Review: Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

For more than two hundred years, the Owens women have been blamed for everything that has gone wrong in town. [First Sentence]


Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
Berkley Signature Edition, 1995
Fiction; 286 pgs


It has been ages since I have seen the movie version of the book, Practical Magic, and so I am unable to draw distinct parallels between the two. I still could not get Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman out of my head, however, as I imagined the two sisters, Gillian and Sally.

The sisters were orphaned at a young age when their parents were killed in an accident. They are raised by two rather eccentric aunts. Everyone in town fears the aunts and is quick to lay blame at their door for bad things that happen in town, but when it comes to matters of love, the townsfolk are more than ready to seek their help. The aunts are well known for their magic charms and potions in dealing with love.

Growing up, the two sisters, Gillian and Sally, wanted nothing more than to be normal. They were bullied and teased at school, ostracized because of their family reputation of witchery, and raised without much structure and discipline. Sally, the oldest of the two siblings, was the more responsible one—studious, diligent, and trying to do right. She was the one who made sure the family ate right and kept the house in order. Her sister, Gillian, was more of a free spirit. She was into boys and liked to goof off whenever she could. She was the dreamer in the family, whereas Sally was the practical one.

Both girls wanted to get away from their past and lead as normal of lives as possible. Gillian takes flight in the middle of the night to get married at the age of 18. Sally, however, stays behind and finds love only to be devastated by its loss. She finally has had enough, taking her two daughters and fleeing to New York to start her own life—one not influenced by her aunts or the family history.

The sisters, like all the Owens women, seem to be unlucky in love. Gillian cannot stay in a relationship long and Sally has tuned out that part of her, focusing solely on raising her daughters and trying to be as normal as possible. Things seem to be working out well for Sally until one fateful night when her sister shows up on her doorstep with a burden that will test the sisters’ relationship as well as their own individual spirits.

I fell in love with Alice Hoffman’s writing style when I read The Probable Future a couple of years ago, and I continue to be enamored with it after having read Practical Magic. There is lightness to her writing and yet it is lyrical in style. The characters are easy to relate to and empathize with. I most could identify with Sally, the bookworm of the bunch, perhaps in part because I know what it is like to be the older sister, the responsible one.

The theme of sisterhood and mother/daughter relationships runs throughout the book. Gillian and Sally had a unique relationship with their aunts—they were there for the girls during the worst moments of their lives and yet, as often children do, the girls rebelled against them in their own individual ways. Likewise, Sally’s daughters did the same, but in relation to their mother. Antonia and Kylie’s own relationship with each other, as well as Sally and Gillian’s, was mixed with animosity and sisterly devotion. They were there for each other when it counted most and yet could not shake off the envy and feeling of constant competition with each other.

Love was also a major theme in the book. Each of the Owens women had known the joy of love as well as the bitter side. They managed their feelings in different ways, and yet their longing for love was very similar. The aunts knew of love and loss better than anyone. Gillian and Sally were not sure they would ever find it again. And Kylie and Antonia, Sally’s daughters, were only beginning to learn about love.

As can be expected in a novel written by Alice Hoffman, there are hints of magic weaved throughout the novel. It is never over the top or out of place. Alice Hoffman’s Practical Magic is a beautiful and charming story about love and self-discovery. I look forward to reading more by this author.

Rating: (Very Good)

Check out the author's website for more information about her books.

Review: Out by Natsuo Kirino & A Big Thank You

She got to the parking lot earlier than usual. [First Sentence]

Out by Natsuo Kirino
Translated by Stephen Snyder
Vintage, 2003
Crime Fiction (S/T); 400 pgs



From the Publisher:

Nothing in Japanese literature prepares us for the stark, tension-filled, plot-driven realism of Natsuo Kirino’s award-winning literary mystery Out.

This mesmerizing novel tells the story of a brutal murder in the staid Tokyo suburbs, as a young mother who works the night shift making boxed lunches strangles her abusive husband and then seeks the help of her coworkers to dispose of the body and cover up her crime. The coolly intelligent Masako emerges as the plot’s ringleader, but quickly discovers that this killing is merely the beginning, as it leads to a terrifying foray into the violent underbelly of Japanese society.

At once a masterpiece of literary suspense and pitch-black comedy of gender warfare, Out is also a moving evocation of the pressures and prejudices that drive women to extreme deeds, and the friendships that bolster them in the aftermath.

Out is one of those novels that I find difficult to review, if only because I have a hard time putting into words why I liked this book so much. It was dark and real. The characters got under my skin (most of them, anyway), and I carried them with me even when I was not reading.

