Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Hachette Books (2002), Edition: Reprint, 496 pages
Description
The mysterious death of President Harding in 1923 is only the curtain raiser to this extraordinary novel of magic and science. Charles Carter is Carter the Great, a name given to him by the supreme showman, Harry Houdini. Carter was born into privilege but became a magician out of need. Only at the moment of the performance, when an audience is brought together by a single experience, can Carter defeat his crippling fear of loneliness. But with every step into the twentieth Century, the stakes are growing higher. Science and the cinema are fast out-stripping even the master magician and instead of that single magic moment, there is only a headlong rush into an uncertain future.
Media reviews
Here is a book - a first novel, no less - to blow you away. It seeks to stun and amaze and deceive and, always, to entertain; and it seldom misses a trick in 600 pulsating pages. The style may be School of Doctorow, with florid flushes of John Irving, but the essential conceit is wholly original
This novel casts a spell that is sly, intoxicating, deceitful and enduring. Savour its every page, and don't believe a word.
User reviews
LibraryThing member TheAmpersand
I've got to give Glen David Gold credit for looking for -- and finding -- a good story in some unexpected places. It's one thing to write a book of historical fiction that's set during the French Revolution, or the First World War, or some other well-publicized historical epoch. It's quite another
And, at a sentence level, you can't call him a bad writer, either. His prose is fluid and flexible, and he imbues his subjects with a lively -- dare I say slightly magical? -- touch that keeps you turning the pages without flirting with pulp theatrics or cheap atmosphere. Gold does a more-than-creditable job of bringing his subjects to life, and, better yet, he skillfully evoking a time in which California still felt very much like a frontier of some sort. The Northern California described in this novel is still somewhat unformed, a place where eccentrics who'd struck it rich still had some room to spread their wings. But I felt that this book's eccentricity was, in a sense, both its strongest and weakest suit. "Carter Beats the Devil" features pirates, smugglers, an enchanting blind woman, a trained lion, a traveling magic show and much more. Its characters experience love and revenge and loss and betrayal and outrageous good fortune. Because Charles Carter, the book's namesake, still experiences a good deal of genuine sadness in his his life, you can't call "Carter Beats the Devil" camp, but some readers will find it a touch too whimsical. It might be no accident that it did quite well on the sales charts just a year before the tragedy that defined the first decades of the new century occurred: I'm not sure it would have fit the national mood after the towers fell. But this you might as well chalk up this criticism to personal preference: this one is, if not the most profound novel I've ever read, a ripping yarn by any reasonable definition. Be warned, though: at well over five hundred pages, it takes a while to get where it's going. Recommended if you suspect that the right author could all of the diparate plot elements above into a into one really good read.
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to frame your story about Warren G. Harding, fill it with vaudeville-era magicians not named "Harry Houdini" and Secret Service agents, and set it in Oakland, California. You can't accuse this author of choosing a well-trodden path, that's for sure. And he certainly knows his material: you'll learn a lot about the mechanics and theories of stage magic, the star-crossed twenty-ninth president, and the history of Northern California's second- (or maybe third-) most famous city. And, at a sentence level, you can't call him a bad writer, either. His prose is fluid and flexible, and he imbues his subjects with a lively -- dare I say slightly magical? -- touch that keeps you turning the pages without flirting with pulp theatrics or cheap atmosphere. Gold does a more-than-creditable job of bringing his subjects to life, and, better yet, he skillfully evoking a time in which California still felt very much like a frontier of some sort. The Northern California described in this novel is still somewhat unformed, a place where eccentrics who'd struck it rich still had some room to spread their wings. But I felt that this book's eccentricity was, in a sense, both its strongest and weakest suit. "Carter Beats the Devil" features pirates, smugglers, an enchanting blind woman, a trained lion, a traveling magic show and much more. Its characters experience love and revenge and loss and betrayal and outrageous good fortune. Because Charles Carter, the book's namesake, still experiences a good deal of genuine sadness in his his life, you can't call "Carter Beats the Devil" camp, but some readers will find it a touch too whimsical. It might be no accident that it did quite well on the sales charts just a year before the tragedy that defined the first decades of the new century occurred: I'm not sure it would have fit the national mood after the towers fell. But this you might as well chalk up this criticism to personal preference: this one is, if not the most profound novel I've ever read, a ripping yarn by any reasonable definition. Be warned, though: at well over five hundred pages, it takes a while to get where it's going. Recommended if you suspect that the right author could all of the diparate plot elements above into a into one really good read.
