A read that allows us to explore two sides to a story and allows us to still ask questions in the end.
Summary:
The book opens with a character sent on assignment to a location to report on a story for his paper. He is sent a package along the way containing a book. A book written by his great (or maybe great-great) grandfather. He has never known his birth-family, as he is adopted and the only questions that he has are the fact that he believes he has a twin brother that he was separated from. He arrives at the manor and encounters a woman who claims that she knows him from childhood and that her grandfather and his were arch rival stage magicians at the turn of the 20th century. This leads us back to the perspective of Alfred Borden, the narrator’s relative. His story is chronicled through a”book-writing” type entry. The author uses the writing style of the time and at first the combination of a journalistic style and this switch is both enjoyable and slightly frustrating. In the end, it enhances the read. We get “his side” and learn of the feud with Rupert Angier. It is filled with emotion and in the reading we are lead to believe certain things about Angier. All of this is predicated by the beginning entry which basically claims the belief in the illusion is what makes magic so enjoyable. And he hints that this maybe happening in his writing.
After his section, we get a perspective from Kate Angier. She is the woman Andy (the narrator) meets. It is a recollection of her childhood and a heated meeting between Kate and Andy’s parents over the past feud between the two families. In this meeting many things grow cloudy and even death is a vital player.
Next we then switch perspectives again and this time we get the meticulous journal of Rupert Angier. His are dated (pay attention to them) and written in a style similar to the one used by Borden. His story is rich and his feud with Borden pushes both of them to greater heights and more insane actions. The drama of the ultimate “trick” is fascinating. His quest to “one up” his rival is unbelievable in it’s scale and his quest to achieve it. The scenes with the function of the trick is in itself a great take on the Frankenstein scene of “It’s alive!” with special effects and engineering by none other than Nikola Tesla!
Review:
The ending is fascinating and when we reach Ruperts portion of the book does it only then take on a fantastical form. Previous to that it is much more a historical fiction recount. Do not confuse the word Fantasy here with the Tolkien-esque picture it has been latent with. This is more along the lines of super-natural and mans questions about existence. Very powerful use of the genre to me.
I really enjoyed this read and have looked at other books by Christopher Priest. They may get a visit along the way. But this is a good book for those who are “hesitant” about fantasy but love historical styling. It is a fast read as well. Recommended for sure.
