Practical Magic by Alice HoffmanI had absolutely no desire to read this book after having seen the movie based on it. The movie was silly and just not one I enjoyed. I kept seeing the book at the library and in bookstores and refused to pick it up even though the description on the jacket sounded like my kind of book.
This book was listed on the EW list of New Classics, so I decided to finally give it a chance. I am so glad I did. This book is a beautiful story with wonderful well-drawn characters with a bit of the fantastical thrown in. And unlike in the movie, the magic that surrounds the Owens' family is not the main part of this book. The sisters' relationships with each other, their aunts, kids and lovers are.
Hoffman's writing style is unique and refreshing. I love the snippets of the past and future as you read along in the present. I love how the magic happens around the characters, how it is ignored by some and embraced by others. It is inter-weaved perfectly into the story to where you don't know if it is real or not.
I did miss the aunts, though, which were the best part of the movie. I didn't expect them to have such a small, but critical part in the book.
4/5
New Classics Challenge