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LibraryThing member Dorritt
What fun! Like a great magic act, this book starts out deceptively simple and then the author starts adding new flourishes and complications until you're riveted, breathlessly waiting to see what he's going to pull out of the hat next. Don't worry; Gold provides a slap-bang finale (in which Carter
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beats not one but several devils) that should leave most readers cheering and shouting "Encore!" Though long at 450+ pages the story moves quickly: like Carter, this author has a good line of patter, knows how to put on a good show, and is adept at misdirection. Just one suggestion: book's publisher ought to consider moving the author's "afterword" to a "forward" so that readers appreciate from the outset just how exhaustively the events in the book have been researched, and how some of the more unbelievable/ outrageous bits turn out to be actual historical truth! Show Less
LibraryThing member kerns222
A plain-speaking adventure book. Like stories in Boy's Life when I was eleven. With better writing, more complexity--maybe more like Jean le Cric and Les Misérables.
Fun for a while but the goodness of the whole thing wore cynical me out.
Fun for a while but the goodness of the whole thing wore cynical me out.
LibraryThing member opiatewave
A really well written story, vivid and engaging. It's like a biopic, yet not too overwhelming or droll. Gold's prose style matches the sensationalist tone of a magic show at many moments inside this story. He builds his characters well, with villains to despise and a believable hero you can root
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for. I really enjoyed the glimpse into early 20th century San Francisco as well. Show Less
LibraryThing member skillz
interesting characters (houdini included), and it revolves around the wonderful theme of magic. a simple story about a man finding his way through life, but with the added dimension of magic and some historical facts. it sometimes gets a bit draggy though, but overall a decent read.
LibraryThing member sarathena1
This book starts out great. By the time the end comes around, you absolutely love the main character (something that rarely happens in the modern novel). The ending was a bit too "perfect" for my tastes, but a fun read nonetheless.
LibraryThing member SimonW11
Yes it was obviously a first novel. Gold seemed determined to cram every bit of research, every idea he had into this. Its length came not from padding but from an inability to leave anything out. a more experanced writer might have held some ideas thoughts and research back for another novel but I
I do hope he has enough left over for another
Neal Stephenson is the only author I can think of who can keep that pace up for book after book. Since it is his first novel, his pride and joy he has obviously polished it with loving care. Rewriting and reworking it. Mr Gold obviously wants to be more than a journeyman author and this his first novel is more than an aprentice piece he is trying for a master work straight away.
Does he make it? Well the plot is preposterous. but I love complex plot.
and he, (like the secret service agent who did not see a mermaid)understands how and when to reveal and conceal, that most essential component of a storytellers art. His characters? Well a lot were mere sketched exagerations or nonentities. The problem of a large cast. but the pacing was first class. There was never a moment reading, whether about Carters childhood or his adult years when I was not eager to find out what would happen next, yet afraid of missing what was happening currently. I was emotionally involved throught. Amused sad or scared for page after page.
About two thirds of the way through I thought yes but this book was reccomended as an Adventure story. . I dont think this really qualifies engaging though it is. Then in the next chapter Carter is nailed in a packing case and I had to reconsider big time. There seem to be two disparate novels in this book Mr Gold is to be complimented. on marrying them so well. He is no mere journeyman. I look forward to his next novel he has a lot to live up to.
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suspect Gold did not know if there would be another novel so in it went.I do hope he has enough left over for another
Neal Stephenson is the only author I can think of who can keep that pace up for book after book. Since it is his first novel, his pride and joy he has obviously polished it with loving care. Rewriting and reworking it. Mr Gold obviously wants to be more than a journeyman author and this his first novel is more than an aprentice piece he is trying for a master work straight away.
Does he make it? Well the plot is preposterous. but I love complex plot.
and he, (like the secret service agent who did not see a mermaid)understands how and when to reveal and conceal, that most essential component of a storytellers art. His characters? Well a lot were mere sketched exagerations or nonentities. The problem of a large cast. but the pacing was first class. There was never a moment reading, whether about Carters childhood or his adult years when I was not eager to find out what would happen next, yet afraid of missing what was happening currently. I was emotionally involved throught. Amused sad or scared for page after page.