Masako stands out the most among the characters. She is a leader of sorts; the one everyone turns to when things go wrong or they need help. She is in her 40’s, stuck in a marriage that has lost its luster and is raising a son who won’t talk to her. She does not have to work at the factory, but after being burned at her former job and wanting to do something, anything, she sticks with it, despite the harsh night hours and the poor working conditions. She seems to find comfort at work and in her friendships with her workmates.

Yayoi is in an abusive relationship and trying to raise two young children while her husband gambles away their savings. It is all Yayoi can do to make ends meet. Then there is Yoshie whose strong work ethic and diligence has kept her going as she struggles to pay the bills, raise a teenage daughter and care for an elderly, not so nice mother-in-law.

Kuniko, probably my least favorite of the four characters and yet one of the more complex ones, rounds out the foursome of women who are the backbone of the novel. Kuniko is young and naïve. She spends more than she can afford, borrows money she cannot pay back, and longs to be accepted and liked. She struggles with others as much as she struggles with herself.

There is also Satake, a club owner whose sexual appetite runs to the morbid side. He’s struggling hard to maintain his self-control and out run his past, trying to establish himself as a respectable business man.

My favorite of the male characters Kazuo—a lonely soul who only wants to be accepted and loved. He is a foreigner in his father’s homeland, struggling to fit in and make a living. There is an innocence about him that makes him endearing after awhile, despite his initial introduction in the book, which is less than flattering.

Desperation drips off the four female protagonists and several of Natsuo Kirino’s other characters. Each of the characters is battered and weary. They all have had difficult lives and are struggling to survive in their own ways. Some desire money and acceptance while others simply want to be free of the invisible shackles that bind them to their lives.

The women’s actions set off a chain of events that grow more dangerous and complicated as time goes on. Each one is tested, and they are forced to take a hard look at themselves and the direction their lives have taken. The author did a good job of painting the desperation and pain of the characters. There was a dreariness that hung above the characters like a constant storm cloud, capturing the mood and atmosphere of the book perfectly.

Out is not only a suspense ridden thriller but also a harsh study of human nature. The story is as complex as the characters. I look forward to reading more by Natsuo Kirino.

Rating: (Very Good)

Read what others had to say about this book:
Bell Literary Reflections
In Spring it is the Dawn
Melody's Reading Corner
Tip of the Iceberg

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I was nominated along side a wonderful group of bloggers, all who definitely deserve this title as well, and I hope you will take the time to drop in and visit them and see for yourself how friendly and great they are.

OCD, vampires, and amusing rants, oh my!
Peeking Between the Pages
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2008 TBR (To Be Read) Challenge

One of my favorite reasons for participating in these challenges is putting together the book list. With a TBR room (or warehouse, as my husband prefers to call it) as full as time is, there is never room to complain that I have nothing to read. Unfortunately, it is easy for a book to get lost on the shelves or in a box. Some books have been waiting for years as patiently and quietly as they can while I pick up their neighbors without complaint. I often wonder what they do to pass the time. Do they read to each other? Settle in for a long nap? Play hide and seek (maybe that's why I sometimes have trouble locating a book)? To be a book in my library . . .


This year's TBR Challenge started out simply as a way for me to finally read some of those books that had been lingering in the TBR room for longer than most. As challenge fever struck, I applied the rule to just about every book I read for each of the challenges I signed up for. While there was some hope that this would curtail some of the growth to my already bulging TBR collection, it did no such thing. My collection continues to grow at an alarming rate. So, if at first you do not succeed, try again, right? Of course, one could argue that the goal of the TBR Challenge is not to lessen the TBR stacks so much as to make room for new books. I suppose though, you actually have to have the room for them first. Which I don't, but at least you can still walk around in the room, maybe even lie on the floor without being too stymied by boxes of books.

For details about the 2008 TBR Challenge be sure and visit MizBooks' FAQ list. I hope you will join in this year for some great reading!

My 2008 TBR Challenge List:
1. Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
2. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
3. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
4. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
5. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
6. Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
7. Out by Natsuo Kirino
8. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
9. Saturday by Ian McEwan
10. The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
11. Bel Canto by Ann Pratchett
12. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Alternates List (because every challenge should have one):
1. Midwives by Chris Bohajalian
2. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
3. The Dew Breaker by Edwidge Danticat
4. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
5. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
6. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
7. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
8. A History of God by Karen Armstrong
9. Killing Pabloby Mark Bowden
10. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert