Practical Magic

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More About This Book

Overview

For more than two hundred years, the Owens women had been blamed for everything that went wrong in their Massachusetts town. And Gillian and Sally endured that fate as well; as children, the sisters were outsiders. Their elderly aunts almost seemed to encourage the whispers of witchery, but all Gillian and Sally wanted was to escape. One would do so by marrying, the other by running away. But the bonds they shared brought them back-almost as if by magic...

The newest novel by the author of Turtle Moon reveals what happens when magic competes with real love. At the heart of this tantalizing novel are Gillian and Sally Owens, whose conjuring spinster aunts raised them not with square meals and curfews but with magic spells and respect for the powers of nature.

Editorial Reviews

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
More Reviews (1) Fewer Reviews
From The Critics
Her 11th novel is Hoffman's best since Illumination Night. Again a scrim of magic lies gently over her fictional world, in which lilacs bloom riotously in July, a lovesick boy's elbows sizzle on a diner countertop and a toad expectorates a silver ring. The real and the magical worlds are almost seamlessly mixed here, the humor is sharper than in previous books, the characters' eccentricities grow credibly out of their past experiences and the poignant lessons they learn reverberate against the reader's heartstrings, stroked by Hoffman's lyrical prose. The Owens women have been witches for several generations. Orphaned Sally and Gillian Owens, raised by their spinster aunts in a spooky old house, grow up observing desperate women buying love potions in the kitchen and vow never to commit their hearts to passion. Fate, of course, intervenes. Steady, conscientious Sally marries, has two daughters and is widowed early. Impulsive, seductive Gillian goes through three divorces before she arrives at Sally's house with a dead body in her car. Meanwhile, Sally's daughters, replicas of their mother and their aunt, experience their own sexual awakenings. The inevitability of love and the torment and bliss of men and women gripped by desire is Hoffman's theme here, and she plays those variations with a new emphasis on sex scenes-there's plenty of steamy detail and a pervasive use of the f-word. The dialogue is always on target, particularly the squabbling between siblings, and, as usual, weather plays a portentous role. Readers will relish this magical tale. BOMC main selection.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780425190371
  • Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
  • Publication date: 8/5/2003
  • Edition description: Reissue
  • Pages: 304
  • Sales rank: 89,499
  • Product dimensions: 4.94 (w) x 7.90 (h) x 0.80 (d)

Meet the Author

Alice Hoffman
Alice Hoffman
In a prolific career that began with early writings in the American Review, Alice Hoffman has expanded and developed the idea of family and community -- the forces that bind it together and the forces that drive it apart -- with understated and elegant prose and powerful and complex characters.

Biography

Born in the 1950s to college-educated parents who divorced when she was young, Alice Hoffman was raised by her single, working mother in a blue-collar Long Island neighborhood. Although she felt like an outsider growing up, she discovered that these feelings of not quite belonging positioned her uniquely to observe people from a distance. Later, she would hone this viewpoint in stories that captured the full intensity of the human experience.

After high school, Hoffman went to work for the Doubleday factory in Garden City. But the eight-hour, supervised workday was not for her, and she quit before lunch on her first day! She enrolled in night school at Adelphi University, graduating in 1971 with a degree in English. She went on to attend Stanford University's Creative Writing Center on a Mirrellees Fellowship. Her mentor at Stanford, the great teacher and novelist Albert Guerard, helped to get her first story published in the literary magazine Fiction. The story attracted the attention of legendary editor Ted Solotaroff, who asked if she had written any longer fiction. She hadn't -- but immediately set to work. In 1977, when Hoffman was 25, her first novel, Property Of, was published to great fanfare.

Since that remarkable debut, Hoffman has carved herself a unique niche in American fiction. A favorite with teens as well as adults, she renders life's deepest mysteries immediately understandable in stories suffused with magic realism and a dreamy, fairy-tale sensibility. (In a 1994 article for The New York Times, interviewer Ruth Reichl described the magic in Hoffman's books as a casual, regular occurrence -- "...so offhand that even the most skeptical reader can accept it.") Her characters' lives are transformed by uncontrollable forces -- love and loss, sorrow and bliss, danger and death.

Hoffman's 1997 novel Here on Earth was selected as an Oprah Book Club pick, but even without Winfrey's powerful endorsement, her books have become huge bestsellers -- including three that have been adapted for the movies: Practical Magic (1995), The River King (2000), and her YA fable Aquamarine (2001).

Hoffman is a breast cancer survivor; and like many people who consider themselves blessed with luck, she believes strongly in giving back. For this reason, she donated her advance from her 1999 short story collection Local Girls to help create the Hoffman Breast Center at Mt. Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, MA.

Good To Know

  • Hoffman has written a number of children's books, including Fireflies: A Winter's Tale(1999), Horsefly (2000), and Moondog (2004).

  • Aquamarine was written for Hoffman's best friend, Jo Ann, who dreamed of the freedom of mermaids as she battled brain cancer.

  • Here on Earth is a modern version of Hoffman's favorite novel, Wuthering Heights.

  • Hoffman has been honored with the Massachusetts Book Award for her teen novel Incantation.
      1. Hometown:
        Boston, Massachusetts
      1. Date of Birth:
        March 16, 1952
      2. Place of Birth:
        New York, New York
      1. Education:
        B.A., Adelphi University, 1973; M.A., Stanford University, 1974
      2. Website:
        http://www.alicehoffman.com
    Customer Reviews
    Average Rating 4
    ( 139 )

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    See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 139 Customer Reviews

    • Posted September 3, 2009

      I Also Recommend:

      Don't look too deep.

