Customer Reviews

Magic Spells

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The writing is fabulous. The story kept me reading from chapter to chapter. I recommend this book to anybody that has ever wished for anything. I could not put it down. I look forward to seeing more from Christy Yorke.

Few books have captured my imagination like this one did. A big, wonderful, surprising and uplifting book of love and friendship. Ranks with Deborah Smith's A Place to Call Home as one of my all time favorites - and to think I literally stumbled upon it. I have only one question - why isn't a book this good being promoted by the publisher and published in hardcover like other books of its quality?

One thing I liked about the book was that the magic spells/thoughts was a background theme unlike Practical Magic that tried to make the characters and the magic front focal spots. This book had the characters front and center, with the magic being a background thread of thought to connect them together and to better explain Esther's approach to many things in her life.

The character developments were interesting! Alex, the child, was so developed in character that you could easily visualize him and his facial expressions in your mind. Christy had you hoping Esther would give in to Robert's loving thoughts, and yet had you understanding why Esther hesitated to do so. Ginny was perfectly created, a woman trying to fight back her jealousy but at the same time unable to not let it show and fighting to keep something alive that was never really alive except on one side of viewing.

Having Ned "reappear" in the image of another person's attitude and appearance was a nice touch, making Devon someone you wanted to hate and yet allowed you to understand the catalystic effects Ned had earlier on the main characters being replayed out due to his appearance to the story.

The ending was not a suprise, but it was interesting reading the book to get to the ending all the same. The subtle twists and turns that they took to get there was interesting, although I wish the athletic competiveness was toned down between Graham and Devon or done more sparingly - I could also see why this was included as Graham was "fighting his past" and a "ghost" from it as well.

Although you knew from the start who would wind up with whom, it was still an interesting read.

I absolutely loved this book. I only put it down because I had to go to work! It wasn't just the story, which was great, but the style of the author. She reminds me a lot of Alice Hoffman. The characters were charming and sometimes heartbreaking, and she blended magic with reality with such subtlety, you couldn't be sure which was which. I felt like a movie was running in my head the whole time I was reading. I'd recommend this book to anyone and I'll be waiting for the author's next!

In a small town in Vermont, Graham Payton loves Jane Gregory, but Jane loves Ned, Graham's brother. And when it all goes terribly wrong, Jane flees Pendleton. Seven years later she is back with her son, Alex, who has never spoken a word in his life, and a heart filled with guilt. Is she strong enough to rescue her son from silence, to love again, and to believe, at last, in her own wild magic?

It's often easier to write a bad review than a good one, easier to explain why something went wrong than to tell a reader why a book made you laugh or cry or touched some resonant chord, why the writing took you into the perfect realm of imagination that all readers long for, but so seldom are able to find. "Magic Spells" struck me almost immediately as a book I wanted to recommend very vigorously. The more I read of it, the more caught up I became in the warmth of Yorke's affection for her characters and the beauty of her prose. But by the end I found myself disturbed by the resolution to the point where I had to rethink my enthusiasm for the story. The happiness of the protagonists depended, in the end, on the unhappiness of another decent, loving character.

As a result I found myself spending some considerable time weighing each aspect of the book more carefully than ever. The plot is simple enough, even complicated by magic which plays a subordinate role here: Woman overcomes the fears and failings of youth to find love with the right man. How often have we encountered that plot? And yet Yorke never allows her story to become old or stale. Rather, Jane's tale seems both painfully new and completely timeless; love is an old, old battle that each of us have to fight anew. Characterization is equally deft, reminiscent of Stephen King at his best, presenting us with a cast of players all of whom we recognize and yet each of whom is as individual as a snowflake. In a few paragraphs, Yorke makes us care about the joys and sorrows of her characters' lives, about why they love who they love, about why one man is drinking himself to death and another woman wears too much makeup. Even the most insignificant player becomes significant, a real person with a real life. This is, perhaps, one of the greatest gifts an author can have.

It's impossible not to respond to Yorke's prose; there's a simple, honest beauty to it that elevates even the saddest, most mundane life to a sort of nobility. Gestures are not only significant, they touch the heart. The moment when Alex's great grandmother reaches out to wipe frozen tears off his face, and they shatter like glass in her hand will stay with me forever. Yorke understands the value of the small thing, the details of life. And in the end, what weighed most heavily in favor of the book really was the very thing that disturbed me: The story is real. Not magic as some external power since in the end it's really just a symbol of the power of love, but the story about Jane and Ned and Graham and the others, about their love and their hate and their weakness and strength. Yes, people do love inappropriately. They do fall in love with one person and marry another, they do leave wives and husbands to take a chance on finding someone or something that completes their soul. Because of that and because the book is so beautifully, simply and powerfully written, I recommend it highly.

"Magic Spells" is one of the most extraordinary books I've read in months, and if you want to be reminded of how grand it is to be alive and how hard it is to be human, if you want to remember the joy and pain of real love, I suggest you rush right out and get this book.

I felt this is a story that could really happen in our life time. I felt compassion and tenderness for Jane and Alex. I loved the way in which Christy's novel made me feel like I was visting a lovely old town in Vermont for the first time. It was very imaginative and brilliant.. I loved the twist about the murder. In all I would say Christy is well on her way to becomming one of Boise's great Authors. Thank you for writting this beautiful novel.

I chose this book on a whim - so glad I did! I fell in love with the human characters, and the magic elements are practically story characters as well. I found many lovely phrases that I've earmarked for my collection of quotes; Ms. Yorke has a way of putting emotion into words that really strike my heart. I'm looking forward to reading more of her work!

The thing I liked most about this novel was the way the main characters rang true. Hasn't everyone loved someone they couldn't have? If you've ever loved the wrong person, or someone who won't love you back, this is the book for you. Jane and Graham each have a love they can't shake, and I kept reading to know how they'd come through. The last half of the story has you cheering for them. I loved this book.

I really enjoyed this book

"Practical Magic" ain't what this book is. Too often the prose goes overboard until it is substanceless. A greater crime is the treatment of the main characters - Jane is a stereotypical can't-trust-men doormat, Graham is your usual passive-SNAG-good guy, Devon is the usual rebel without a cause.

Jane's oscillating emotions and clueless behavior when it comes to men causes her to come off more often than not an immature woman who would be the first to appear on Jerry Springer. And of course, she can't trust men and she's not worthy of any men, while Devon can't be decent because he loves the notion of being unworthy of any decent woman too much. And Graham waits in the corner, the nice guy he is.

Maybe next time. Until then, it's still "Practical Magic" for me.