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    Practical Magic
    Practical Magic
    Practical Magic
    Audiobook (abridged)3 hours

    Practical Magic

    Written by Alice Hoffman

    Narrated by Cherry Jones

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    The bestselling author of Second Nature, Illumination Night and Turtle Moon now offers her most fascinating and tantalizingly accomplished novel yet -- a winning tale that amply confirms Alice Hoffman's reputation not only as a genius of the vivid scene and unforgettable character but as one of America's most captivating storytellers.

    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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateJul 1, 1995
    ISBN9780743545655
    Practical Magic
    Author

    Alice Hoffman

    Alice Hoffman is the author of more than thirty works of fiction, including The Book of Magic, Magic Lessons, The World That We Knew, Practical Magic, The Rules of Magic (a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick), the Oprah’s Book Club Selection Here on Earth, The Red Garden, The Dovekeepers, The Museum of Extraordinary Things, The Marriage of Opposites, and Faithful. She lives near Boston.

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    Reviews for Practical Magic

    4/5

    459 ratings92 reviews

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    • 2/5
      Great book but this is the abridged version of Practical Magic.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Enjoyed it and Would love to hear an unabridged version

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      At 11:00pm last night, I became extremely peeved when my copy of Practical Magic abruptly ended at page 260 in the middle of a sentence. I had been trying to read through the last two sections before going to bed. Unfortunately, I was brought to a halt twenty pages short of the conclusion. This morning, I had to rush out to the library to pick up another copy so I could know how it all ended. First, let me say that I loved this book. And I mean LOVED. As soon as I read the first sentence, I knew it would be one of those rare books that I could just lose myself in from beginning to end. This rarely happens for me, and so its absolutely heavenly whenever I find a book that I connect to in this way. Alice Hoffman has a way of making you feel like you're being buoyed in warm bath as you read her novels. This isn't to say her books are what most people would consider comfy cozy. I'm probably unusual in that my comfort reading tends to include death, heartbreak, and desire. I don't like happy books and so Hoffman's more realistic (albeit magical) stories appeal to me. In Practical Magic, I loved that the story focused on the relationships between women. Its rare to find a book that feels truthful in its depiction of what women are really like. Alice Hoffman is gifted in being able to reflect the complexity of these relationships with such understated ease. Of course, everything Alice Hoffman does is understated. I am sick to death of books that bang you over the head with all their themes and romances and complicated relationships. It is so refreshing to find an author who just gives you an interpretation of life and allows you to glean from it what you may. This is only the third book I've read by Alice Hoffman, but I'm already looking forward to my next. She's becoming one of my favorite, authors and for me this is exhilarating since I rarely like any author well enough to read more than one of their books. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves stories stories about strong women, magic, and the worth of true love.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 2/5
      I'm not a fan of magical realism, but the amount of magic in this one was palatable. But that's about the only positive thing I can say about this book.Much of the story felt like exposition and I kept waiting for the meat of the story to start. The characters were flimsy, the pair of sisters (Gillian-Sally) not much distinguishable from the other (Kylie-Antonia). The aunties were slightly different and the most interesting characters in the tale.The story is about love, but it all seemed like a caricature of love, flippantly tossed out there - unless the characters and the story is meant to be read as mere symbols?I can't remember if I've read anything else by Alice Hoffman, but this book certainly does not induce me to try more. Glad I got to the end and can return the book.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 2/5
      Do NOT waste your time on this horribly abrupt and disappointing abridged version like I did. I am only 2 hours into the unabridged one. SO much better! Skip this one and INDULGE yourself in the other!
    • 4/5
      Sisters Sally and Gillian Owens were raised by the aunts, witches who specialized in helping people with love problems. They suffered bullies in their small Massachusetts town and as they grew up, they grew apart: Gillian had relationship troubles and multiple marriages, Sally married and had two daughters but suffered grief after her husband died suddenly. Now, Gillian returns with a secret that just might change their lives forever.Alice Hoffman certainly knows how to write a book with an otherworldly atmosphere of magical realism. It permeates this story so much that it's more about the setting and the words than the characters. There's very little dialogue for the first 100 or so pages, and as a result I had a really hard time getting into it. But if you enjoy the atmosphere and the elements of magic, it's a solid read and I'd certainly recommend it to people who appreciate a wordsmith.
    • 5/5
      I must confess that this is one my favorite movies to pop in on Halloween and in the Fall; this book conjured up all of those cozy feelings as well. Obviously, the movie took a lot of creative liberty and there are a lot of differences and focuses in the book.
    • 5/5
      I had seen the movie of this book several times and really enjoyed it, and I was surprised to find that the book has very little in common with the film, other than the names of the characters. This book is extremely well-written and flows so gently, it feels almost like a fairy tale. Hoffman is able to weave her story with a great deal of depth without feeling heavy. I was extremely impressed with this book, and found the gentle way of telling the story to be much better than the movie. There is very little "woo-woo" witchy stuff in this book, but tons of delicate insight and nuance. It gets a very strong 5 from me and I'll be looking for other books by this author.
    • 5/5
      Absolutely LOVE Hoffman’s writing. This was such a great read. I loved the characters, I loved the generational story. Really wonderful.
    • 3/5
      Super cute book, but the abridged version doesn’t make as much sense as the original
    • 4/5
      I really enjoy the way this is narrated but they skip whole paragraphs all throughout the book! Why are they leaving parts out?
    • 2/5
      I’m sure this is a lovely story but this abridged version is choppy and unpleasant. I will definitely read the story as Alice Hoffman wrote it.
    • 5/5
      Team Five (High Fives) Reader #1

