Making an effort to post a review every Friday!

Carter Beats The Devil by Glen David Gold

On a personal note: I received this book from a friend in 2019 who then died suddenly three days later. So a lot rode on this book for me, that I had to enjoy it, or it needed to strike the right chord for me, and part of me considered never reading it at all. In 2020, finding myself with suddenly considerably more free time at home, I made an effort to start going back and rereading all of the books, watching all of the shows that had been recommended to me by Eric that I never got around to. I saved this for last.

The good news is that I adore this book.

It is not only for me a very niche subject which I truly enjoy—I know a lot about stage magicians, shut up—but it’s presented in a very charming, intelligent way where you truly come to care for the characters and feel engaged with them. I like historical fiction, ad a rule, but I often feel very cringe with it—this book escapes that. At no point when mentioning historical figures do I find myself flinching at their presentation, instead there is a casual familiarity that becomes very genuine. I adored this book.

But I clearly also have a bias about this book and it means something different for me than it probably does anyone else, and it’s a kind reminder of Death of the Author having it’s merits—that something once it’s put out into the world truly can take on separate meanings of its own and different significances.

But regardless, I think you would like this book, too.

That casually genuine quality to Gold’s writing is spectacular, like being taken into confidences, and I can’t speak enough to how genuinely likeable the characters are. As you follow their progression through conflicts, there is almost a schizophrenic phenomenon of feeling compelled by the pacing and telling of the story and this nearly tongue-in-cheek quality of floating above it, knowing where it’s going by seeing the references to storytelling of the time. I felt it was very respectful to its influences. I adore it.