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Summary: A wonderful book that will surely make a wonderful movie.
Review: Practical Magic was one of the warmest, funniest, most "real" books I have ever read. Imagine how happy I was when I recently read in Entertainment Weekly that is was going to soon be a major motion picture starring Dianne Wiest. Also of note, if you enjoy Alice Hoffman books, then read At Risk. It is a truly moving story, just as this book was.
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Summary: I LOVED IT!
Review: This book said alot of how my life is or how I believe life really is. I look for books like this one all the time. I read constantly and I love to find books that include (what I believe) the extras that most people don't know exist.
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Summary: The most enjoyable book I have ever had the pleasure to read
Review: Alice Hoffman is my favorite author and Practical Magic is her best book by far. For those of us who enjoyed fairytales as children, this book is a real treat. I am anxiously waiting to see what she will come up with next.
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Summary: My girlfriend made me read it, and I have no regrets.
Review: A wonderful little ragdoll of a novel - brilliant, but undisciplined, and who cares? It follows something like thirty years in the lives of Gillian and Sally Owens, who are orphaned at the ages of three and four, respectively, and grow up with their aunts (who are neither named nor described until the last fifty pages, as if Ms. Hoffman simply forgot to until that point). Their aunts just happen to be the last in a long line of honest-to-goodness wise woman, herbalist, spell-casting New England witches. I put off reading this for a long time, because, strangely, I don't like to read the sort of fiction I myself write. I finally did because my girlfriend, all of whose friends must summarily read it, would've had my head if I didn't. Well, actually, she probably would've frowned, tapped her foot, and said, "grr," but you know what I mean. I liked it. It shoots off in weird directions, threads get lost and refound, or not, Antonia (one of Sally's daughters) is tragically neglected, and it's still one of very few books I read in less than two days.
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Summary: Practical Magic Put A Spell On Me!
Review: This is the best book I have ever read! It is such a beautiful story, and it's touching, hilarious, heart warming, and everything else you could possibly imagine! I recomend it to everyone who has an open heart and an open mind. You will love it!
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Summary: an awesome book with kickin' characterizations
Review: This is a really, really good book. I think Alice Hoffman does a good job with the characters and the plot. I first heard about this book from a review in Seventeen magazine and it sounded interesting so I got it out from the library. It's a touching story about two sisters, Gillian and Sally, who grow up shunned by the village children because the aunts that they live with are witches. Gillian elopes, and Sally stays until her husband dies, leaving her with two daughters who she feels are being uncannily influenced by the aunts. And then Gillian comes home with a problem. A big problem. And it's the aunts' magic that saves them in the end. A very good book that doesn't want to be put down
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Summary: Good but Not Great
Review: Practical Magic is a difficult book to forget.It has numerous ups and downs,which also makes it difficult to review.It is definitely unusual,with a very unique style of writing that gives it a hazy,dreamy atmosphere that's carefully woven into the plot.This usually works,but gets stale at the end,making the book's theme overly repetitive and sappy.The conclusion is the only problem I had with the book.It's too well thought-out to be ruined by such a predictable mess.I would recommend the book to people who are looking for an interesting read.If you are especially interested in magic or romance,it's bound to have an effect.
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Summary: Fall in love whenever you can
Review: How the words of this book will stick with me all my life. Alice Hoffman has used such descriptive language and imagry that you just cant put it down. Looking for a book to get caught up in, you have found it.
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Summary: Nothing like the movie...much darker and delicious
Review: I adore this book. Yet it irks me greatly how commercialized the film version was. The book is always better than the movie, but I was still disappointed. Hoffman's tale of these two sisters reads like a dark fairy tale. It falls into place with much of the "witchy" awareness that lately has engulfed literature, television and movies. With great power comes great responsibility and this is doubly so of witchcraft. What I do enjoy is how Hoffman presents the other side: these women are people with pasts and choices, none of which flow easily. That fact alone is much trickier than a game of Quidditch (Harry Potter), a nasty demon (Charmed), or any predictable black cat (hey, even I have one of those). For those with occult knowledge, the hints of the past that Hoffman writes about is more true than any CGI special effect. Houses might have ghosts, but then so do people. It's a respect and knowledge of your elders and the old ways that make up the basis of any solid spiritual work. The judgment and fear that erupts from the other people are the basis of her loveable characters. Who wouldn't want to whip up a spell or read minds? Sadly, in real life, it's not that simple. Hoffman's characters always struggle with that and that seems to be glossed over and forgotten with the flick of Nicole Kidman's red tresses and the tightness of Sandra Bullock's jeans. Take the movie and enjoy it, but take the book a bit more seriously. It's a great jumping point to exploring other areas of the Craft (fiction and non-fiction) without the fluffy-bunny-cupcake nonsense of what passes for a witch in the media these days. Spiritual work is serious stuff. We are lucky to see Hoffman hint at the darkness of such things, which is the joy and beauty of her work as much as the Craft itself.
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Summary: Completely different from the movie - beautifully written
Review: 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!
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