No Ordinary
Magic
A Memoir
About the
Book
At twenty-five, Eileen McFalls embarked on a very unconventional journey after meeting an amazing street magician. While never a household name, Jim Cellini was a legend in the magic world, renowned for his wit and skill when performing the impossible. A rollicking read full of tender and poignant moments, the memoir No Ordinary Magic recounts an uncommon life on the fringe.
An Excerpt
from the Book
Cellini often said that a magician's tools are the extension of one's magical self. Props to a magician are as important as the perfect brush to an artist or the faultless sound of an instrument to a musician. The following video is an excerpt from the book illustrating the reverence Cellini had for the art of magic in processing his sorrow over a set of damaged cups he'd used in a magic effect.
What People
Are Saying
What an extraordinary tale. I was right there with Eileen on the streets of New Orleans, New York, Amsterdam, London, immersed in a multitude of riotous adventures. How courageous to have lived this life outside the borders of society.
—Anjail Ahmad, PhD, Director of the Creative Writing Program, A&T University
The title of this memoir is perhaps understated. No Ordinary Magic could easily have been called Extraordinary Magic. Eileen McFalls’ once-in-a-lifetime journey across the U.S. and Europe with her paramour, a street magician known as the Great Cellini, is a tale that underscores the adage that truth is often stranger than fiction.
McFalls’ detailed and active recounting of people, events, and conversations gives the reader a sense of being present in the moment as her narrative flows. No Ordinary Magic is a great ride and no ordinary read.
—Lance Elko, freelance editor
If you love reading memoirs that include quirky characters, fabulous settings, and all kinds of magic, then this book is for you. Eileen's story brings you people and places you didn't ever think you would know but will be glad you did.
—Barbara Barry Levin, Professor Emerita, UNC-Greensboro
A 30-page color insert inside
features photos of busking scenes
and artwork of street performers
by Noel Rockmore.
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A vivid portrait of a man who reinvented himself
through the art of magic as told through
the lens of a young woman who loved him.
