Author: Ann Patchett
Version: ebook
ISBN: 9780547548791
Published: September 17th, 2004
First Published: October 1st, 1997
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Genre: Fiction
Background: I have a funny and rather incredible story about Ann Patchett, well about her books anyway. When I was growing up my dad and I didn't always have enough money to get me new books. I had a voracious appetite at the time for books, as we all know that appetite has only grown, but at the time I didn't work at a bookstore where I got a big discount so we couldn't always buy new books. Anyway when that happened my dad would lend me books from his library and there were times that I was very receptive to them, like when he lent me 'Memoirs of a Geisha' by Arthur Golden and 'The Book Thief' by Markus Zusak. And there were times when I resisted his suggestions, like when he suggested his favorite book 'Moby Dick' which is something that I still to this day hesitate over (sorry dad, I just don't think I am ready for it yet).
In the spirit of this, one day my dad reached up and pulled down this really beautiful light blue book called 'Run' by Ann Patchett, someone I had never read before, saying he thought that I might like it. The book jacket intrigued me, the book took place over a twenty-four hour period and was about a family in New England and a single accident that changes their whole lives. I loved it, I read it quickly and enjoyed every moment of it. Years later when I discovered goodreads.com and was trying to remember every book I had ever read I remembered a book about two brothers in Boston, with a blue cover and that there was something about fish. A couple more years went by with the vague memory nagging at me until one day, a very slow boring day at Barnes & Noble, I had, had enough. I went online and starting doing a search for a blue book set in Boston having to do with brothers and fish. And sure enough I found it, 'Run' by Ann Patchett.
About a year later I was looking at the under $5 nook books online and saw 'The Magician's Assistant' for only about $2.99. I thought to myself 'I really enjoyed 'Run' I bet that this one is going to be just as good.' So I went ahead and bought it. It took a few months for me to actually pick it up to read it, but I finally finished it a few days ago.
Synopsis: Sabine has just been widowed and is trying to figure out a way to continue living. Her life seems to be falling apart now that she no longer has the love of her life, Parsifal, around to take care of. Nor does she have Phan, Parsifal's partner around, all she has left is a giant lonely house filled with memories and a rabbit named Rabbit. These days she spends most of her days in bed dreaming of a life that is lost.
One day she gets a call from Parsifal's lawyer saying that he has to talk to Sabine in person. Some secret from his past that now has to be revealed. She finds out that Parsifal has been lying to her about his family for years. Parsifal told her that his parents had died years ago but in reality his mom and sisters live in Nebraska. The lawyer tells Sabine that it is up to her if she wants to have any contact with them. At first she decides she is just too mad at the lies and decides she doesn't want to know any more. And then one day she gets a call from a woman named Dot Fetters, Parsifal's mother, saying that her and her youngest daughter Bertie are planning a trip to LA and want to meet her.
When Sabine decides to go ahead and meet Parsifal's family she begins a journey that takes her into the heart of Parsifal's life before Sabine, before LA, before everything that made him Parsifal. It's a journey that takes her to Nebraska in the middle of winter where she meets the rest of his family, a sister named Kitty, her two sons, Kitty's husband, Howard (who turns out to be a jerk) and Bertie's fiancée. What Sabine finds there is a sort of family of her own, one she felt she had missed. What they find in Sabine is a savior, one that they didn't even realize they needed. The longer she stays the more secrets come out, and the more the family comes to rely on her. And Sabine has to decide whether she is willing to stay and live in the house that Parsifal grew up in or go back to LA and move on with her life.
Review: I went into this book expecting something great because I remembered liking 'Run' so much. I was hugely disappointed in this though. The story was rather ridiculous and I really, really did not like Sabine! She annoyed me the whole book which is a huge flaw when it comes to a main character. I read it all the way through so that I could review it but it was not a fun read.
I mean no disrespect to Ms. Patchett of course but this was not a well put together book. The writing wasn't all that bad, it wasn't great but it was passible. She is a talented writer but her talent seems to have been lost in the terrible story. There were moments of beauty throughout but not enough to make it a beautiful book. Maybe part of it had to do with my high expectations of her and what she had given me with 'Run,' but I was disappointed overall.
Like I said previously the story was stupid. Well let me rephrase, I felt that the story was stupid. A woman who fell in love with a gay man and then felt betrayed when he didn't love her back and felt as if he had lied specifically to her about his past. The only reason she went back to Nebraska was so she could be in the room that Parsifal grew up in. Because she was entitled to all of his life, and everything that he did when he was growing up. It was stupid and annoying and I found myself truly hating Sabine and wanted her to get a major reality check. The rest of the characters were monochromatic and hidden behind the annoyingness that was Sabine.
All in all it was a bad book, well for me anyway. I just didn't like any of it and I'm a little turned off of Ann Patchett. Maybe someday I'll pick up another one of her books and be wowed once more, like I was all those years ago when I first picked up 'Run.' I tip my tiny hat only once to 'The Magician's Assistant,' and that only because I have belief in the greatness that it could have been.
Great lead in to the review. It seems that Ms. Hat has had some interesting background to draw on, even if these review come out so terribly late night.
ReplyDeleteI am glad for this particular review however. I was attracted to the book primarily by the Author and to its title. But, it appears from the review that the subject matter simply did not have depth of topic that would interest me, nor the depth to challenge this author.
Thank you Ms. Hat, I appreciated the heads up!