The Illusionist

By Dinitia Smith

Book Overview

When charming magician Dean Lily shows up in a decaying small town, he wins the hearts of the women of the town--but what they don't know is that Dean has more secrets and tricks than a simple sleight of hand.

The Illusionist is the sensuous and haunting tale of Dean Lily, an amateur magician whose arrival in Sparta, New York, upsets the landscape of this small town on the wane. Dean, a master of the sleight of hand, is also a master of seduction and charm--which becomes apparent as he woos and wins the hearts of more than one of Sparta's female citizens.

But the enigmatic newcomer has more to hide than the tricks of his trade--his mysterious identity as a transgendered person, and his closely guarded privacy arouse suspicion and jealousy--and while he cures Sparta of its midwinter ennui, he also unleashes a destructive force that rocks the foundations of this town to its core. Inspired in part by a true story, The Illusionist is a fiercely erotic novel that thwarts conventions of gender and love.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684848198
• ISBN13: 9780684848198
• Release Date: March 1999
• Publisher: Scribner Book Company
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

eerie similarities, but no credit to the real life "Dean"

Because I already know all about the true story that inspired this novel, the book was nearly ruined for me. All eerie similarities to Brandon's real life aside (the accidental phone call and the rollerskating date, Brandon's girlfriend bailing him out of jail with a check her mother intended for the hairdresser, being put in a psychiatric ward after swallowing an entire bottle of antibiotics when his first serious girlfriend dumped him when she found out her boyfriend was really a girl...etc. ), this book is very good. You can't put it down- I read it in two days. I was only disappointed that there wasn't even a paragraph about Brandon at the end or beginning of the book (but there was the little disclaimer paragraph that states any similarities to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.? ....or do they put that in all books?). Like the movie "Boys Don't Cry", this book recounts the character's, in this case, Dean's, last month alive. So if the end seems rushed, it is. That's how it happened.

Dinitia Smith is brilliant, this book is brilliant.

The book is incredibly powerful. It deeply examines the meaning of gender in our culture.

When a real "man" comes to town

A young "man" comes to town and changes everyone's illusions about what they knew about love. Though the end seems rushed, this novel is mostly evenly paced. It's told from the first person of several lead characters and explores the loneliness and neediness of people in a small town with little going for it. It's sad but enlightening.

A Darkly Thoughtful Wonderful Book

I felt chilled and disturbed throughout the reading of this book - and I couldn't put it down. Ms. Smith's dark study of life in a dreary NY town was remarkable. From the start I was captivated by the fragile characters and really cared about how they would end. I look forward to re-reading it one day

A Captivating Read

Yes, this book leaves a lot of unanswered questions that puzzle the reader. Yes, after it was all read and done, I couldn't help asking myself and the author, "But what was the point?" And yet, the book was a captivating read! The characters were fascinating, the imagery was convincing, and the prose was beautiful. So in spite of some flaws (or are they flaws in my own reading and interpretation,) I highly recommend this book. It is truly hard to put down (and I'm someone with a short attention span.) Its road may not seem to go very far, but it's an exciting ride.