      Tag: Paranormal Romance & Family Relationships

      Practical Magic      , Alice Hoffman (244 pages)

      &#9733 &#9733 &39733 &#9733 &#9733 ?

      First I'd like to say, I still can not get over how different the book is from the movie, but, I Still LOVE the Movie as well....

      Sally & Gillian are sisters, OWENS Sisters.... Owens women do not usually have so much luck in love, and know the heartbreak of loss, however, Owens women are strong, single minded and have very much "luck" in other aspects of their lives. Sally & Gillian are as different as day & night: Sally is older, practical and orderly. Gillian is wild, disorderly, and very impractical.

      At an early age, Sally & Gillian are left orphans (their mother & father were on a 2nd honeymoon and were so enthralled in each other, that they never noticed their room catching fire). Sally & Gillian call their only know relatives: "The Aunts".... Older women who live together in a large rambling house, built by Maria Owens (an alleged witch).... The Aunts know a thing or two about love & loss, so although the entire neighborhood is scared to death of them, it does not stop the local women (in need) visiting them at twilight for "magick" to help their ailing relationships.

      Sally is living with the Aunts, happily married w/ two young daughters... when the Watch Beetle of Death shows up in her husband's favorite chair..... Her mourning affects the entire household & Gillian comes to her rescue..... Sally moves and begins a new life.

      Gillian has runaway from the Aunts years ago and is now in a horrendous affair with a totally abusive man, Jimmy, whom she keeps under a modicum of control with small doses of Belladonna..... But somehow while in route out of town (he has killed college students by selling them jimson weed as a recreational drug), Jimmy keels over & dies!

      With nowhere else to turn, Gillian shows up at Sally's doorstep with the now dead Jimmy....... Sally & Jillian plant Jimmy in the garden under the Lilacs......

      Secondary to the story is the relationship of Sally's daughters: Kylie & Antonia, and their relationship w/ Gillian.....

      As the story goes on: Jimmy's ghost becomes a very active force and needs to be dealt with (in the movie he was more active). Love is all around for Sally, Gillian, Kylie & Antonia, they learn to deal with the love of family, their relationships with each other, and with the men of their dreams.

