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    The Magician
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    The Magician
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    The Magician
    Ebook290 pages4 hours

    The Magician

    By Sol Stein

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    A vicious high school fight leads to a terrifying miscarriage of justice in this “superior” legal thriller by the celebrated author: “A spectacular read” (The New York Times).
     
    For sixteen-year-old Ed Japhet, high school prom is a moment to shine. Performing a magic act for his classmates and teachers, Ed scares the wits out of them with feats that include the use of a trick guillotine. But while Ed’s act pleases the crowd, it upsets a young hoodlum named Stanislaus Urek who doesn’t like being made to look foolish. Catching up to Ed and his girlfriend in the parking lot, Urek beats Ed within an inch of his promising life.
     
    Everyone knows Urek should be behind bars. But while Ed survives the merciless attack, the fight has only begun. Urek’s father hires a lawyer named Thomassy who knows a few tricks of his own. In a protracted legal battle, Thommasy discredits some witnesses and intimidates others until American justice looks like nothing but smoke and mirrors in this “fast-moving, incisive” thriller (Library Journal).
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Integrated Media
    Release dateApr 17, 2013
    ISBN9781611875539
    Unavailable
    The Magician
    Author

    Sol Stein

    Sol Stein has edited the work of such major writers as James Baldwin, Jack Higgins, David Frost, and Elia Kazan, and founded the publishing house Stein & Day. He has taught creative writing at Columbia, Iowa, and the University of California at Irvine, which presented him with the Distinguished Instructor Award in 1993. He is the author of nine novels, including the million-copy seller The Magician. He is also the author of the much-acclaimed Stein on Writing and How to Grow a Novel, both published by St. Martin’s Griffin.

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    Reviews for The Magician

    3.5/5

    12 ratings2 reviews

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    • 2/5
      The most interesting thing to me about this book was that it was written in 1971. It's about a 16 year old magician that is attacked by the school bully and his pals after the school prom. He was hit and injured with a chain and then nearly choked to death. The antagonist also attacked his father (a teacher) and his date. The writer is extremely cynical about the ability of schools, the police or the courts to address out-of-control kids like this. However, I don't things had deteriorated to quite this point in 1971. I feel fairly certain that in most middle-class towns, the powers that be and most of the community would be outraged by this kind of behavior. Too much personal point of view in the story for me.
    • 5/5
      4.5*Book source ~ Many thanks to Untreed Reads for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review.Sixteen-year-old Ed Japhet performs a magic show at his Prom and that’s what brings things to a head between him and the local gang leader, Urek. After Prom Urek and three of his stooges attack Ed, Ed’s girlfriend Lila and Ed’s dad, causing grievous harm to Ed and smashing up Mr. Japhet’s car. Urek is arrested and brought to trial. But will he be deemed guilty or not?While this book was first written in 1971 the basic meaning of it hasn’t changed 40 years later. A person is supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, but that doesn’t mean a guilty person is always convicted. Unfortunately, what Ed says in the book is true, back than as well as today. The justice system is a game and the best person to play it wins. Or like Ed with his magic. Slight of hand. Look what I’m doing over here and ignore what’s going on over there. Thomassy knows his client is guilty but he achieves a physical high on playing the game and winning. He doesn’t care that he’s putting a dangerous person back on the street as long as he comes out the winner. Granted, there are many stereotypes in this book, but it doesn’t change the underlying message. Our justice system, on the whole, sucks. Depressing, but true. How can it be fixed? I have no idea. The ending starts the beginning all over again. All-in-all this is an excellently written story about what can (and usually does) happen in a courtroom.