Magic Lessons

I think this might be my favourite in the Practical Magic series - though I do still have one to go! Alice Hoffman just knows how to craft truly beautiful and imaginative stories that keep you engaged all the way to the end. The characters are unique and tragic, relatable and wonderful. I really loved everything about it!

Libro nuovo, senza difetti e con una bellissima copertina!

Alice Hoffman's longtime readers will know that women of the Owens bloodline, practitioners of the Nameless Art, have suffered from troubles of the heart for generations. "Beware of love, Maria Owens had written on the first page of her journal. Know that for our family, love is a curse. The curse, according to Maria's writings, was simply "Ruination for any man who falls in love with them." How did the curse come about? We learned a little of it in The Rules of Magic which gives us the backstory of how Sally and Gillian came to live with their aunts Franny and Jet and how Franny and Jet ended up living in the historic Owens family home. For instance, we know that Maria Owens fell in love with, and was ultimately betrayed by, the witchfinding magistrate of Salem, John Hathorne. But where and how?Magic Lessons gives us Maria Owens' complicated story, beginning with her life as a foundling in Essex, England, where she is taken in and raised by Hannah Owens, a practitioner. When Hannah foresees and suffers her own horrible fate, Maria leaves England and searches for safety, having been sold by her stepfather (for she eventually meets her mother) for indentured service to a captain on a vessel sailing to the Dutch colony of Curaçao. There she must work for five years for a Dutch family to earn her freedom. She does and just as she is going to be free she meets their guest, a tradesman by the name of John Hathorne. After a few fateful days, Maria is left heartbroken, pregnant, and bound toward the Salem colony of Massachusetts, to catch up with the man she is sure she loves. Only does he? And does he love her? With so much of the magic of the Nameless Art centered on love (and its heartaches), Maria has failed to listen to Hannah Owens cardinal rule- Always love someone who will love you back. She will pay a heavy price for this mistake, as will her daughter Faith, and the young Jewish man who saves Maria's and Faith's lives, just as Maria has saved his. But given Maria's uttered curse, perhaps Samuel Dias' price is just the price of happiness.Magic Lessons is both a novel of historical fiction, looking at the era of the Salem Witch Trials, and a beautiful novel of fantasy, giving us the Owens family history. The elements of the Marrano history of the Sephardim in Portugal were a wonderful touch to the story, as well. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I am, however, now hungry for the story of Hannah Owens, and for that of the enchanting Catherine Durant, another practitioner. You will never satisfy us, Alice!After reading, I promptly listened to Sutton Foster's beautiful narration of the novel to enjoy the story all over again. Lessons learned? "Drink chamomile tea to calm the spirit. Feed a cold and starve a fever. Read as many books as you can. Always choose courage. Never watch another woman burn. Know that love is the only answer."I received a paper and digital review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have always loved the film Practical Magic, it’s one of my all time favourites! When I realised it was based on a book I rushed to get it and then never read it. When I discovered that a few of my book club buddy’s wanted to read the series it made perfect sense to do a buddy read and what better time than Halloween month?I have always wanted to know more about the Owen’s family and how the curse came about and this book certainly delivered on all the witchy history. The descriptions of different cures for ailments and needs were fascinating and I loved how they were littered throughout the book. The herbal remedies have always intrigued me and it was great to see witchcraft shown in a more natural light rather than the usual hocus pocus! This may be a work of fiction but it’s clear to see that Alice Hoffman has drawn on the historical Salem witch trials for this story. It’s horrendous to think what women lived through in the 1600’s and how owning just a small amount of herbs or healing the common cold could sentence you to death!Maria Owens certainly had a rough start to life but I’m so pleased that Hannah was the one to find her. I was gutted to see Hannah leave the story so early but it was obvious throughout that she’d had a profound effect on Maria. As Maria grew up I kept finding myself shocked at her age. Some of the things she had witnessed or gone through were horrific but to go through it as a child was unthinkable. She carried herself in a very mature way but given what she’d been through she had to grow up quite quickly.Faith was an interesting person. My heart broke for her at the beginning of her story and can’t imagine how it must of felt to be under Martha’s care but I did find it hard to warm to her. I could understand why she had so much resentment and her actions I felt were sometimes justified but that didn’t always make me like her.When I finished this I wanted to dive straight in to the next in the series. I am well and truly hooked to the Owen’s family and can’t wait to see how their story develops. If you’re after a story of female solidarity with a witchy twist then this is for you!

The author writes persuasively and darkly about everyday myths and old wives tales that we come to realise are based on secret truths of nature, which her characters can discern so clearly yet which many of us have lost contact with in the busy distraction of modern life. She romances us with these intensely embroidered and beautifully crafted intricacies of character and destiny, revealing why it matters so much to pay attention to the subtle, the unspoken and the numinous influences that swirl around us. There is a delight as well as a despair in what may befall our favourites, yet somehow they weave these tragedies and trials into wonderful new ways of thinking and appreciating life in the face of solitude ... we may then find ourselves uplifted by unexpected denouements. Mysterious? Oh yes, and yet authentically magical in the way she conjures happiness from these harrowing beginnings... such an alluring wordsmith whose stories you will find yourself seeking out and immersing yourself within, hour after hour.