“Shredding and reassembling history into a thrilling story that is part spy mystery and part historical intrigue, The Confabulist challenges our notions of what is real and what is illusion. Like a well-executed stage show, this novel does the truly remarkable on every page, creating a sprawling story with taut, precise prose. Steven Galloway manages, like his central figure, Harry Houdini, to do the seemingly impossible right in front of our eyes over and over again — even when we’re watching for it — beguiling us and making it look easy.” — 2014 Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize Jury (Neil Bissoondath, Helen Humphreys, and George Murray)