Recommend Me is a weekly event hosted by Kate at The Never Ending Shelf in which participants will pick one of their all time favorite reads to share.
This could be a book that your read yesterday or years ago. To play along, grab a favorite read and tell us about it. You can include your thoughts about the novel, its summary, your favorite memory related to the novel... the possibilities are limitless.
This week my Pick is Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
When the beautiful and precocious sisters Sally and Gillian Owens are orphaned at a young age, they are taken to a small Massachusetts town to be raised by their eccentric aunts, who happen to dwell in the darkest, eeriest house in town. As they become more aware of their aunts' mysterious and sometimes frightening powers -- and as their own powers begin to surface -- the sisters grow determined to escape their strange upbringing by blending into "normal" society.
But both find that they cannot elude their magic-filled past. And when trouble strikes -- in the form of a menacing backyard ghost -- the sisters must not only reunite three generations of Owens women but embrace their magic as a gift -- and their key to a future of love and passion. Funny, haunting, and shamelessly romantic, Practical Magic is bewitching entertainment -- Alice Hoffman at her spectacular best.
If you’ve followed my blog for any amount of time then you already know Alice Hoffman is one of my favorite authors. Practical Magic was the first Alice book I encountered and after getting a glimpse into the fantasy/reality world Hoffman creates I became a true addict.
Practical Magic has almost everything you can think of… romance, family drama, and fantasy – and for all of those who love a bit of supernatural- it’s got that too.
Alice’s writing is hard to describe if you’ve never read one of her books. The language and elegance of her pen is beautiful and affecting. The words written in Practical Magic paint a picture of vividness for the reader and truly sucked me into the world of Sally and Gilli.
A movie based on this book staring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman was released a while back, and I loved it as well. The movie did a great job sticking to the key elements and really capturing the different personalities of the sisters. With the book though, you get a much more in-depth look at the women’s thoughts and relationship. Sally spends about five minutes of film time being depressed over the loss of her husband, in the book Sally mourns for over a year and it’s a terribly dark time in the novel.
I would highly recommend this or The Story Sisters for your first Alice Adventure……………
Oh wow, the movie is fantastic, but I never knew there was a book about it. Thanks for letting me know, I may even give this one a try!
ReplyDeleteI did like the movie, I know the book has to be even better. Hoffman's soon to be release Green Witch sound really tempting too.
ReplyDeleteHi Tina. I've read this last month and like you said, it's quite difficult for me to understand her writing style the first time i read it. nice pick!
ReplyDeletePractical Magic is one of my fave movies. I read the book after seeing the movie and although I liked the book, I still was totally enamored of the movie. Probably the one case, so far, that I liked the movie better.
ReplyDeleteGreat recommendation. I loved the book and the movie.
ReplyDeleteThis one has been on my TBR list for awhile. I'll be moving it up higher on there now!
ReplyDeleteI have only watched the movie of practical magic. I didn't even know it was a book
ReplyDeleteI never knew Practical Magic was a book! Surprise surprise! I'll definitely have to add this one to my TBR list. I loved the movie! :)
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Alice too :)
ReplyDeletePractical Magic is one of my favorite books and movies :)
Nice choice :)
I love the book because I love good witch stories. I love the movie because of the sister bond. My sister and I love to watch it over and over together.