Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician: A Novel by Daniel Wallace
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I have wanted to read something by Daniel Wallace for sometime and decided on Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician as my first go.
The story follows a man named Henry Walker. The story opens at the end as Henry is confronted by three teens and disappears. We have his story recounted by the family of the circus sideshow that Henry has become part of.
I love stories that have a retell factor and produce a sense that the perspective is as important. A sense of “that’s not what I heard” or “Actually it really went like this” and each tale is a variation and expansion of the previous. The family of circus folk in this story are a warm, weird group of people that have a relationship with Henry that is unique to each and everyone of them.
The book is both very endearing and very creepy all at once. I am taken by Henry and compassionate to his past – and each version is emotionally distinct – and his story. And yet every time a new tale is told, you have a revision and your own expectation put in check. As it progresses you become more aware of this and the impact does wear thinner. But the book is a good length because as that starts to happen, you get a “truth” revealed and the conclusion is complete.
The emotional ride is also creepy as the horrid people and prejudices are revealed and manipulated through the discoveries of people and the history. The horrible things that are revealed are at times hard to swallow but make for a tragic figure.
Daniel Wallace
Wallace writing is light and fanciful and even hopeful. The story counters this and is heavy and emotionally dark and convoluted at times. But I found the book as a whole rewarding.