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Synopsis
MAGIC TIME By Daniel M. Klein. (Doubleday, $1495.) The fortunes of five friends, Harvard graduates who took part in Timothy Leary's first LSD experiment in 1961, are traced with verisimilitude and narrative vigor in Daniel M. Klein's third novel. Although the events and characters in ''Magic Time'' seem real, they are overly familiar and abstract, rather than specific. Mr. Klein has researched his period so that all his characters perform in ways that are historically accurate rather than individually resonant. His most successful character - the elusive, enigmatic Timothy Leary, who provides the five friends their memorable night in 1961 - appears only in the background. He pops up throughout the novel in their reveries and, finally, in 1979 when they all gather for a 40th birthday celebration of one of the five, they see him starring in a comedy act at a nightclub. They gaze up at Leary ''as if he had just materialized by magic, as fresh and sneaky as a hallucination.'' The five men go through the rituals of the 1960's - the Peace Corps, radicalization, drugs, sexual promiscuity. Yet there is anything but magic in Mr. Klein's account of the period; he writes from a wearied distance. Four of the men graduate into the 70's as ''successes'' - a lawyer, a playwright, a divinity student, a millionaire leader of a successful Jerry Rubin-style ''Metamen'' group. The fifth gets snagged in the radical underground after a stint as a Peace Corps volunteer and is killed.
The novel's pleasures are the result of the author's careful attention to detail and craftsmanship, but they are undercut by formulaic characters and a plot that never yields a surprise. ''Magic Time'' is well constructed, but the reader sees the wheels at work. Only Timothy Leary escapes Mr. Klein's schematic approach to characterization and, despite his shadowy presence, emerges as believable.
By David Evanier, New York Times Books, May 13, 1984
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Magic time
Seller: Ezekial Books, LLC, Manchester, NH, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
hardcover. Condition: Good. No Highlighting or underlining. Some Wear but overall good condition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # 51UN4X000MMO
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Magic Time
Published by
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 1984
ISBN 10: 0385174527
ISBN 13: 9780385174527
Used
Hardcover
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Pages intact with minimal writing/highlighting. The binding may be loose and creased. Dust jackets/supplements are not included. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good. Seller Inventory # 68703831-6
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Magic time
Seller: ivan, Lexington, MA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 3 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: As New. Magic time by Daniel M Klein. 1984. Hardcover edition. Condition: As New. ISBN 0385174527. Subjects: Philosophy; Fiction; Detective and mystery stories. Seller Inventory # N9-8LOG-YYZH
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Magic time
Published by
Doubleday, 1984
ISBN 10: 0385174527
ISBN 13: 9780385174527
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Imperial Books and Collectibles, Wauwatosa, WI, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
hardcover. Condition: Used: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Used: Very Good. First Edition. Stated First edition. Very Good black boards with gilt lettering along spine. Binding and hinges tight and square; Contents clean and unmarked. VG dust jacket not price clipped; light rubbing along edges. 254 pages. Foxing top page edge. Seller Inventory # 040668
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Magic Time
Published by
Doubleday Books, New York, 1984
ISBN 10: 0385174527
ISBN 13: 9780385174527
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Gyre & Gimble, Holden, ME, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. Stated First Edition. Black paper-covered boards with gilt lettering. Minor edgewear, light bump to head and heel of spine. Light foxing to closed outside edges, text is clean and white, no marks. Unclipped DJ with $14.95 price shows rubbing to all edges, light general scuffing, small chi0ps and tears to edges. "A kaleidoscopic novel that captures the madness and wonder of the 1960s and the reconciliations of human comedy ot the 70s." (from the jacket). Seller Inventory # G22317