The Magician's Apprentice (review)

When the day comes that Baz is to follow in his older brothers' footsteps and venture out into the world to be apprenticed in a trade, the sixteen-year-old boy is delighted to leave his utterly unremarkable village in the company of a seemingly kind and generous stranger. Unfortunately, the man takes Baz to the sun-baked town of Kallah, where he is forced into servitude under a weaver who is quick with his whip. Though relieved when this master sells him to another, he holds no hopes that his new owner will treat him any better. Tadis, however, is a magician whose mission is to remove illusions and help people find who they truly are, and he surprises Baz by offering him his freedom and inviting the boy on his quest. Aspiring Buddhists and young Zen practitioners will find many of their beliefs reflected here, but Tadis' moralizing becomes both repetitive and reductive by the book's close. There's little character development or plot; once Baz meets Tadis, the story comes to a virtual standstill and scenes consist mostly of the characters' conversations regarding heady issues like faith, love, and reality. The prose, however, is often fluidly elegant, and the folkloric structure lends itself to both reading aloud and discussion. Sis' spot illustrations are pared-down versions of his characteristically intricate pen and ink drawings.