Book Review- Nate Staniforth's Here is Real Magic: A Magician's Search for Wonder in the Modern World

Thank you to Bloomsbury USA for providing a copy of Nate Staniforth's memoir, Here is Real Magic: A Magician's Search for Wonder in the Modern World, in exchange for an honest review.

PLOT- Ever since Nate Staniforth was a child, he had always been captivated by magic, specifically, how a magic trick can bring a sense of wonder to even the most jaded adults. Staniforth persued his dream of becoming a magician and soon found himself burned out on a rigorous national tour and loosing what he had loved about being a magician. Stanfiorth takes a hiatus and travels to India to meet with street magicians, in the hopes that he can regain the spark that he had once felt for his craft.

LIKE- I absolutely love a magic show and I'm one of those adults that Staniforth loves to have in his audience, someone who allows themselves to be swept away by the wonder. Staniforth writes about the need as a performer to never allow yourself to lose your own excitement. A few years ago, my family went to see David Copperfield in Las Vegas. Copperfield is one of the premiere magicians in the world and Staniforth even mentions a childhood trip to see Copperfield perform. Copperfield's show was the worst magic show and one of the worse live performances that I have ever seen. It had nothing to do with his talent and tricks, but everything to do with his lack of enthusiasm. Staniforth may not be as famous as Copeprfield (yet), but he knew enough to realize that he needed to take a break and reevaluate where his career was heading. I thought this was a very bold move, especially as he decided to take this risk just as his career was taking off.

I enjoyed reading about his travels in India, especially when he met with a family of magicians living in the slums. This portion of the story is very transformative, filled with sensory descriptions and self-reflection on the part of Staniforth. Staniforth is a likable narrator and it's easy to join him on his journey, including the excitement that he experiences through his travels. It truly makes you realize that "magic" isn't limited to a glitzy stage, but can be found in the every day.

DISLIKE- Nothing. This is Real Magic is a compelling, fast-paced memoir.

RECOMMEND- Yes! This is Real Magic is part memoir and part travel journal. It's a wonderful pick for readers who enjoy magic, but who also can appreciate the wonders of every day life, especially lives different from their own. 

Book Review- Benjamin Warner's Thirst

Thank You to Bloomsbury USA for providing me with an advanced copy of Benjamin Warner's novel, Thirst, in exchange for an honest review. 

PLOT - What would you do if suddenly all of the water disappeared? Driving home from work on a summer evening, Eddie Chapman, becomes stuck for hours in a mega traffic jam. With no help or end in sight, Eddie joins others in abandoning their cars and getting home on foot. A former track runner, Eddie jogs miles to his home and on the way, makes a unsettling discovery; the local riverbed is dry and has turned to ash. His wife, Laura, makes it home hours later. They find that the taps in their home run dry and that the electricity has stop working. The worst realization is that they are not sufficiently prepared for a disaster. Without water or emergency help, the neighbors quickly turn to looting and distrust. How long can Eddie and Laura survive?

LIKE- The premise is intriguing. Living in Southern California, where we are experiencing record droughts, this story took on another layer of intensity. It definitely made me paranoid about my own disaster readiness and I'll admit to going out and buying extra bottled water after finishing Thirst. I also drank many glasses of water while reading. Warner's story is one that hit me on a visceral level. 

The premise also drives the stakes and intensity of the story. Humans simply cannot survive long without water, so the characters are almost immediately desperate and feeling ill effects. This all seems very realistically rendered and makes for stomach-in-knots read. I like how the desperation very quickly reveals the true nature of the characters. This is a primal story. It will immediately make you think about how you would react in the same situation.

I liked the micro-world of the story. The majority of Thirst takes place in their home or in their neighborhood, a place where they should feel safest. However, this safe place quickly rots and every decision that they make is life and death. 

DISLIKE- It's minor, but I would have liked clarity regarding the time frame of the story. It would have been great to have the story broken into chapters with headings noting the time since the disaster. i.e.- 20 hours After

The beginning of the story was jarring, jumping right into the action of Eddie running home. There were other areas where the pacing also felt rushed. The situation is already so intense, that I felt like I needed more room to breathe.

RECOMMEND- Yes, especially if you're a fan of disaster stories. In tone, Thirst reminded me of one of my favorite novels, Cormac McCarthy's The Road. If you're lagging on your disaster preparedness, read Thirst as a cautionary tale. Bleak and terrifying. 

Book Review- Rebecca Dinerstein's The Sunlit Night

Confession, I can be swayed to read a book based on a good jacket quote from an author that I admire. I pick books by their covers. Rebecca Dinerstein's debut novel, The Sunlit Night scored an intriguing quote from Jonathan Safran Foer and it caught my attention. Thank you to Bloomsbury USA for an advanced copy of Dinerstein's novel in exchange for an honest review.

PLOT- Frances has just been dumped by her boyfriend and she learns that her parents are getting a divorce. In her early twenties, she has not yet begun to live life on her own and she finds herself rootless. She accepts an art internship on a small island in Norway, as a short term solution to her living situation. 

Yasha immigrated from Russia to America with his father as a small child. He has not heard from his mother in years, but she shows up in the weeks prior to his high school graduation. She wants a formal divorce from her husband and to reconnect with her son. Yasha's father plans a trip to Russia as a surprise for his son's graduation. On the trip, his father dies of a heart attack. Feeling alone, Yasha contacts his mother and they travel with the body to Norway, to where his father had wanted to be buried.

The art institute where Frances is working, handles the details of the burial. Yasha and Frances meet and realize that they are two kindred souls, two kids adrift and struggling to transition into adulthood.

LIKE- The Sunlit Night starts off very strong, with chapters alternatively showing Frances and Yasha's lives in New York City. Dinerstein has created compelling and well rounded characters, especially both sets of parents of the main characters. Both Frances and Yasha are loved by their parents, but their parents also hand them a heavy load of baggage with regard to their own dysfunction. Frances and Yasha carry their parent's dysfunction as they struggle to make their own way in the world and develop their own relationships. Dinerstein is a talented writer with a keen sensibility for understanding and writing family dynamics.

I like how the setting shifts from busy New York City to the quiet of an archipelago in the North Sea. If I had not read about the setting in the blurb, I would have never expected to encounter such disparate locals in the same story. I like how it took the characters out of their element and shook them up.

DISLIKE - The story crumbled for me in the last third. The pacing slowed and I'm not sure that I believed the chemistry between Frances and Yasha. I believed that they could connect with their situations and similarities, but I did not believe a romantic connection between them. I raced through the first two-thirds of the novel, reading it in less than a day, but the last third took me over a week to finish and it was a chore. 

RECOMMEND- Maybe. I'm curious to see what other readers think of the last part of the book. The first part was so strong, that I will seek out future stories by Dinerstein. She writes beautiful phrases and creates intriguing characters. I can see her becoming a favorite author of mine, despite my disappointment with the ending of The Sunlit Night.