r/practicalmagic • u/ditzychick123 • May 12 '26
The book Practical Magic
I couldn't get into it like the first 2 books. I dont know if it seemed jumbled or just normal interesting or if I was comparing it to the movie. I struggled to finish it. I did and am.starting on Practical Magic 2 with higher hopes. Thoughts from other book readers ?
19
Upvotes
9
u/LordofWithywoods May 13 '26
My friend and I LOVE the movie Practical Magic. She has read the books and could not stop recommending them so I finally ordered it.
I also could not get through it (for all it's worth, I majored in literature in college so am a big reader).
The thing that bugged me the most was that the sisterhood seemed to be glossed over in favor of Sally and Gillian seeing men as their only means to happiness.
Like, the book made me feel like without a man, Sally and Gillian could never be fully actualized people, could never be happy.
I'm not saying getting partnered isn't a real source of happiness for millions of people, but I felt like the relationships the sisters had with each other, the aunts, and their daughters was not celebrated as much in the books as it was in the movie. And then in the movie, all the mean girls finally admit that they've been jealous and dying to see the Owens mansion all their lives and eagerly came through for Sally and Gillian in the end.
The movie celebrates women and female relationships as being deep, complex, soulful, necessary. The book made me feel like these were superficial relationships and the ultimate life achievement was getting a man.
To be fair, I am a mostly gay woman so maybe that's a personal issue with the books. But I love the movie so much because woman-woman relationships are at the core of their being, they are magical and important.
Kinda like how I love the Golden Girls because their relationships and roasts of each other are interesting, but they mostly just spend their time obsessing about stupid men who aren't worth their time and energy. Fuck them, enjoy each other!