Derek DelGaudio

I picked up this book specifically because of Mr. Delgaudio’s show “In & Of Itself” (caught it on Hulu. It is worth paying for Hulu for the month just to catch this show, seriously. You can thank me later).
It seems to be a biography of his life growing up and what led him to become the magician he is. I say seems to be because you can never be quite sure that he is actually telling the truth.
Either way, he writes with such earnestness, even if this is completely made up, it is still a very entertaining story.
Go watch his show and then you’ll want to read this book too.
(I wonder if it implies anything that Powell’s had this shelved under magic and not under Biography).… (mais)

My husband gave me this book, I think maybe for my birthday last year. And my birthday is rapidly approaching, so clearly it took me a shamefully long time to read it. And lo and behold, it was a 5-star read. I'm sure he gave me the book because we watched and enjoyed Delgaudio's film (based on his stage show) In and Of Itself. I think actually the word "enjoyed" isn't right here -- that show pierced my soul and left me a sobbing wreck. But it was miraculous. Even though I knew it was all an illusion, I fell for it, hook, line, and sinker. So it was enlightening to read this book, in which Delgaudio describes his early life as a weird, isolated kid, tormented by other kids for being weird and isolated. He had a good relationship with his mom, but his dad was not in the picture, so he suffered from that as well, though he managed to fit himself under the wings of a succession of older male mentors, who provided him with a path and an identity. He learns the art of deception with cards, in particular, which leads him to a brief career as a dealer, but that course serves to teach him only that it was the wrong direction. The book ends long before the inception of that remarkable show, but I did find myself pondering how he came to find himself doing that, since the book is full of descriptions of his own anxiety at the act of deception -- he seems almost allergic to it (and to performing) -- and yet he finds great success with a show that embodies both. So even though he doesn't talk about the show, the book's ending brings a certain closure to the story he tells, which is totally satisfying. "I like the way you tell stories," one of his friends tells him. And I do too.… (mais)