Practical Magic

Rating:
Summary: Gray eyes scrying in the rain.
Review: 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 thing that seem minor at the time. This book has a dark undertone and make 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 personally do not like to read what I call "broke neck" books. The ones with some girl on the cover that has a neck bent back so she can look up the nostrils of the guy. If it weren't for the promise of magic, I would say they caught me. And I enjoyed reading it. 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

Rating:
Summary: my favorite book of all time
Review: I cannot believe that some reviewers did not like this book. I read it for the first time when I was 13, and stayed up all night reading. I couldn't finifh it in time, so I ran home after school the next day and immediately finished the book. I can reread it over and over again. Read the book before seeing the movie- it is a million times better (except without the great soundtrack). I cannot stress how much I love this book. Teenagers especially can relate to this book, and the struggles of teenagers in the book are perfect even coming from an adult. The fantasy aspect of the book, with the witchcraft, may seem on the outside to be slightly kooky and unrealistic, but Hoffman's writing is so lyrical you can taste everything she describes, you can feel what they feel. I have read and reread this book. All teenage girls should read it, and all mothers of teenage girls should read it to relate... Practical Magic makes you believe in love fairy tales, even after you've been hurt again and agian.

Rating:
Summary: I loved the story . . . but hated how it was written
Review: The first thing to know about the book is that it isn't really at all like the movie with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. So it's almost like false advertisement to have the movie's pictures on the bookcover. Don't get me wrong, both the book and movie are great in their own right. The problem I had with Hoffman's writing was that it was mainly in the narrative. This almost always keeps a reader from connecting with the characters so you're not as involved or moved, so the book never reaches its full potential. It also makes reading it more stilted, awkward although writing in the narrative--without any offense to Hoffman--is cake.

The plot on the other hand is great. Superb. This is one of those books that you struggle to get through--not because it's hard to get but because it starts to drag (another sign of too much narrative)--and then love it in hindsight. If you read this, there will be things that you won't forget for a long time. Mostly the little things. One of the Owens' ancestors dancing on broken glass in the moonlight, the story of Maria, cats following Sally home. The detail is amazing and I don't say that lightly, the connection that Sally and Gilly have are described excellantly and overall, if Ms. Hoffman had just written it more from the view of a participant rather than an observer I would have loved it that much more.

I actually wish the movie had been more like the book in details. Like Sally's girls are older and there was a lot more character development in the book of all the persons. I do suggest that you read this though because I think I'm the only person picky enough to mind how the book was actually written. My only valid warning though is to not expect it to be like the movie.

Rating:
Summary: Better Story Line than the Movie
Review: I found I liked the book better than the movie even though I'm not entirely thrilled with the author's style of writing which is why I gave it a 4 instead of a 5. The story fits together much nicer and makes more sense. The ending is better than the movie, too. Probably the only thread that I liked better in the movie and that I missed in the book was Sally's wish for her ideal man and the daughters manipulation to bring them together. This is a fairly good love story(s).

Rating:
Summary: I actually liked the movie better
Review: This book was made into the recent movie with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. Rarely have I ever said that the movie was better than the book, but I think I'm going to have to make that statement in this case. The events in the movie and book were markedly different and I just liked the way they played out in the movie a bit better. Plus I felt that the book left out the theme that I felt was most important in the movie - the community of women coming together, united in a common goal, even though they had shunned the Owens women before. This part just isn't in the book at all. The Owenses take care of their problems all by themselves. But the book was good for itself, as long as you don't have the movie to compare it with.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't finish it.
Review: I read one of Hoffman's other books, Illumination Night, and liked it well enough, though it seemed at time as if she were trying to imitate Anne Tyler with soem magical realism thrown in. Practical Magic started with some potential, but after about a third of the way into the book I had to stop reading. Her characers, and the way she staged their interactions, did not ring true and come to life. Rather, the book seemed mired in the emotional and imaginative level of a second-rate TV movie. All of which was especially disappointing, since Hoffman's original setup had some real potential- she just never realized it by pulling out all the stops and letting her tale set its own internal logic. Instead, she settled for cheap melodrama.

Rating:
Summary: practical magic
Review: Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman. Is a book about magic,love and trust. it is one of the best books I have ever read Alice Hoffman is a great writer.
The movie does not do the book justice.
Seeming as it does not cover everything in the book, and makes up a few thing's.

Rating:
Summary: a fun, relaxing read
Review: For centuries the Owens women have been the oddballs. They're the ones people cross the street to avoid...the Owens women are witches. Raised by their two aunts, Sally and Gillian Owens grow up to be polar opposites. Sally is always practical and straight-laced; most concerned with keeping the lives of her two daughters as normal as possible. Gillian, on the other hand, is a free spirit...perhaps a little too free at times.

This story follows Sally and Gillian through their trials and tribulations with life, love, and death, and Hoffman's wonderful storytelling makes it, simply, magical! Wonderful twists and turns lurk around every corner of this funny, touching, and at times, dark story...brimming over with themes of compassion, redemption, and inner strength. Playing on every human emotion, Hoffman has struck absolute gold.

If you've ever seen the movie,forget it, and pick up this wonderful book!

Rating:
Summary: A Must Read
Review: This is the first Alice Hoffman novel I've read and I really loved it. It was at times magical, dark, thought-provoking, and dream-like but most of all, an excellent read. I can't wait to read her other novels!!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Read!
Review: Hoffman is one of my favorite authors, so I was not going to pass this one up! This story is exciting and emotional, and definitely shows the heart of true family. I would recommend it to anyone!