The Magician and the Illusionist
Sep. 29th, 2004 09:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mtvessel03 Jul 2004
Carter beats the Devil - Glen David Gold - Sceptre 2001
* * * *
It's terribly unfair I know, but I can't help comparing this book with Christopher Priest's marvellous novel "The Prestige" which also has as its subject magicians and magic shows in the 1920s. To say that "Carter beats the Devil" suffers in comparison is not intended as a slight to this fine first novel, but is merely to compare gold with platinum.
The novel is in three acts, like the magic show of its hero Charles Carter. The first covers his childhood and early life, and his rivalry with the pompous, cruel and sadistic headlining magician in the travelling theatrical company which he joins. This is terrific stuff, well-written and interesting. The second, much longer act jumps forward ten years and concerns the mysterious death of President Warren Harding hours after a visit to Carter's magic show, an event in which Carter himself may have had a hand. Or so the Secret Service thinks. I have to say that this section didn't work as well for me. The actions of the bad guys were implausible and the love story, though nicely done, felt slow (the two main female characters in this novel are feisty and have plenty to say for themselves, but, like magicians' assistants, are there largely to look pretty). The third act, at the request of the management, I will not reveal, but suffice to say that an exciting climax is achieved, followed by an overlong coda.
The highlights of the book are undoubtedly the descriptions of the magical performances, which are imaginative and in places breathtakingly exciting. Sadly, when the story gets away from magic it all becomes much more pedestrian and derivative. And this is a worry that I have about this book. Despite the cleverness and the good writing, there is, ironically, a certain lack of magic.
For example, compare and contrast the two great secrets at the hearts of this book and "the Prestige". In the case of Priest's novel, the secret is a science-fiction idea that bursts apart the novel's realism and allows a wonderfully eerie, disturbing and memorable ending that beautifully illustrates the dehumanising consequences of the jealousy and professional rivalry of the main characters. In Gold's novel, the secret is one with which is perfectly realistic and plausible but with which we are all drearily familiar. When I read what it was, my response was "oh, is that it?" and a feeling of disappointment. I wanted and expected to be surprised and astonished, as I was with Priest's book.
There are no real villains in the Prestige - both the protagonists are flawed characters and are less likeable than Charles Carter. But because Priest cuts between the viewpoints of the main characters, we get to understand and to an extent sympathise with their points of view. Whereas Gold's villains are stock characters - several are given memorable tics, but there is no real attempt at deep characterisation. Carter is so likeable that it's a pleasure to see him outwit them, but emotionally it doesn't engage in the way that Priest's book does. Even the rousing finale reminded me most of the climax of "Who framed Roger Rabbit?", and if you weren't deeply moved by the end of that film, then you get my point.
Charles Carter was of course a real historical person and this also worries me. How much did Gold really invent? (of course, only he knows and he's not telling). The weird business with the pirate in the South China sea is presumably biographical, because it doesn't fit in the story otherwise. But what about the descriptions of the performances, the best bits of the book? Did he just embroider some existing memoirs of the show, or did he really create them?
I rather suspect that whereas Priest is a genuine literary magician, Glen David Gold is a clever illusionist, a Koins and Kards man who happens to be particularly good at concealing that he's invented relatively little. Whether he will graduate to the inner circle of truly great writers remains to be seen. I have a nasty feeling that this first book will also turn out to be his best. Let's just hope I'm wrong.
Carter beats the Devil - Glen David Gold - Sceptre 2001
* * * *
It's terribly unfair I know, but I can't help comparing this book with Christopher Priest's marvellous novel "The Prestige" which also has as its subject magicians and magic shows in the 1920s. To say that "Carter beats the Devil" suffers in comparison is not intended as a slight to this fine first novel, but is merely to compare gold with platinum.
The novel is in three acts, like the magic show of its hero Charles Carter. The first covers his childhood and early life, and his rivalry with the pompous, cruel and sadistic headlining magician in the travelling theatrical company which he joins. This is terrific stuff, well-written and interesting. The second, much longer act jumps forward ten years and concerns the mysterious death of President Warren Harding hours after a visit to Carter's magic show, an event in which Carter himself may have had a hand. Or so the Secret Service thinks. I have to say that this section didn't work as well for me. The actions of the bad guys were implausible and the love story, though nicely done, felt slow (the two main female characters in this novel are feisty and have plenty to say for themselves, but, like magicians' assistants, are there largely to look pretty). The third act, at the request of the management, I will not reveal, but suffice to say that an exciting climax is achieved, followed by an overlong coda.
The highlights of the book are undoubtedly the descriptions of the magical performances, which are imaginative and in places breathtakingly exciting. Sadly, when the story gets away from magic it all becomes much more pedestrian and derivative. And this is a worry that I have about this book. Despite the cleverness and the good writing, there is, ironically, a certain lack of magic.
For example, compare and contrast the two great secrets at the hearts of this book and "the Prestige". In the case of Priest's novel, the secret is a science-fiction idea that bursts apart the novel's realism and allows a wonderfully eerie, disturbing and memorable ending that beautifully illustrates the dehumanising consequences of the jealousy and professional rivalry of the main characters. In Gold's novel, the secret is one with which is perfectly realistic and plausible but with which we are all drearily familiar. When I read what it was, my response was "oh, is that it?" and a feeling of disappointment. I wanted and expected to be surprised and astonished, as I was with Priest's book.
There are no real villains in the Prestige - both the protagonists are flawed characters and are less likeable than Charles Carter. But because Priest cuts between the viewpoints of the main characters, we get to understand and to an extent sympathise with their points of view. Whereas Gold's villains are stock characters - several are given memorable tics, but there is no real attempt at deep characterisation. Carter is so likeable that it's a pleasure to see him outwit them, but emotionally it doesn't engage in the way that Priest's book does. Even the rousing finale reminded me most of the climax of "Who framed Roger Rabbit?", and if you weren't deeply moved by the end of that film, then you get my point.
Charles Carter was of course a real historical person and this also worries me. How much did Gold really invent? (of course, only he knows and he's not telling). The weird business with the pirate in the South China sea is presumably biographical, because it doesn't fit in the story otherwise. But what about the descriptions of the performances, the best bits of the book? Did he just embroider some existing memoirs of the show, or did he really create them?
I rather suspect that whereas Priest is a genuine literary magician, Glen David Gold is a clever illusionist, a Koins and Kards man who happens to be particularly good at concealing that he's invented relatively little. Whether he will graduate to the inner circle of truly great writers remains to be seen. I have a nasty feeling that this first book will also turn out to be his best. Let's just hope I'm wrong.