The Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett

I liked this book, which was gently readable despite potentially depressing subjects - AIDS, unrequited love, family conflicts. It was good to read a book that dealt with an unusual relationship of a woman who has finally married the man she loves - who is gay and is not in love with her.  His gay partner has recently died of AIDS.  The woman is left to mourn him after his sudden death - and her partnership with him as magician's assistant must also end - though it has future benefits she does not foresee.

Then she is called to Nebraska to meet his relatives, hitherto unknown to her.  Although this could have been the last straw of a painful life, it is not at all - and there are interesting worlds to explore: the sunlit luxury of LA and small-town, snow-bound Nebraska; the making of magic tricks, and the generosity of the family she gets to know. I loved the bits about magic, and the optimism of life moving on and new beginnings.