Mark Childress
Ms. Hoffman's trademark narrative voice is upbeat, breathless and rather bouncy. She creates vivid characters, she keeps things moving along, and she's not above using sleight of hand and prestidigitation to achieve her considerable effects. She plays tricks with the reader's expectations by suddenly shifting tenses or passing the point of view around the room like a football. At one brief but memorable juncture, we see things through the eyes of a magician's rabbit. -- New York Times
Donna Seaman
agic, fantasy, and full-tilt love-at-first-sight have figured in all of Hoffman's sexy, funny, and endearing novels, but they blossom as they never have before in her latest effort, a tale about four generations of Massachusetts sisters. The unusual Owens women are beautiful, with unforgettable pond-gray eyes; a blood-deep knowledge of the supernatural power of plants, animals, and storms; and pronounced sensitivity to love and evil. Sally, dark and practical, and Gillian, blond and wild, go to live with their peculiar and reclusive aunts after the death of their parents. Taunted and feared by the town's children, they long for an ordinary life far from their quirky aunts and their mysterious garden and the desperate, lovesick women who appear at their door after dark. Gillian heads for the desert and the company of dangerous men, while Sally finds love and bliss only to have her heart shattered. She flees from the scene of her tragedy with her two young daughters, works hard to achieve normalcy, and almost succeeds, but Gillian appears with a dead man in her car and the entire world reels. In Hoffman's universe, all boundaries between inner and outer realms are erased. Fear brings whipping winds, a malevolent spirit causes lilac bushes to achieve monstrous proportions, and love turns the air sweet and golden, melts butter, and makes everyone giddy. Hoffman has created a cosmic romance leavened with just the right touch of pragmatism and humor.
From the Publisher
Praise for Practical Magic
“A beautiful, moving book about the power of love and the desires of the heart.”—Denver Post
“Charmingly told, and a good deal of fun.”—The New York Times Book Review
“One of her most lyrical works...Hoffman is at her best.”—San Francisco Chronicle Book Review
“Written with a light hand and rhythm...Practical Magic has the pace of a fairy tale but with the impact of accomplished fiction.”—People
“A sweet, sweet story that like the best fairy tales says more than at first it seems to.”—New York Daily News
“[Hoffman] has proved once again her potency as a storyteller, combining the mundane with the fantastic in a totally engaging way.”—The Orlando Sentinel
“Hoffman's writing has plenty of power. Her best sentences are like incantations—they won't let you get away.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Witches and ghosts, spells and sleight-of-hand weave a fanciful atmospehere in Alice Hoffman's tender comedy about clairvoyance, spells, and family ties.”—The Miami Herald
“A cosmic romance leavened with just the right touch of pragmatism and humor.”—Booklist
APR/MAY 00 - AudioFile
With faultless diction, a storyteller’s sense of pacing, and a perfect understanding of the author’s words, narrator Christina Moore makes this book come alive. Her voice is low, with a hint of nasal twang, and she uses it to recreate the surreal atmosphere so wonderfully described in the text. Moore does not create overt characters; she subtly separates conversations from descriptive passages. This ensures that the book flows and retains the integrity of Hoffman’s tone. Ostensibly the story of two sisters reared by their magic-practicing aunts, the book is also a gentle meditation on love, compassion and human fears. Moore weaves these themes into a wonderful listening experience. R.I.G. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine
