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A review by faerieminstrel
Fortune's Daughter by Alice Hoffman
2.0
I have long been an [a: Alice Hoffman|3502|Alice Hoffman|http://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1477318484p2/3502.jpg] fan, but with such a prolific catalog from which to choose, I had always read primarily from her more recent work. I started with [b: Practical Magic|22896|Practical Magic|Alice Hoffman|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1490354120s/22896.jpg|4030671], then bounced to [b: Blue Diary|165766|Blue Diary|Alice Hoffman|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1309212396s/165766.jpg|2606609], which was the most recent at the time, and just kept reading. Fortune's Daughter, on the other hand, one of Hoffman's earlier works, lacks the pizazz of her more recent novels. The magic of everyday life is lost in the more traditional female characters of the early 80s. You want to shake one of the main characters and tell her to get her life in order, and wonder why a man has dictated so much of her youth. The other protagonist just needs to be dropped into therapy.
However, this book is not a total washout.
As ever, Hoffman's prose is for the most part, a delight. Her devotion to location, description of climate and flora, as well as simple, everyday fancy does neatly embroider a mostly mediocre novel.
For those just beginning to read Hoffman, I'd start with something a bit more polished, such as [b: The Probable Future|22898|The Probable Future|Alice Hoffman|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1499994741s/22898.jpg|2606531], [b: The Blackbird House|821964|Blackbird House|Alice Hoffman|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1499995029s/821964.jpg|1744187], or, my favorite, [b: Practical Magic|22896|Practical Magic|Alice Hoffman|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1490354120s/22896.jpg|4030671].
However, this book is not a total washout.
As ever, Hoffman's prose is for the most part, a delight. Her devotion to location, description of climate and flora, as well as simple, everyday fancy does neatly embroider a mostly mediocre novel.
For those just beginning to read Hoffman, I'd start with something a bit more polished, such as [b: The Probable Future|22898|The Probable Future|Alice Hoffman|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1499994741s/22898.jpg|2606531], [b: The Blackbird House|821964|Blackbird House|Alice Hoffman|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1499995029s/821964.jpg|1744187], or, my favorite, [b: Practical Magic|22896|Practical Magic|Alice Hoffman|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1490354120s/22896.jpg|4030671].