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A review by brennanaphone
The Magicians by Lev Grossman
3.0
This book was a lot like reading High Fidelity, but with slightly less narrative savvy and with a lot more magic spells. The misanthropic ennui was exactly the same, though.
Grossman is a very sharp writer. His characterizations, pacing, and descriptions are all quite good. The plot covered a lot of time and a lot of twists I wasn't expecting, and I was hooked for the most part. The big problem with him, as you might guess with a name like Gross Man, is the misogyny.
It's not that Quentin is a misogynist. I mean, he is one--a gross, shitty dickhead completely lacking in self-awareness. I would have been cool with that, because I like characters who are flawed, and the narrative did a good job balancing a clear indication of his thoughts and emotions in a sympathetic way with a distinct effort to show they were specific to him. However, the women of this world tended to bend around his worldview. Alice both forgave and apologized for things that were incomprehensible to me as a human woman. Julie offered him sex for access to magic. Janet was just conveniently catty toward other women and willing to sleep with him because of reasons. It just never felt like Grossman had a grasp on his female characters the way he did on the male ones. Disappointing.
All that said, I am very invested in a story that is about how magic and fantasy worlds cannot save you from depression and despair. I think it was an interesting story to tell, and if you enjoy books with deeply unlikable characters, this is one for you.
Grossman is a very sharp writer. His characterizations, pacing, and descriptions are all quite good. The plot covered a lot of time and a lot of twists I wasn't expecting, and I was hooked for the most part. The big problem with him, as you might guess with a name like Gross Man, is the misogyny.
It's not that Quentin is a misogynist. I mean, he is one--a gross, shitty dickhead completely lacking in self-awareness. I would have been cool with that, because I like characters who are flawed, and the narrative did a good job balancing a clear indication of his thoughts and emotions in a sympathetic way with a distinct effort to show they were specific to him. However, the women of this world tended to bend around his worldview. Alice both forgave and apologized for things that were incomprehensible to me as a human woman. Julie offered him sex for access to magic. Janet was just conveniently catty toward other women and willing to sleep with him because of reasons. It just never felt like Grossman had a grasp on his female characters the way he did on the male ones. Disappointing.
All that said, I am very invested in a story that is about how magic and fantasy worlds cannot save you from depression and despair. I think it was an interesting story to tell, and if you enjoy books with deeply unlikable characters, this is one for you.