About two thirds of the way through I thought yes but this book was reccomended as an Adventure story. . I dont think this really qualifies engaging though it is. Then in the next chapter Carter is nailed in a packing case and I had to reconsider big time. There seem to be two disparate novels in this book Mr Gold is to be complimented. on marrying them so well. He is no mere journeyman. I look forward to his next novel he has a lot to live up to.
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LibraryThing member nefernika
This book was so much fun to read I read it three times. Just thinking about it while writing this review makes me wish I were reading it, because if I were, I would be having such a super awesome time. I would probably be giggling. out loud. right here in the office. Carter is a trip, and the way
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Gold addresses the magic (by never revealing the secret) is phenomenal. The rapport he develops with his FBI tail is hilarious. This is my favorite kind of novel: it's fun to read AND it's good. Show Less
LibraryThing member MacsTomes
Read 300 pgs. gave up, great storyline but got tired of characters, didnt keep my interest.
LibraryThing member Greatrakes
I don't recommend reading this book over two months a little bit at a time, you may well end up as confused by the plot as I was. Why was everyone trying to kill him? What was Borax's relationship to Phoebe? Who was the third 'nut brown' person on the desert island, at the end?
Oh well, I thought it
I've never been much interested in magic shows but Gold writes description so well that I was fascinated by it all. He also does set-piece suspense well, and he has plenty such moments, there is a scene where Carter is cast adrift cuffed inside a sinking crate that I thought particularly well done.
Oh well, I thought it
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was a remarkable book, very much a first novel with, I imagine, a sympathetic and indulgent editor. The structure is unorthodox and the plot absurd, yet engaging and it is remarkable that he brought it altogether (well, I assume he did, I kept getting lost through reading it in five minute snatches).I've never been much interested in magic shows but Gold writes description so well that I was fascinated by it all. He also does set-piece suspense well, and he has plenty such moments, there is a scene where Carter is cast adrift cuffed inside a sinking crate that I thought particularly well done.
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LibraryThing member reannon
This is a marvelous novel about Charles Carter, aka Carter the Great, a magician. It covers from his youth in the 1890s into his greatest show in the 1920s. Along the way the story involves Houdini, creation of great magic, two great loves, Philo Farnsworth and the creation of television, and a
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lion. Glen Gold has the talent to make it all work spectacularly. Recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member cherry_red186
There is something about a book which comes smothered with praise that makes me put it back on the shelf, which I did with this book again and again. I succumbed in a weakened moment and bought a copy and now I have to join in the chorus. A book with this much plot, a proper pantomime villain and
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old fashioned hero is a treat. Next time I have flu this will be my cure. Show Less
LibraryThing member jaygheiser
A very entertaining and easy reading first novel, with some clever twists to it.
LibraryThing member willpalmer
Carter beats the Devil is ultimately a whodunit, but Gold spends a large proportion writing brilliant back stories to the central characters. These back stories are what makes this novel, for me, a very enjoyable read. The plot is littered with sub-plots which can get lost some times but ultimately
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as the book comes together gives you a great sense of 1920s San Francisco. Highly recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member daizylee
A really great read for just about anybody.
LibraryThing member lennert
I just read half of it, kind of tedious here and there
LibraryThing member devenish
Charles Carter was a real-life Magician who lived in America in the 1920's at the same time as Harry Houdini.
This thick volume of 560 pages describes his life in fictional terms which adds flesh to the bare bones of his life.
Following an essential preamble involving the President,the tale proper
In the course of the story he makes both friends and enemies (one of the latter sets out to ruin,and perhaps to kill him).He also finds the two great loves of his life.
I found this book exciting,touching and really beautifully written.It held my interest right to the end and made me impatient for Glen David Gold's next offering.
This thick volume of 560 pages describes his life in fictional terms which adds flesh to the bare bones of his life.
Following an essential preamble involving the President,the tale proper
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begins with Charles ,aged nine together with his younger brother James at the family home. Several events occur which shape their lives forever and mould the future career of Charles Carter. This career is to be that of the stage magician 'Carter the Great'.Many of his illusions are described,during the course of this book,although quite rightly not many of the solutions. In the course of the story he makes both friends and enemies (one of the latter sets out to ruin,and perhaps to kill him).He also finds the two great loves of his life.
