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A review by ketutar
Magic Lessons: The Prequel to Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
3.0
Ok, so... Chapter 11 was wonderful. Absolutely perfect. I didn't expect that.
But then Alice spoiled it all by writing and writing and writing and writing... and writing hogwash. I hate the movie Practical Magic because of the ending. The whole town hated them for being witches, but then everyone just magically loved them. And here
I also don't believe in karma. "The witches' rede" or Wiccan Rede was written in the 60s. The 1960s, that is. It's a lot of BS, IMHO. I believe witchcraft is like anything else one does, and one's personal ethics is the only rede one needs. We all know you don't get what you give, nice people are nice to everyone, mean people are mean to everyone, and if someone is having a p*ssy day, they don't suddenly become all sunshine and unicorn farts just because you smile to them. I suppose you can tell I'm not a "white witch", nor a fluffy bunny, but more a "grey witch" and a stinking badger pagan :-D But - I accept that in Alice's universe witches bleed black acid and follow the ancient laws from the 1960s - so mote it be.
There were also a lot of historically questionable details there, like how likely was it for some witch living in the woods to get their hands on ginger? Also, they didn't call the wild herbal teas "liberty teas" before the Boston Tea Party.
Nevertheless, I like Alice Hoffman's books. It's easy to read her writing (even though she doesn't know when to stop:-D) and she creates interesting characters and stories.
But then Alice spoiled it all by writing and writing and writing and writing... and writing hogwash. I hate the movie Practical Magic because of the ending. The whole town hated them for being witches, but then everyone just magically loved them. And here
Spoiler
this end of 17th century Salem that burned witches just 10 years earlier, we have these witches everyone knows to be witches being respected citizens who do modern things and everyone is happy and loves them. Yeah, sure. Tell me that story about little Red Ridinghood, too. Sure a teenage girl walks around wearing trousers and reading books, sure :-D Why, didn't they make pocketbooks in the 17th century?I also don't believe in karma. "The witches' rede" or Wiccan Rede was written in the 60s. The 1960s, that is. It's a lot of BS, IMHO. I believe witchcraft is like anything else one does, and one's personal ethics is the only rede one needs. We all know you don't get what you give, nice people are nice to everyone, mean people are mean to everyone, and if someone is having a p*ssy day, they don't suddenly become all sunshine and unicorn farts just because you smile to them. I suppose you can tell I'm not a "white witch", nor a fluffy bunny, but more a "grey witch" and a stinking badger pagan :-D But - I accept that in Alice's universe witches bleed black acid and follow the ancient laws from the 1960s - so mote it be.
There were also a lot of historically questionable details there, like how likely was it for some witch living in the woods to get their hands on ginger? Also, they didn't call the wild herbal teas "liberty teas" before the Boston Tea Party.
Nevertheless, I like Alice Hoffman's books. It's easy to read her writing (even though she doesn't know when to stop:-D) and she creates interesting characters and stories.