I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Mister Magic by Kiersten White Published by Del Rey on August 8 2023
Genres: Adult, Horror
Pages: 295
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: A long-running, mysterious children’s television show is the catalyst for emotional trauma in this intriguing but uneven and confusing story.
“What did Mister Magic look like? He was tall and enormous. He was slight and lithe. He didn’t have arms or legs. He was all arms and legs. He was a person. He was a puppet. One thing everyone agrees on is that we never saw his face. But don’t you remember—you saw it once, didn’t you?”
Mister Magic is not just one thing. On the outside, it’s an intriguing story about a group of adults who used to be on a children’s TV show called Mister Magic. Thirty years after the show ended when one of the children mysteriously disappeared, a podcaster is trying to revitalize interest in the cult show by bringing the five remaining members of the “circle” together for a reunion of sorts. But scratch beneath this layer and you’ll find deeper and more ominous themes. I hesitate to spill the beans on just what Kiersten White was doing when she wrote this book, mostly because the answers lie in her Acknowledgments at the end. But let’s just say there are themes of a traumatic childhood based on a cult-like religion, so you can see this story is very personal for White. And while I love a good allegory, especially when it’s skewering religion, I didn’t feel the story itself was strong enough for such a weighty premise, hence my lower rating.
Val has spent her whole life living and working on a farm with her father. She doesn’t remember anything before she came to the farm, only that her father brought her there when she was eight. But when her father dies after suffering a stroke, Val’s world is shattered. That is until she runs into a man named Isaac at the funeral who swears they used to be best friends. Val senses something familiar about Isaac but can’t pinpoint what it is. When Isaac tells her they used to be on a TV show together as children, Val is stunned. She has no memories at all of Isaac or the show or three of the other children (now adults), Marcus, Javi and Jenny. What made her block it out? And what happened to Kitty, the sixth member of their circle? In order to get answers, Val agrees to accompany her new friends to Utah, where a podcaster wants to interview them in an attempt to reboot the show.
But when they arrive at their destination, a strange house in the middle of the desert, Val is more confused than ever. Each of them is assigned a different floor on the six story house, and on each floor is a single television that broadcasts static. Even stranger, Val hears a constant humming noise that just won’t go away. All Val wants is answers to her questions, but the others can’t seem to help her. It feels as if they have been called back here to face their past, but why? The answers lie in the basement of the house, where an unseen interviewer delves into each of their past memories. Val is getting closer to the truth, but is she ready to hear it?
When I was about halfway through Mister Magic, I saw something in a review about the author’s reasons for writing her story, and I immediately flipped to the end and read the Acknowledgments. This changed the entire story for me, and to be honest, I’m not sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. Up to that point, I never would have guessed that she was writing about a specific time in her own life, although to be fair there are clues if you’re paying attention. So reading the second half was a much different experience. I was armed with this knowledge, and the story took on an entirely different meaning. So the question becomes this: which is better, knowing about the author’s past before you read the story? Or finding out after? I kind of wish I hadn’t known, so my recommendation to you (if you choose to pick this up) is to wait and read the Acknowledgments at the end.
White doesn’t give up her answers easily, either. The mystery surrounding the TV show and what happened to Kitty is long and drawn out and unfortunately, extremely frustrating. I love mysteries, but you gotta give me something! All Val gets from her “friends” are vague non-answers, and it isn’t until very near the end that the truth is revealed—although even then I was a little fuzzy on the details. This is a weird little story, full of metaphysical dream sequences, unreliable memories, and magic as well, and if you’re a reader who needs concrete answers, you might not find them here.
But there were some elements I really enjoyed. I loved the relationships between Val, Isaac, Javi, Jenny and Marcus. Val is suddenly thrust into their lives and she flounders for a bit. But little by little her memories of them return. The five children had a unique experience on the set of Mister Magic, and they developed an emotional bond that’s survived their years apart. Jenny starts out as a cold woman, extremely unfriendly towards Val. But eventually her hard veneer cracks and we get to see a more human side of her. There are some very sweet, feel-good moments that made the characters feel like personal friends.
I also loved the idea of the show, Mister Magic, which turned out to be extremely creepy. The show revolved around teaching kids to be good, and songs were used to instill qualities like modesty, obedience, cleanliness and more. I believe the words “programming quality children” are used at one point, which made my blood run cold. And here is where the cult aspect comes in. Val manages to become the other kids’ protector on the show, figuring out a way to “silence” Mister Magic and give the kids a sense of artistic freedom, but Mister Magic is always there just out of sight. No one really knows who or what he is, and it’s terrifying.
The ending, unfortunately, doesn’t really clear up all the mysteries, and I was left with a vague sense of dissatisfaction. In hind sight I appreciate the story Kiersten White was trying to tell, but the execution just wasn’t quite there for me. Still, lots of readers love this book, and you might be one of them.
With thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
I started it and couldn’t finish it. I’m also a recovering Mormon and it did intrigue me to know she was, too, but even that wasn’t enough for he to get through it. I quit about a third of the way in. It was so unsatisfying and I was really looking forward to reading it, too.
Oh wow, I’m so glad to hear from someone who has been through the same thing as the author. And the fact that you didn’t like it makes me feel better about my rating:-)
This must have been a hard review to write…so, kudos! I still want to read this one, because I don’t mind not having all the answers (usually)…
“which is better, knowing about the author’s past before you read the story? Or finding out after?”
This would make for a great discussion post…I’d say N°2, just because, if the author puts certain things into the Acknowledgment section, they intend that you go into the story without knowing them…Anyhow, one can always reread the books later, and see if their perception of the story changes in hindsight…
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Thanks Roberta! I would love to hear your thoughts:-) And that’s what I was thinking too. She put that information at the end, thinking you’d read it after.
Shame this didn’t work out better for you. I am curious but I don’t have a copy of this one anyway and I’m being careful atm because I’d like to try and backtrack and catch up with some of the earlier review books that I didn’t manage to pick up.
Lynn 😀
I know what you mean, it’s so hard to go back and read books that are already out.
Interesting… but I think it would frustrate me to have a key insight come through reading the Acknowledgments, and the lack of a clear ending would bother me too. I think this is one I can skip.
Good point. And for those readers who skip Acknowledgments, they are missing out on that insight.
I do plan on reading this and you know after reading your review the first thing I want to do is read the author’s note! But I will refrain. Good review but I admit I am not a fan or unclear endings so we will see how this one works for me.
I would say if you get to a point in the book where it’s driving you crazy, go read the author’s note. That’s what I did and it definitely helped a little.
The thing with Kiersten White is that I either absolutely love her books and give them five stars or they don’t entirely grip me and I give them 3 or 2 stars. I haven’t read this one yet but I have her book Hide so I’m looking forward to reading it.
I haven’t read Hide yet, but I’ve heard if you like Hide you’ll like Mister Magic. So maybe I’ll pass on Hide?
It seems that book is either a love or hate/meh book from the reviews I have seen so far!
I think you’re right. I guess I wasn’t the right audience…
If it’s confusing for you, it’s really a bad sign for this book!
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Ha ha usually I can “get” things but this was sort of a mess.
The only thing I *didn’t* like about this one was not knowing all the things. But I kind of had the opposite experience of you, because when I read the author’s note, I felt more at peace with the end? Which is actually unusual for me, but here we are! (Legit I think this is the most our reviews on something have ever been a full star and a half apart ) I definitely get your points though, so I appreciate looking at the other side of things! It’s funny, I read Stephanie’s comment above, and I agree wholly- I have LOVED stuff that Kiersten’s written, and HATED one or two things too, but honestly I am always here for an author who can make me feel some sort of way- I feel like I’d almost rather NOT like a book than feel apathetic about it and wow I think I need to write a discussion about this! Anyway great review, I am sorry it wasn’t a hit for you though!
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I thought the reason behind her writing the book was fascinating. And maybe if I knew more about the church some of it would resonate more, I don’t know. I actually struggle with her Buffy books, which is annoying since I’m a big Buffy fan, but I keep on reading them! But I agree, we usually are pretty close with our ratings, this is an anomaly lol.
Reading that acknowledgement section first and getting to know some background is an interesting thing. Stories are an art form that gives the reader the opportunity to interpret and take away from the work something possibly different than the author had in mind, and I love how they can do that. But knowing some background first would naturally affect that. Depends on the person, I suppose, whether that would be a good thing or a bad thing.
I know in my review I said to wait and read it at the end, but I’m actually torn. It changed the entire way I read the story, which might be why it didn’t completely work for me.
Great review! I’m so curious about the acknowledgments now, but I think I’m going to follow the advice in your review and save it for the end. I do wonder how much it might change my view of the story as a whole, though. I’m planning on reading this with a group next month and I’m looking forward to it but I also don’t have super high expectations, honestly. I feel like this author’s books are usually just “fine” – I never regret spending the time on them, but they don’t typically blow me away, either.
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Thank you for fascinating review, Tammy. I’ve loved her earlier books, but I tried one of her more recent books but felt the pacing was too slow, so didn’t get through it. You have said enough that I’ll pass on this one – I don’t like it when we’re not given ANYTHING until very near the end. And it sounds as if she’s trying to process a traumatic time in her own life by sliding the experience into a parallel narrative – which is a tricky thing to do unless you’re very sure of where you’re going and what your emotional landscape is.
Ooooo, this sounds really good! I’m putting it on the list!
Not being clear about exactly what happened is what kept me from giving it a full 5 stars I think. I don’t remember her reasons exactly even though I did read the acknowledgement, so now I need to go back and read and figure out exactly what you’re meaning here. lol Great review though, I can totally see why you felt the way you did about it.
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