remote, but fascinating man, Emmeline is bored, self-indulgent,... Read more
Published on May 7 1999 by Margaret Fiore

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