Practical Magic was originally published in 1995 and now forms book three in the series from Alice Hoffman. Magic Lessons (2020) The rules of magic (2017) Practical magic (1995) The book of magic (2021) I finally decided to read practical magic and I loved the book. I read it in two days. It's beautifully crafted, with fascinating characters that you follow from childhood living with their aunts to adulthood and all the problems that brings. The film version is very different and I'd urge fans of that to read the original novel as well. This isn't an action packed storyline. Like the two prequels this is an eloquent character study that details the lives of the Owens sisters through time. It's a wonderful book and I must get the fourth novel read soon, hopefully next year (time and the to read pile permitting!) A highly recommended series.

Gillian and Sally, the Owens Sisters, take us on a journey to explore life, the magic it holds within and the practicality it often requires. After running away from their colourful childhood with Jet and Frances, the Owens Matriarchs, they are all thrown back together again when Gillian appears, having murdered her hellish boyfriend Jimmy. The fragile glasshouse of suburban life that Sally meticulously built around herself and her daughters comes shattering down when she is forced to choose between her sister or her idyllic life. Practical Magic is a beautifully woven story of three generations of women who have to learn to love one another while learning how to deal with life, both magical and normal. The main highlight of Practical Magic was undoubtedly the aunts and the power they seem to have on anybody they encounter; Hoffman created formidable women that let nothing from rain to infatuated men get in the way of their own unique brand of magic. While the characters themselves work the craft, it is not magical in the same way that the Bishop family is in Deborah Harkness’ All Souls Trilogy nor as enchanting as the women of Melissa de la Cruz’s Beauchamp Family series . Instead, they are gritty old women that have made their own magic though it is never physically seen. They mix potions and sacrifice birds rather than throw flames or lightning bolts. That being said, there is something distinctly magical about the way these women are written and the power they command: their manipulation of other peoples’ lives is nothing short of supernatural. The entire story revolves around how Gillian and Sally are running from the otherworldliness that the Aunts seem to exude. That being said, Sally and Gillian are very likeable protagonists. One struggles to conceive the idea of family responsibility while the other is obsessed with it; each as oblivious as the other that they are both out of balance. Sally’s jealousy over Gillian’s bond with her younger daughter is only matched by Gillian’s dislike toward Sally’s older daughter who is very much like Gillian, until the legend becomes flesh and the flaws exposed. Sparks fly between siblings, mothers and daughters. Ultimately though, the ties that bind the story together are the family spirit on which the narrative relies as well as the magic that they seem to have infused into their own lives; there may not be any actual fireballs in the story but sparks certainly fly around the Owens women. The way that Hoffman writes is unique in as much as magic is fact to her. When the Aunts see a sign or Sally appears to fly in the way of geese about to attack her daughter somehow banishing them, it is matter of fact. It is slightly disconcerting at first because it makes you wonder if you misread it; I found myself going back countless times to reread paragraphs to ensure what I thought I had read was what Hoffman had actually written. The blending of the mundane and the magical, mixing Sabrina with suburbia makes the story very alluring. You have no doubt if it is real because Hoffman has thrown you into their world and flings you between perspectives effortlessly. The lack of chapters in the book makes this feeling even stronger: rather than having chapters with neatly rounded off ends, it is divided into four sections that merge years and perspectives together, sometimes changing in the middle of a line. It makes a refreshing change to the usual structure of a novel though can be intense if, like me, you can’t stop mid-chapter because the sections are fairly substantial in their length. The book is a nostalgic ride through the lives of three generations of women, each pushing the next forward. That being said, it can seem almost anticlimactic for those used to a more spectacular read. It is written though not to be a spell casting bonanza but rather a look at the magic in life and the way that we each create our own magic. Much like Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes there is very little action directly caused by magic; it is instead the effect that these women have on others that causes most of the story to move. All in all though it is like sitting down to a grandparent telling you a story that, while completely inconceivable, still warms the heart and makes you believe in something, even if just for a while. Unlike many books though, Practical Magic gives you plenty to take away whether its tips for the garden, charms for love or simple life lessons to be learned.

This book wasn't what I was expecting at all, but in the best way! I thought I was getting witchy goodness, but instead I got a beautiful familial drama about two sisters and what happens when you let yourself fall in love. Heartwarming with the slightest pinch of magic.