The Magician's Assistant
Patchett's novel, The Magician's Assistant, begins at the deathbed of Parsifal, who was a magician and carpet storeowner. His wife, Sabine, mourns not only his death but also the death of Phan, her husband's gay lover, who died the year before. Parsifal finally married Sabine after she'd been his assistant for over 20 years, and she became very close to him, but never sexually.
Sabine inherited Phan's house and most of Parsifal's money but was not aware her husband also had a family in Nebraska. He told her he had no family, mainly because as a teenager he had accidentally killed his abusive father during one of his parents' quarrels. But since he left some money for his mother and sisters, Sabine learned their whereabouts and had them visit her in Los Angeles. The women reminisced on Parsifal's two different lives while at his and Phan's grave site at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.
Parsifal's mother Dot and younger sister Bertie took to Sabine when they first arrived in Los Angeles, but they do not reveal why Parsifal had rejected his family, until later when Sabine visited them in Nebraska.
Parsifal's sister Kitty, who at one time had hoped to become his magician's assistant, filled Sabine in on her brother's younger years, but Dot told of his time in a reformatory after he killed his father. Kitty also had her marital problems, and at the end of the novel she considered leaving her husband so she and her two boys could move in with Sabine in Los Angeles. Parsifal had left his mark in each of their lives.
The Magician's Assistant is a compelling story, and Ann Patchett develops all the characters effectively. Another writing technique she excels in is the use of dreams to explain the past, as well as a possible future. Sabine often drifts into these dreams while conversing with Dot or Kitty.
But the only thing resolved at the end of the story is Bertie's long-awaited marriage, and readers may wonder about Kitty and Sabine's future relationship.
The Magician's Assistant was published in 1997 by Harcourt Brace & Company and is Ann Patchett's third novel.