Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician

Reader reviewed by GirlwiththeBraids

It was in the early 1930s when Henry Walker was ten years old and he supposedly met the devil in person. The devil gave him the powers he would have to live with for the rest of his life. Then one day Henrys beautiful little sister disappeared and Henry knew it had been the devil who took her. Struggling through his life, motherless and living desperately with his drunken father, Henry (at the brink of being homeless) is given pigmentation pills so that he may lead a life as a Negro magician. At thirty-years-old, he becomes a magician for a traveling circus. Then, one night in 1954, he goes missing. Some circus performers, all of whom are convinced that they are Henrys only friend, share what they have learned about Henrys past, having been told the story by Henry himself.

Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician, unfortunately, did not make sense to me at all. It was not only confusing, but didnt have a point. At the last page of the book, I still didnt know if it really had been the devil whom Henry saw. The only character I liked was Henry and in the end, it made it seem as if he was clueless and that his life was spent for nothing. It didnt really end, it just stopped. The book seemed to try very hard to end on a good note and describe the setting slowly to make it seem as if it were the end, but it didnt convince me. The only reason I kept reading the book was because I wanted to see Henry win. I was disappointed highly. I wouldnt recommend this book to anyone because it did nothing for me.