      I Absolutely LOVE This Book! For me it was interesting and it held my interest. I enjoyed the story & the themes of Love, Magic as an everyday occurence, and Family Relationships (especially about day & night sisters)!
    • 4/5
      Extremely disappointing. Not just because the movie was better, which it was, but because the prequels were so much better. The narrator was much better as well. Don't waste your time. Stick to the first two in the timeline.
    • 4/5
      I love the movie, so i was glad to find out the audiobook of such a magical story. Love the Owens family.
    • 2/5
      Disappointed. The audiobook skips entire paragraphs, so after a few pages I stopped listening to the audio and just read it myself.
    • 2/5
      this book was in departed need of an editor. I was waiting for the heart of the book to start...but it never did. very disconnected. disappointing since the Rules of Magic was much better and i was expecting better.
    • 5/5
      I love this book truly, its beautiful. I love the movie?
    • 3/5
      I was expecting more from this book. It seemed to drag on and didn’t get interesting until the last chapter. So disappointed.
    • 5/5
      Great book! I don't understand why they had to add music in the intro and at the ending, covering the initial and final words of the book. Terrible choice, it takes you out of it.
    • 3/5
      I didn't realize this was abridged!! D: I'm not sure if I didn't enjoy the book because there were parts missing, or because the pace was just a bit slow (even abridged!).
    • 3/5
      Is was okay. Took a long, long time to get off the ground.
    • 5/5
      I must confess that this is one my favorite movies to pop in on Halloween and in the Fall; this book conjured up all of those cozy feelings as well. Obviously, the movie took a lot of creative liberty and there are a lot of differences and focuses in the book.
    • 3/5
      I love the film. The film is the perfect fairytale of strong women, true love and magic, and the scene where the circle join hands to save Gillian always gets to me. I never really thought about the book until I discovered that Alice Hoffman has recently written a prequel/sequel - and I honestly wish that was still the case. Stand alone, the book is fine, if a bit disjointed and lacking in unity, of both plot and characters. But, and I don't often say this, so I'll say it loud: THE FILM IS BETTER. Like way, way better. The film is centred around the aunts' house, which only Gillian leaves and finally returns to, so there is a feeling of home and history at the heart of the story. There is also a definite emphasis on magic, with the aunts and Sally, although she fights her inheritance, practicing both the white and black sides of the craft. I also like the detail of the aunts interfering in Sally's love life - the first time around. When she finds her true love a second time, the magic is purely Sally's. All missing from the book. Sally leaves home with her much older daughters and moves to New York, so both the house and the aunts are removed from much of the story. The pacing is also very weak, and the final scene is an anticlimax compared to the film.The book is trying to be 'gritty' and realistic, I think, despite the fairytale language, discussing sex and self-loathing and splintered families over love and magic and sisterhood. Sally is a depressed single mother of teenagers, Gillian is still Gillian, and none of the women can be happy until they meet 'the one'. Sally doesn't meet the perfect man of her conjuring but a lovesick fool conducting a half-assed investigation. Gillian is rewarded with a biology teacher instead of being 'possessed' by her dead lover's spirit. Even Antonia and Kylie go weak-kneed for the nearest boys. The happy ever after effect of the film is lost by the implied message that women just need a man in their lives to be happy.The bones of the story are there, but the flesh is weak. Stick to the film.
    • 4/5
      The book Practical Magic was the inspiration for the movie Practical Magic, which happens to be one of my favourite movies! There are a number of changes from the book to the movie, but both have that special charm for which Ms. Hoffman is known.I did find some of the changes interesting though. I have to admit, I missed the presence of the aunt's in the novel. The charm of their characters was still in the novel, but I would have liked that they played a larger role. I also found it a bit unusual that Sally moved away from her family.Regardless, the basic plot still remains, whereby Gillian accidentally kills her boyfriend, and the resulting cover-up creates a magical intrusion in her and Sally's lives. This intrusion takes a slightly different form in the novel however. This is in part due to the fact that Sally's children are teenagers in the novel, not children. This certainly doesn't take away from either the written or movie version of the story, it's just a little difference I noticed!So, if you have ever seen the movie, I highly suggest reading the book as well! Books are always better than the movies after all.
