katekintailbc | Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

Practical Magic
by Alice Hoffman
(Audio- Abridged)

Okay, so I must admit right up front that I am in love with Practical Magic, the movie. I own it on DVD and I'm sure I've seen it at least 10 times- possibly more. Typically, whatever I encounter first (be it movie or book) is what I fall in love with. The book is quite different from the movie, so I couldn't help but be disappointed by this book.

Most noticeably, some of characters are completely different. Sally and Gilly are pretty much the same, and those what really mattered the most to me. And the spirit/tone of the two are exactly the same, which is wonderful. But the whole timeline is different, and Sally's daughters are in their teens instead of 5-7 years old which was shocking. I missed the aunts having a more visible role and the fact that they showed up to fix the situation in the book in about a minute was not very satisfying.

Most (but not all) of the interesting moral twists in the movie don't exist in this version of the book. Most of my favorite moments in the movie weren't even approached in the book, but there were different great moments in the book. The book felt rough and strange to me, since I know the movie so well, but I wonder how much had to do with the fact that it was an abridgment. Still, entire situations were turned around, and that had nothing to do with the abridgment. The fact is, it was an enjoyable read, but didn't give me as much to really think about the way the movie does. There are far fewer twists and turns and fewer dynamics at play.

I feel like it's not fair reviewing this considering my love for the movie, but that's what I came into earreading it with and so that's how I feel about this version of the story. I'm really glad I listened to it, but I still prefer the movie version of characters and story ;-)