{Review} Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
Published by Putnam Adult, 1995
Hardcover, 244 pages
ISBN 0399140557
Genres: adult fiction, chick lit, contemporary fiction, fantasy, magic, magical realism, paranormal, romance, women's fiction

Synopsis (via Goodreads): For more than two hundred years, the Owens women had been blamed for everything that went wrong in their Massachusetts town. And Gillian and Sally endured that fate as well; as children, the sisters were outsiders. Their elderly aunts almost seemed to encourage the whispers of witchery, but all Gillian and Sally wanted was to escape. One would do so by marrying, the other by running away. But the bonds they shared brought them back-almost as if by magic...

My review: I got acquainted with Alice Hoffman early this year when I read her newest novel The Dovekeepers (which is fabulous). For some reason I was thinking it was her debut novel (don't ask me where I picked that up from, ha) so I was surprised when I looked her up on Goodreads and discovered she has been an established author for quite a long time. I have heard good things about the movie adaptation of Practical Magic and decided I would watch it... but only after reading the novel. School started so I finally got around to it last week, finishing it on Labor Day. I greatly enjoyed it and plan to continue reading everything by Alice Hoffman I can get my hands on. The story is much better than the synopsis above makes it sound and well worth the short amount of time it takes to read.

Sally and Gillian Owens are orphaned when they are ages five and three and taken in by two aunts who have a local reputation for witchery and spells, usually of the love variety. The little girls grow up knowing they're different, the other children at school and their parents making sure they never forget. The older the sisters get, though, the more they understand the magic their aunts wield is not imagined or exaggerated: it is very real and powerful. While the girls become used to the stream of women finding their way to the aunts' back door every evening in hopes of obtaining a cure for their less-than-satisfactory love lives, they are disturbed by it all the same. Gillian in particular, who during high school becomes a beauty and heart-breaker, is dissatisfied with what their guardians have to offer and takes solace in romance and rebellion. Sally is much more prudent and less selfish than her younger sister and eventually finds love with a young local. Bad choices and tragedy break the family apart, though, eventually reuniting them once again many years later.

The story is quite involved with many characters coming and going, though instead of confusing the plot this simply adds dimension to it. Sally and Gillian evolve throughout the novel, making promises and breaking them; alternately turning into the people they said they'd never be and striving towards who they need to be; having dreams and becoming disillusioned and yet against all odds finding hope once again. These experiences are common to every person and make the characters very easy to relate to and empathize with. This book also stirs up complex emotions because just like in real life, you can love someone, identify with them, and still want to smack them silly. Practical Magic has excellent pacing and development: you thoroughly get to know the characters and the lives they lead without getting tired of them. My only complaint is a minor one and it would be that closer to the end of the book Gillian's bedroom experiences with her boyfriend Ben are described, and it got a little cheesy. Okay, it was really cheesy. But just keep reading, don't dwell on it and you'll find this book to be extremely enjoyable and meaningful.

While this book has mainly female protagonists and is frequently labeled chick-lit, I think it is a book any adult could enjoy, especially if they already have a fondness for magical realism and contemporary fiction. It is not lengthy either, so a great deal of patience is not necessary. I'd love to hear your thoughts regarding Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman, the chick-lit label, and/or how the movie adaptation compares to the novel, as I haven't gotten around to watching it yet.

Mary Beth

{Review} Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Published by Penguin Books, 2007 (originally published 2006)

Paperback, 334 pages

ISBN 0143038419

Genres: adult non-fiction, autobiography, memoir, travel, women's fiction, chick lit, spirituality, romance

Synopsis (via Goodreads): In her early thirties, Elizabeth Gilbert had everything a modern American woman was supposed to want--husband, country home, successful career--but instead of feeling happy and fulfilled, she felt consumed by panic and confusion. This wise and rapturous book is the story of how she left behind all these outward marks of success, and of what she found in their place. Following a divorce and a crushing depression, Gilbert set out to examine three different aspects of her nature, set against the backdrop of three different cultures: pleasure in Italy, devotion in India, and on the Indonesian island of Bali, a balance between worldly enjoyment and divine transcendence.

My review: Oh my. This book bothers me, and the more I think about it the more my negative feelings intensify. First of all, I don't care for Liz at all. She comes across as needy and dependent-- leech-like, in fact. I'm not saying she's the only person who has ever entertained high school-esque relationships and drama a little too long (i.e. into her thirties), but to regard her emotional and psychological maturing as major breakthroughs? Come now, let's not lose touch with reality... which is something, it seems, "Groceries" does a lot of in this book. She bawls and complains (and then bawls some more) about how hard everything is, about her wrecked marriage, about her horrible, horrible divorce, about how David "broke her heart", about her terrible, eroded self-image, about money at points, and I can't help but think (over the shrieking in my head about how frequently some form of the word "brokenhearted" appears) that she really needs to read Dr. Seuss's Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are. She obviously has no idea how much better she has it than a heck of a lot of other people, quite possibly most people; people who somehow manage to work through grief, tragedies, and trauma without going on year-long quests for personal fulfillment. While still maintaining jobs and their everyday responsibilities. I guess it's frustrating to me that most of her misery was self-imposed and yet throughout much of the book she regards herself as a victim. And for having such a small sense of self-worth she certainly has a grand sense of entitlement.

To be honest about the spiritual aspects of this book, they feel very watered-down. God/Jehovah/Allah/Shiva/Brahma/Vishnu/Zeus forbid we make any definite statements about our beliefs that might offend anyone. I thought this book would involve more serious spiritual discovery and examination, but Liz seems to credulously absorb a little of what everyone tells her until she has a pretty convenient spirituality going on, but with no real foundation or basis, no definite conclusions ever arrived at. On page 175 Ms. Gilbert writes, "You abandon your comforting and familiar habits with the hope (the mere hope!) that something greater will be offered you in return for what you've given up. Every religion in the world operates on the same common understandings of what it means to be a good disciple -- get up early and pray to your God, hone your virtues, be a good neighbor, respect yourself and others, master your cravings." This seems to me to be a pretty shallow perspective of faith. First of all, we are self-sacrificing in order to try to attain something better? Wait a second, I didn't think self-sacrifice was about what has been lost or might be gained, but about the giving itself. And secondly, the next sentence sounds like a general description of a good person, but seems hardly adequate to describe the lifestyle of anyone's disciple.

There are tidbits of this book that were enjoyable (primarily some of the descriptions of Italy and the wonderful-sounding food there), but these hardly make up for the rest of this wishy-washy (and frequently all-too-whiny) "memoir". This book has left a decidedly unpleasant taste in my mouth, and while before starting this book I was interested in some of the author's other works, this interest has died a tragic and heartbroken death... though if her ex-husband ever writes his side of the story, I may be interested in reading it.

Mary Beth