Lev Grossman

[Jenn+books]

I just finished reading Lev Grossman's The Magicians, and I'm conflicted about it. I had a hard time getting into the book--especially the second half in Fillory. The book wasn't too bad; I did finish it. But, except for Quentin's and Alice's relationship, I had a hard time believing in or caring about the characters. For the most part, the characters seemed contrived to be a reaction against Harry Potter and his gang. The part at Brakebills was more interesting and believable than the part in Fillory. The writing wasn't bad, but I don't know if that overcomes the problems in other areas. Overall, I found this book pretty bland and forced, though not altogether terrible.

I have two questions. First, I've heard some people say that they really love this book. Am I missing something? Second, is the second one better than the first? Should I bother with the second one? (It's not like I don't have anything on my TBR pile!)

[RussetDivinity]

I think it takes a certain person to enjoy The Magicians. I first discovered it when I was a teenager, and I was just entering that cynical period of my life. I'm also the sort of person who would want to be brought to a magical school or to a magical land, and there's something about that desire that made the book all that much more enjoyable to me.

I liked the second one as well, and you might like it better than the first, though it does take place largely in Fillory (or through flashbacks). Once you have some time, I'd suggest you give it a shot.

[gali]

I have found the book boring and quit it after a few pages. I didn't like the writing and thought the plot wasn't very original.

[Ty0005]

I am currently reading The Magicians for the first time. I'm about 3/4's of the way through the first book and love it so far. I do understand how some people couldn't get into this book though. I myself had a tough time reading through in spots(the chapter after graduation to be exact, lol). I started a book club with a friend and this was the first book in a list of about 12.

[oywiththepoodlz]

I just finished the Magicians this morning, actually! I've been eager to discuss it. I agree with the original poster, I am definitely conflicted about it.

The references to Harry Potter and Chronicles of Narnia are a little too obviously shoved in, though I think Grossman did this intentionally to juxtapose his work with those. This is supposed to be magic "in the real world." Unfortunately, I feel that this trick fell flat. It's hard to care about characters who are so self involved and generally bored with their lives.

The beginning was engaging and I kept wanting to read more, however after about one hundred pages I started feeling kind of like Quentin does throughout the book, deeply unsatisfied with things that I thought would be amazing. I was obviously looking forward to the world at Brakebills, but that was surprisingly lackluster and rushed through. Then I kept waiting for something important to happen once the Brakebills crew graduated, however there was just more boredom and complaining. Finally, I figured something would happen in Fillory...and yet again was disappointed by the flat, empty world that was presented. The last fifty pages or so somewhat recaptured my interest, but not enough to pick up the second book in the series.

Yes, I get that this is a magical book for adults, but I still think magic should have a bit more...magic to it. This was just too cynical and existential for me.

[TLGabelman]

I got to the halfway point and pitched it! I feel like the author tried to cover so much material in a short book he didn't draw me into the story. Flying through 4(should have been 5 but Q was bumped up) years in less than the first half of the book he lost me. I wanted more,I wanted to learn more about his time at school and his peer group. I suppose the fact it was compared to HP drew me in but it seemed to be trying too hard to have similarities while still being so different. I didn't finish it and don't really care how it ended. If a book is compared to HP it is really going to have to wow me and be different at the same time.