num_pages: 336
description: Six months after losing his wife and two young sons, Vermont professor David Zimmer spends his waking hours mired in a blur of alcoholic grief and self-pity. One night, he stumbles upon a clip from a lost film by silent comedian Hector Mann. His interest is piqued, and he soon finds himself embarking on a journey around the world to research a book on this mysterious figure, who vanished from sight in 1929.When the book is published the following year, a letter turns up in Zimmer's mailbox bearing a return address from a small town in New Mexico inviting him to meet Hector. Zimmer hesitates, until one night a strange woman appears on his doorstep and makes the decision for him, changing his life forever.
language: English
title: The Book of Illusions
titlecomplete: The Book of Illusions
characters: Hector Mann, David Zimmer
genres: American, 21st Century, Literary Fiction, Novels, Drama, Literature, Mystery, The United States Of America, Fiction, Contemporary
ratings_count: 23592
places: Vermont
awards: awardedAt: 1009872000000
name: Borders Original Voices Award
category: Fiction, awardedAt: 1072944000000
name: Dublin Literary Award
publisher: Faber and Faber