Who Would Like This Book:
If you love stories where family bonds, especially between sisters, are front and center - with a side of quietly enchanting magic - Practical Magic is right up your alley. Alice Hoffman's lyrical writing brings a gentle, wistful magic to everyday life, exploring complicated women, the tug of family, and the struggle to fit in without losing yourself. You'll especially enjoy this book if you appreciate magical realism, rich character studies, and multigenerational tales about love (and heartbreak), resilience, and self-discovery.
Who May Not Like This Book:
Some readers found the story a bit meandering, with a plot that moves slower and is less focused on magic than they expected - especially if they're coming from the upbeat energy of the movie adaptation. If you crave fast-paced action, lots of spell-casting, or strongly pronounced fantasy elements, this might feel a bit too subtle, introspective, or even low-key. A few people also felt distant from the characters and missed the warmth or playfulness found in the film.
About:
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman is a story that follows the lives of two sisters, Sally and Gillian Owens, who come from a long line of witches. The book explores themes of acceptance of witchery in modern society and the complexities of family dynamics. The plot weaves magical realism into a modern-day setting, showcasing the struggles and strengths of the Owens family through generations. Hoffman's writing style is described as sensuous and moody, with a touch of romance and raw drama in her characterizations.
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Notes:
Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content includes themes of loss, abusive relationships, and ghostly hauntings, which may be triggering for some readers.
Has Romance?
There is a significant presence of romance, but it is not the sole focus of the narrative.
From The Publisher:
Alice Hoffman's enchanting witch's brew of suspense, romance and magic - now a major motion picture from Warner Bros.
When the beautiful and precocious sisters Sally and Gillian Owens are orphaned at a young age, they are taken to a small Massachusetts town to be raised by their eccentric aunts, who happen to dwell in the darkest, eeriest house in town. As they become more aware of their aunts' mysterious and sometimes frightening powers - and as their own powers begin to surface - the sisters grow determined to escape their strange upbringing by blending into "normal" society.
But both find that they cannot elude their magic-filled past. And when trouble strikes - in the form of a menacing backyard ghost - the sisters must not only reunite three generations of Owens women but embrace their magic as a gift - and their key to a future of love and passion.
Funny, haunting, and shamelessly romantic, Practical Magic is bewitching entertainment - Alice Hoffman at her spectacular best.
Ratings (135)
Incredible (22) | |
Loved It (62) | |
Liked It (25) | |
It Was OK (15) | |
Did Not Like (8) | |
Hated It (3) |
Reader Stats (331):
Read It (142) | |
Currently Reading (1) | |
Want To Read (157) | |
Did Not Finish (3) | |
Not Interested (28) |
3 comment(s)
2.5
I feel like I had the wrong expectations going into this book which resulted in it being a let down. It was never outright said they were a family with witchy ancestors, but it was so heavily implied.
Felt like word soup at several points through the book. Overall it’s a decent book that I feel centers the relationship between generations of women and love/relationships with others.
Not really sure how I felt about this, parts about it were enchanting. I think the movie def grabbed all of those parts and ran with them.
It did have a cozy feel to it, like being curled up in a blanket with a warm cup of tea in a rainy day kind of feel. But the story didn't stick with me and I will most likely forget about it soon. It was a good read nevertheless
What can you read after
Practical Magic?
About the Author:
Alice Hoffman is the author of more than thirty works of fiction, including Magic Lessons, The World That We Knew, Practical Magic, The Rules of Magic, the Oprah's Book Club selection Here on Earth, The Red Garden, The Dovekeepers, The Museum of Extraordinary Things, The Marriage of Opposites, and Faithful. She lives near Boston.
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