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A review by violetlily13
The Magician's Lie by Greer Macallister
2.0
I tried a number of times to get through this novel, but while it contains pockets of imaginative material about turn-of-the-century theatre and magicians, the weaknesses in characterization and plot are too difficult for me to overcome. (I glossed through the last eight chapters and haven't changed my mind in the least.)
My primary problem with this novel is that Ada/Arden's narration robs the narrative of emotion in all the wrong places. She furthermore glosses over other her supporting characters to such a degree that we only get rough sketches of her fellow performers - even Ray and Clyde are too polarized as the "very bad man" and the lover. There are also two significant problems with pacing. The first is that things happen to her too easily, such as sneaking into Biltmore and, not only landing a choice job with the travelling illusionists, but taking over its management after only three years. Secondly, Ada's transformation into an illusionist does not occur until over-halfway through the novel - her early life is convoluted and soap opera-like in nature, leaving too many unanswered questions and, more painfully, a great many Chekov's rifles left unfired. This is unfortunate because her relationship with Ray and the very visceral horror it evokes in Ada is important to depict and explore, but Macallister's way of doing so keeps falling short - Ray becomes more of a bad penny and the stock figure of the abusive man than the kind of Gothicized character Macallister seemed to want to create.
This novel has a significant amount of potential, but it badly needs editing to improve the narrative flow and the narrative style. The magic and the illusions are barely more than background, but more importantly, so is the emotional centre of the story. I will try to flip through just to see how it results, but I'm already too disappointed by this point.
My primary problem with this novel is that Ada/Arden's narration robs the narrative of emotion in all the wrong places. She furthermore glosses over other her supporting characters to such a degree that we only get rough sketches of her fellow performers - even Ray and Clyde are too polarized as the "very bad man" and the lover. There are also two significant problems with pacing. The first is that things happen to her too easily, such as sneaking into Biltmore and, not only landing a choice job with the travelling illusionists, but taking over its management after only three years. Secondly, Ada's transformation into an illusionist does not occur until over-halfway through the novel - her early life is convoluted and soap opera-like in nature, leaving too many unanswered questions and, more painfully, a great many Chekov's rifles left unfired. This is unfortunate because her relationship with Ray and the very visceral horror it evokes in Ada is important to depict and explore, but Macallister's way of doing so keeps falling short - Ray becomes more of a bad penny and the stock figure of the abusive man than the kind of Gothicized character Macallister seemed to want to create.
This novel has a significant amount of potential, but it badly needs editing to improve the narrative flow and the narrative style. The magic and the illusions are barely more than background, but more importantly, so is the emotional centre of the story. I will try to flip through just to see how it results, but I'm already too disappointed by this point.