Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Practical Magic
Book Review: Gray eyes scrying in the rain.
Summary: 5 Stars
As with many, I saw the movie first. This is where there is a rift as to whether the book or movie is better. I will leave that to you. (See my review of the movie)
This is the story of a family that on the surface that seems different from most families. Later we see it is anything but. The lives of several generations of the Owens family are covered from major events to those things that seem minor at the time. This book has a dark undertone and makes you think the cat is going to jump off the refrigerator at any moment. Yet if you quit trying to anticipate the story, you find it rich in beautiful pose and people interaction. Contrarily, this story is interspersed with vulgar language and repugnant images (probably necessary to portray bad guys and bad times.)
I enjoyed reading this book. I suppose now I will have to read something else by Alice Hoffman to see if this is her style or a radical departure.
Throughout the story you are not sure if it is luck, logic, or just practical magic.
Book Review: Practical Magic indeed
Summary: 4 Stars
Gillian and Sally are sisters, but although they share a past in which they helped each other to sruvive on daily basis, their relationship cools when they grow up, if only because Gillian chooses a wandering life. Sally is the good girl. She doesn't get involved in the magical stuff of her aunts and looks down on those who come to the house in need of it. In fact, things might be better all around if she just packed up her girls and went to live somewhere else. And that is exactly what Sally does.
But Owens women have been raised with magic for centuries, and moving away doesn't change that. Soon, Gillian calls on Sally for help, and Sally tries to help as best she can while trying to find out how much of herself she can keep hidden, to her sister and to the man who comes after her sister.
Alice Hoffman takes you through thirty to fourty years of a human life in just 279 pages, without making you feel rushed. Every scene is meticulously described to make you feel it, smell it. Sally's scenes are as refrained as she is, while Gillian's scenes swing with fire.
The book was used as a basis for the movie with equal name, although in the book, 40 years of life were too much to cover - they make it seem as if the entire story happens within four years. Who knows, maybe it did...
Book Review: Completely different from the movie - beautifully written
Summary: 5 Stars
The movie version of this story is one of the most fun, exhilerating movies - a favorite in this household. This book bears very little relation to the movie. The only similarities are that the main characters exist as they do in the movie, but they don't live with the aunts and magic is not quite the focus as it was in the movie.Now, that said ...
This is one of the best books I've had the opportunity to read. Written in the beautiful prose Alice Hoffman is so well known for, it follows the life of Gillian and Sally as they go on their diverse paths. Sally is the stable widow with two girls in tow. She leaves the aunts in New England, leaving her sad life behind, and moves to a Long Island suburb with her two girls where tries to live a normal life. Meanwhile, Gillian is a bad girl who is in and out of relationships and in and out of trouble. She finds the awful, abusive Jimmy and eventually kills him accidentally while enroute to visit her sister. Unsure of what to do, she brings him to her sister's house dead in the passenger seat of the car - she thinks stable Sally would know what to do to keep her out of jail. Sally meets the situation with borderline hysteria at first, then the two decide to bury him in Sally's backyard. Gillian moves in with Sally and her girls and tries to forget the body in the back yard. Sally's boring, stable life changes dramatically while Gillian's naughty life changes to a more stable one. Meanwhile they are haunted by the evil spirit of Jimmy, threatening to destroy the tenuous stability they try to build.
This book is not written in standard chapters - instead it is written in four large sections. Fortunately there are enough scene breaks in each section that you can put it down and read it in separate sittings. The thing is, once you're drawn into the story, you won't want to put it down. You'll want to read this one in a day, in one sitting if you can read fast enough. It is so beautifully written with an edge of suspense and just a tiny touch of magic. It will become a treasure on your bookshelf and one you'll only loan to your most reliable friends. Excellent!
Book Review: If you value the movie don`t read this.
Summary: 2 Stars
I`m a huge fan of the movie and jumped at the chance to read the novel but was utterly dissapointed. Don`t read this if you value the movie.Book Review: Don't expect this to be like the film...it's better!
Summary: 4 Stars
The film, although enjoyable became a truly 'Hollywood' version of what is essentially an excellent novel from this seasoned writer. As always happens, the characters were used out of context and the film abridged much of the real story within the story. The same can be said of many novels adapted for film and TV and should always be seen at face value. Always read the book before you watch the film
The novel, however is a triumph for the females of the species once again. Balancing the bewitching and the bewildering, the harsh and the downy.
The first Alice Hoffman novel I read and a real epiphany, I haven't read another author since.