Monday, August 10, 2020

Magic Lessons - Book Review


Like so many of us, I was first introduced to Alice Hoffman through "Practical Magic." I was a huge fan of the movie, sought out the book, and never stopped reading. Her return to the lives of the Owens women in The Rules of Magic was lovely. And in October she'll be releasing Magic Lessons.

I love any moment when an author gives us a glint of an idea about a character, and we can wonder what the rest of the story was. Washington Irving's hints at who the Headless Horseman may have been has been on my mind for years. And Maria Owens has always been that for me as well. Hinted at in Practical Magic with just a few references to the rope, and a short fanciful backstory about how she survived hanging, Maria has always felt like this overshadowing mystery behind the curse on the Owens women.


Hoffman did even more than I imagined she would, though. She has (once again) woven a tale of female empowerment inside a tale of magic and sprinkled a whole lot of history on top. This story is both timeless and timely. Like all history there are forgotten details that Hoffman fills in with this tale. And those forgotten details show how the women of yesterday relate to the women of today. How much has changed and how much remains the same. 

What I'm reading next:


 
Anne of Avonlea


What I'm listening to: 


No comments:

Post a Comment