leeper@mtgzz.UUCP (m.r.leeper) (10/24/85)
THE RED MAGICIAN by Lisa Goldstein
Pocket, 1982, $2.25.
A book review by Mark R. Leeper
A while back I reviewed a number of stories concerning golems. They
were, in fact, every book I could get my hands on concerning the creature of
folklore. Following the publication of that article I got comments saying
that golems showed up in comic books (which are effectively unavailable to
me) and in Lisa Goldstein's THE RED MAGICIAN. Now that was embarrassing
because I owned the book and once it was mentioned I remembered seeing a
golem on the cover. THE RED MAGICIAN joined 33 other books on my "must
read" shelf (some of which have been there over two years). My shame at
having missed this one for my article pushed it up toward the front of the
queue. And, well, here we are.
Of late we have seen fantasy novels set in a number of historical
cultures. It is a pleasant change from having them all set in Celtic
Britain, Medieval Europe, or some never-never land. Classical China, for
example, was used in Hughart's BRIDGE OF BIRDS. Australian Aboriginal
mythology is the basis of Patricia Wrightson's trilogy THE ICE IS COMING,
THE DARK BRIGHT WATER, and THE JOURNEY BEHIND THE WIND. Goldstein sets her
story in the Jewish villages of Eastern Europe, just before, during, and
after the Holocaust. The story is of a mystical rabbi who really can work
miracles and of a traveling magician who has forseen the future and arrives
with warnings of what is to come. A conflict begins between the two that
will go on for years. We see the story from the viewpoint of Kicsi, a young
girl infatuated with Voros, the magician.
THE RED MAGICIAN is too short and simple to be considered an adult
fantasy, but it is more sophisticated than most juveniles. Goldstein has a
feel for Jewish folklore and life in the Eastern European Jewish
communities. THE RED MAGICIAN is a fantasy that will be quickly forgotten.
It will probably be read mostly by Jewish fantasy readers. (I think that
BRIDGE OF BIRDS will be read by a much higher proportion of non-Chinese.)
It is a simple but well-written story that should not disappoint most of its
readers. Rate it +1 on the -4 to +4 scale. Oh, and as for a golem, there
is one but it is only a minor plot element.
Mark R. Leeper
...ihnp4!mtgzz!leeper