I found this book exciting,touching and really beautifully written.It held my interest right to the end and made me impatient for Glen David Gold's next offering.
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LibraryThing member hedera
I bought this because the reviews were great, but I was disappointed. I got half way through the book and realized I didn't really care about any of the characters, starting with Carter. He spends most of the book glooming about the tragedies in his life; it turns out at one point that he doesn't
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know how much money he has; the real Charles Carter, a successful stage magician, can't possibly have been such a nebbish. The ending (no spoilers!) was interesting and suggestive but the book just wambled along. Show Less
LibraryThing member woodge
This is a thrilling, romantic, fascinating book and will probably be my favorite book read this year. Carter Beats the Devil is a historically fact-based novel about magician Charles Carter who performed in the golden age of magic (1890s thru the 1920s). This story pits Carter against rival
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magicians and Secret Service agents who suspect Carter had a hand in the death of President Harding. I was drawn in from the get-go. This book is full of suspense, humor, and panache. It came highly recommended from Michael Chabon, author of the Pulitzer-prize-winning novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (also an excellent book). Carter Beats the Devil is a richly imagined story full of wonderful characters and it has perhaps the most thrilling, exciting, whiz-bang conclusion I've come across in ages. Great, great book. Show Less
LibraryThing member debnance
This story would make a great comic book or action movie. Not my usual type of book, but I found it surprisingly fun.
LibraryThing member Tinwara
Pleasant read. Entertaining, and a nice escape from a bunch of more serious and depressing books that I have been reading lately. I needed something light, and this was just right.
Glen David Gold has obviously done a lot of research into the early 20th century, the vaudeville shows, and magicians.
I very much liked the first part of the book, it's a story that has John Irving like quality: I just couldn't stop reading. From the second part onward I thought the story got a bit complicated, with so may characters and story lines. I started to loose interest. However, it was an enjoyable read that made me long for the old times and magic shows.
Glen David Gold has obviously done a lot of research into the early 20th century, the vaudeville shows, and magicians.
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The book is nostalgic in a way, it describes entertainment as it was before the age of television.I very much liked the first part of the book, it's a story that has John Irving like quality: I just couldn't stop reading. From the second part onward I thought the story got a bit complicated, with so may characters and story lines. I started to loose interest. However, it was an enjoyable read that made me long for the old times and magic shows.
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LibraryThing member jennyo
I just finished "Carter Beats the Devil" by Glen David Gold. It was fantastic. Really well written, suspenseful, very well-drawn characters. I enjoy historical fiction, so this was a real treat. It's sort of a suspense novel, but also introduces you to the mechanics behind the illusions created by
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the magicians of the '20's, '30's and '40's (Houdini, etc.) It has great historical tidbits about the Secret Service and President Warren G. Harding too. I don't think it comes out in paperback until August, but if you can find a copy somewhere, I'd pick it up. It's well worth your time. Show Less
LibraryThing member -Eva-
A fictionalized biography which follows stage magician Charles Joseph Carter (AKA Carter the Great) from his humble beginnings when Harry Houdini takes him under his wings to his final performance, where he must genuinely beat the devil, albeit a worldly one, in order to save his own and his
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friends' lives. Carter is a great character and it is such fun to follow him around the world in all his adventures. It's been a while since I've read such a genuinely nice character that I still found interesting - most of the time I want an edge, but in Carter's case, it's his way of viewing the world that engages, not his shady dealings. The story does go on a walkabout on several occasions, following a few characters whose backstories could easily have been surmised from Carter's story rather than having focus of their own. However, as soon as the spotlight is back on Carter, the flow and interest is back as well. Other than the Phoebe-reveal (which is much too deus ex machina to be satisfactory), the ending has a great (and quite action-filled) resolution. Show Less
LibraryThing member PaulMysterioso
A brilliant first novel by Glen David Gold mixing historical fact and personages with fiction. The characters are well-drawn and compelling and the story is engaging and well-plotted. The mystery set up in the opening chapter is richly paid off at the end.
LibraryThing member AlCracka
Not at all my usual style, which means I'll probably take it off my list in a month when I can't remember what I was so excited about in the first place. But it does sound cool.
Subjects
Awards
Guardian First Book Award (Shortlist — 2001)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2001
Physical description
496 p.; 8 inches
ISBN
0786886323 / 9780786886326