Practical Magic

May 29, 1995
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.

Master storyteller Hoffman spins an unusual yarn about the Owens sisters, whose lives are firmly shaped by the two elderly aunts who raised them and who, some claim, are witches. Narrator Moore's forlorn alto, with its slightly sardonic edge, seems the perfect vehicle for this dark comedy. Moore's representations of the practical, matter-of-fact Sally Owens and the world-weary, jaded Gillian Owens enhance Hoffman's well-developed characters. Moore captures the moods, emotions and atmosphere of the story, which contains equal parts magic, mystery and sound New England practicality. Moore produces a clearly drawn supporting cast, as well: Sally's two teenaged daughters, each woman's boyfriend and, of course, the aunts. Through her strong characterizations, Moore beautifully relates Hoffman's message that you can neither escape nor change your past; it will always be part of you. J.H.B. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine