The Illusionists

I was told by my library book club facilitator that my pre-publication copy of Rosie Thomas' latest novel The Illusionists (#405) came with some buzz comparing it to The Night Circus (See my post of 5/7/12.) or Water for Elephants.  I don't think that's a fair comparison for either of these books, and promises too much on the part of The Illusionists.

Unlike The Night Circus with its magical and inexplicable happenings, The Illusionists is very much grounded in the real world of Victorian variety shows.  Tricks on stage can be much admired, but the question the audience always has is "How did they do that?!"  The people seated in the theater are aware that the wool has somehow been pulled over their eyes, but if they cannot figure out the mechanics of the illusion, they are content that they have gotten their money's worth from a splendid show.  The cast of characters in The Illusionists is an eccentric troop of performers pulled together by the genius of dwarf Carlo Boldoni and his entrepreneurial partner Devil Wix.  Others with remarkable skills are recruited to give the proper embellishments to the illusions.  But the rivalry between members of the troupe over performance time, credit for the illusions themselves, and especially over Eliza, the first female partner, create a constant tension.  The resulting stalking and attempted murder are not part of the contrived stage business in London's Palmyra Theater...

I thought this book got off to a marvelous start, but towards the middle, the plot began to sag.  Things picked up again in the final third of the novel, but fizzled out again at the very end.  Frankly, I found the last chapter puzzling.  Perhaps Rosie Thomas promised twenty chapters to this book, but it seemed rather beside the point; it didn't resolve any matters, nor did it point the way towards the future for the characters.  I wish The Illusionists had lived up to its initial promise.  I would have enjoyed it much more.