    • 4/5
      I loved this book, as I have loved every Alice Hoffman book I have read so far. A little magic/supernatural but not too much. The story was more about relationships than magic.
    • 5/5
      When two young girls, Sally and Gillian, are orphaned it is Sally (who is wise beyond her years) that calls her aunts (white witches) and says that she and her sister are coming to live with them. The girls spend their childhood as targets for taunts and pranks of the other townschildren simply because no one understands them and associates them with the Owens women who have been rumored to be witches. Indeed they are witches, of the benevolent kind. The girls get a view of hypocrasy when every evening the women of the town come to the back door of the aunts' house and beg and plead for a spell to bring them true love. But as Aunt Bridget cautions, "Be careful what you wish for". In an effort to save herself from heartbreak young Sally vows never to fall in love; Gillian, however, "can't wait to fall in love". As they grow both girls can't wait to be free from the aunts. Gillian runs off with a young man and works her way through three husbands. Sally finds herself deeply in love with a local man. They marry and have two lovely daughters but alas, Sally's husband meets with an untimely death. She moves herself and her daughters back to the aunts house and suffers a year-long bout of depression. She vows yet again to take keep her daughters from harm and herself from love. To that end she moves her small family to Long Island, a place where she feels they can be normal. One night Gillian arrives at the Long Island house with the body of her dead boyfriend in the car. In an effort to cover up the deed (an overdose of a potent natural drug), Sally helps Gillian bury the body in her yard. That's when strange and potentially evil things start to happen. It takes a visit by the aunts along with some strong magic to dispell the strange happenings and bring true love to both Gillian and Sally. I enjoyed this book immensely. Tightly woven story, lyrical prose, a bit of humor, lots of magic, and charismatic characters. Like other reviewers I wanted to finish this book in one sitting. It is definitely a page-turner. Hoffman has a definite winner in this book. Also recommended: The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman
    • 4/5
      Sally and Gillian Owen are just little girls when their parents die and they move in with their two aunts in Massachusetts. For hundreds of years the Owens women in this town have been blamed for things going wrong in the town. They are believed to be witches. And maybe they are. But this doesn't stop the town women to secretly go to the Owens during the night to get love spells performed. In this environment, Sally and Gillian are raised. They have pretty much all the freedom they could want at home while being tormented at school for being witches. Sally, the eldest, grows up to be responsible...beyond responsible...boring responsible. Gillian, the irresponsible and beautiful younger sister, breaks hearts left and right.After seeing so many women come to the aunts for help with love problems the sisters vow to never be like them. Uh huh. But they also want normalcy. They both find ways to escape: Sally by marrying and Gillian by eloping and running away. Years later, when Sally's two daughters are teenagers and her husband has passed away, the bonds of sisterhood are tested when Gillian seeks Sally's help for, shall we say, accidentally murdering her boyfriend. And how do two women, who've been hurt in the past because of love, find happiness?I love how Alice Hoffman writes. So magical. I think it's a bit more refined in The River King but I just love it. The only thing I didn't like is that she uses some pretty strong language here and there sometimes. While maybe to a point it is necessary, I just could have done without it. But the differences between the book and movie...I loved both versions. I think the movie made the story flow a bit better. And I kind of liked the daughter's younger age in the movie vs the book. And the ending was a little anti-climatic compared to the movie...but I liked it.
    • 4/5
      finished this in less than 36 hours. enchanting! I'm hooked on Alice Hoffman now.
    • 5/5
      magical bliss. loved. women, family, sisterhood, love and magic. what more can you need?