      On the surface this is enjoyable enough-- a great, fun romance story full of all the the right classic ingredients. Then add a smidgen of mystery and a ghost. Finish it off with the all-powerful themes of love, sisterhood, and family, all written with Hoffman's dreamy prose.
      Simply, this book is an addiction, gorgeous and well-plotted with fantastic characters and development.
      If you're a hopeless romantic looking for a very real story with just a touch of magic, this is it.

      9 out of 9 people found this review helpful.

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    • Posted July 1, 2011

      I Also Recommend:

      Excellent Read

      Being a big Alice Hoffman fan, I enjoyed this one. it has a story that keeps you entertained for hours.

      8 out of 8 people found this review helpful.

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    • Posted November 30, 2008

      more from this reviewer

      I Also Recommend:

      breath taking

      I just finished re-reading. I think it was even better the second time, though I dont know if that is even possible. This story is relatable for everyone - from a 16 year old girl like me, to an adult. There are so many twists and turns as you follow the lives of two sisters. It is magical and mysterious and it is incredibly realistic. Every time I read it I cry because of how the story touches me. Hoffman writes like no other. Must read.

      2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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    • Posted October 29, 2008

      more from this reviewer

      Very good read!

      Wow, this book was much better than I expected it to be. I saw the movie awhile ago and really liked it and it really isn't anything like the book. Hoffman's writing style takes alittle getting used to but it works very well. This is an amazing story of love in all it's forms and you really fall for all the characters in it. I only wish the aunts had been in it more, I really liked their characters.

      2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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    • Anonymous

      Posted April 13, 2009

      I loved it!

      I loved this book so much! It had so much in it. The story line was really interesting and I adored the characters. It's not really like the movie but that was ok. Usually I would get mad that the movie is different than the book but I love both equally! I would recomend it highly! Read it and enjoy!

      1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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    • Posted February 16, 2009

      I Also Recommend:

      She Really Speaks Out

      In this book Alice Hoffman not only tells what it is like to be an outcast but she also told how witches are treated today. I'm a Witch and I get rocks thrown at me everyday, people call me a devil worshiper or a baby eater. It really hurts me. I don't even believe in the devil and I don't eat babies. I'm a nice guy and people would like me if they get to know me.

      1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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    • Posted November 11, 2008

      more from this reviewer

      I Also Recommend:

      One of My Favorites!

      I really enjoyed this book. Alice Hoffman is great at conveying magical realism. This book sparked my interest in reading more of that particular genre. This book is invigorating and exciting. It also tells a lot about human nature and relationships. This is not your typical romance or sisterly bond novel. It is filled with realism with a hint of magic and mystery hence the genre, magical realism.

      1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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    • Posted October 29, 2008

      more from this reviewer

      good chick book

      i was livened up by this book. i found it very touching, very well written & beautifully told. anyone who has a sister would love to read this book! the characters were wonderfully portrayed

      1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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    • Anonymous

      Posted October 2, 2006

      A great book

      I like the way Alice Hoffman blends reality, fantasy, and romance in the story. I have read the book so many times I've lost count. The affection and sympathy she has for her characters is also a help for the story. The way the book goes from one timeline to another is very well done. Truly, one of my favorites of all time.

      1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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    • Anonymous

      Posted April 28, 2005

      outstanding

      this is a great book and i never thought it would be that good and she is a good auther then i have seen for a long time and she should make more books like that and people would read them but i know i would so .

      1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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    • Anonymous

      Posted November 23, 2004

      Enchanting

      Honestly, this is one of my favorite books. I recommend it to as many girlfriends of mine that I can because I loved it so much. The description is excellent, and the very plot is outstanding. So much better than the movie. Go read it, now!

      1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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    • Anonymous

      Posted August 21, 2003

      Cute Story

      I never watched the movie, but many people told me it was great. So instead I picked up the book. This was a cute and heart-felt book. Teaches the importance of family.

      1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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    • Anonymous

      Posted March 3, 2003

      Whimsical

      A very enjoyable read. Perhaps it is lacking in something that's rather hard to pinpoint... it seems as if these characters have appeared in every one of Hoffman's books, like she has some kind of archetypical system. Nonetheless, "Practical Magic" is a great novel that displays Hoffman's talent for depth within simplicity.

      1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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    • Anonymous

      Posted November 12, 2002

      ENCHANTING...

      I have read this book numerous times. There is no other writer who can create magic with her words as well as Alice Hoffman can. This is truly an outstanding novel.

      1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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    • Anonymous

      Posted July 22, 2002

      Fantastic Write!

      I haven't read to many good books lately and I was about to give up, but I thought one more wouldn't hurt, and now I'm hooked. 'Practical Magical' was so enchanting and had so many emotions I couldn't put it down until I was done with it. It was one of the first books I've read of Alice Hoffman and I'm hoping the other books she has writen are as magical and moving as this one here.

      1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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    • Anonymous

      Posted June 28, 2002

      great!!!!

      i loved the book. i suggest that everybody read it. i think that the movie and the book were great!

      1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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    • Anonymous

      Posted March 4, 2002

      A Book Of Life

      This Book was one of the best books I have ever sat down to read, it stays on my coffee table all the time. In a way I think in most ways I'm like sally most, because like her I long for love.

      1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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    • Anonymous

      Posted October 13, 2001

      Wonderful companion - equal to better than movie-

      If you liked the movie (same name) then you wont be dissapointed in the bookand they dont contradict each other as in other cases.

      1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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    • Anonymous

      Posted September 25, 2001

      A Lovely Escape

      Just a great read. Fun. You laugh, you cry. You leave your worries behind.

      1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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    • Anonymous

      Posted July 24, 2001

      One of the BEST books I've ever read!

      I can't say enough about this book! It was WONDERFUL!!!!!!! I could not put it down! It is one that I could read over & over again!!!!!!!!!!!! BUY IT!!!!!!!!

      1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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