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"The prequel to Alice Hoffman's PRACTICAL MAGIC, following the lives of Franny and Jet Owens (and their brother Vincent Owens) long before Sally and Gillian wound up on their doorstep"--Tags
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amberwitch Magical families, rebellious sisters in a magical realism story
Member Reviews
I am glad so many people have gotten enjoyment from this book. I just don't happen to be one of them. The unnamed, omniscient narrator is so distant I read through the whole book and still didn't care one bit about these emo kids. They find out they are witches and they do pretty much nothing with that magic? This makes little logical sense and even less considering the rebellion they had already committed to. Much is made out of Vincent being the first and only male born in the Owens bloodline, but that also comes to a big fat nothing. This is especially frustrating when the author has absolutely zero faith in the intelligence of her audience and beats them over the head with the same bits of information over and over and show more over--lavender is for protection! Jet has "lost the sight/her gift"! Hawthorne put the "w" in his name to distance himself from the Hathorne witch hunter family! Some dude designed Central Park (okay obviously that one didn't stick despite it being explained three times, but by then I was too bored to care anyway)! All this information, yet we don't get proper names for some of the flowers these witches are supposed to be so in tune with (e.g. shouldn't those daffodils with the orange centers be called narcissists? Considering how self-absorbed they all are it would be fitting). And why, oh why, does wise old Isabelle let these children ruin their entire lives by letting them wallow in self pity for decades without once piping up and saying, "You're m-f-ing WITCHES, do something and be happy!" But no, these oh so powerful witches let an entire book of preventible things happen TO them as they drift through and affect no change beyond softening up some old man who lost his will to live earlier in the book. All in all, a pretty big yawner and eye-roller for me. show less
This is a thorn bush of a book, it's spiky prose often impeding smooth passage through the pages. But I must have become attached to Jet, Franny and even the too charming Vincent to have kept going, at the point of tears almost all the way through. Of all the versions of of the trope of witches not being able to love, this is quite the most touching and real feeling.
If you read Alice Hoffman’s Practical Magic series in chronological order (as any left brained person like me WOULD), this is #2. And I loved every page.
At the start of THE RULES OF MAGIC, it’s the mid 20th century where descendants of seventeenth century Maria Owens and John Hathorne (from MAGIC LESSONS - book #1 in the series) are coming to terms with their familial history, uniqueness, and individual powers. Three siblings (Franny, Jet, and Vincent) are being raised in New York City by parents trying their best to provide a normal upbringing. But these are no ordinary teens.
When given the opportunity, they spend the summer at the centuries-old family homestead in Massachusetts, under the much more relaxed supervision of their show more Aunt Isabelle. She is much more comfortable with the family heritage. And more familiar with the family curse.
This novel follows the three siblings throughout their lives, incorporating the secondary story of their cousin, April, and weaving in a number of actual historical events (Moon Landing, Stonewall Riot, Draft Lottery, Vietnam War, etc.). There’s plenty of action: love and love denied, betrayals and shunning neighbors, illegitimate children and sudden death, and lots of spells, potions and magic.
It’s a truly fun read but also one that is unpredictable and suspenseful, about people you will come to care deeply about. And many authentically human life lessons about love, loyalty, and family. And then there’s this quote from the author’s Introduction to PRACTICAL MAGIC:
“This is a book about magic, but more importantly, it’s an ode to sisterhood and family, and to the power of love.”
I’m now on to PRACTICAL MAGIC (Book #3 in the series). show less
At the start of THE RULES OF MAGIC, it’s the mid 20th century where descendants of seventeenth century Maria Owens and John Hathorne (from MAGIC LESSONS - book #1 in the series) are coming to terms with their familial history, uniqueness, and individual powers. Three siblings (Franny, Jet, and Vincent) are being raised in New York City by parents trying their best to provide a normal upbringing. But these are no ordinary teens.
When given the opportunity, they spend the summer at the centuries-old family homestead in Massachusetts, under the much more relaxed supervision of their show more Aunt Isabelle. She is much more comfortable with the family heritage. And more familiar with the family curse.
This novel follows the three siblings throughout their lives, incorporating the secondary story of their cousin, April, and weaving in a number of actual historical events (Moon Landing, Stonewall Riot, Draft Lottery, Vietnam War, etc.). There’s plenty of action: love and love denied, betrayals and shunning neighbors, illegitimate children and sudden death, and lots of spells, potions and magic.
It’s a truly fun read but also one that is unpredictable and suspenseful, about people you will come to care deeply about. And many authentically human life lessons about love, loyalty, and family. And then there’s this quote from the author’s Introduction to PRACTICAL MAGIC:
“This is a book about magic, but more importantly, it’s an ode to sisterhood and family, and to the power of love.”
I’m now on to PRACTICAL MAGIC (Book #3 in the series). show less
This is only the second book by Alice Hoffman that I’ve read, and I am slightly disappointed that I’ve been missing out all these years on her magical stories! In The Rules of Magic we’re once again set back in time, but close enough to our own that the setting is almost familiar - it should be, since we’re getting New York and Massachusetts in the time just before the events of Practical Magic. Truth be told, I haven’t read the book (waiting on a library loan), but I’ve seen the film a few times, so I was in vaguely familiar territory. We’re set to follow the story of the three New York-based Owens children - Franny, Jet, and Vincent - as they grow up to discover by accident that they have magical powers, and then set off show more on their journeys to try to break the family curse which stops them from falling in love. Like Practical Magic, the magic seems to take second place to the quest for love, but Hoffman weaves the story so artfully that we’re caught up in her well-developed characters, the casual and ingrained family magic lore, and driving events to carry the book through to its finale without feeling like the story is just a drawn out romance. I guess it technically is one (a romance, that is), but instead of being a love letter between individuals, we’re presented with a love story to life and living, which is infinitely relatable, and infinitely more meaningful in the scope of the world. After this second success, I’m putting the rest of Hoffman’s novels to the top of my reading list and likely instant purchasing a bunch when my thrift shops reopen! show less
I've waited a few weeks to write this review so that I could let the book settle in my imagination before expressing an opinion but my initial assessment of: "I like THIS but not THAT and overall, I could have enjoyed it more" hasn't changed.
I liked the ideas behind the story: the problems in dealing with a possible family curse that becomes real once you start to believe in it; the reaction of siblings with unusual gifts to parents who try not just to pretend that the gifts don't exist but take steps to prevent them from being used; the rites and rituals for the passing on of knowledge and ethical codes around the importance and inevitability of choice from one generation to the next and multiple stories of doomed love and abiding show more kinship.
There were also some great scenes that stuck in my memory: the first visit to their aunt's house, the doom-laden moonlit swim in Central Park, the Pastor and the sister sitting in lawn chairs in the cemetery, the porch light and all it meant to the local community when it was lit. The characters of the three siblings are well drawn and evolve realistically and the supporting characters are filled out enough to be real.
Listing these things, my review ought to be: "What a book! You MUST read this." but that's not how I feel.
The things I've listed are like the three-minute movie trailer that makes you hungry to go and see a hundred-and-ten-minute film that you then don't enjoy as much as you expected to.
For me, the storytelling was too much at arms-length from the characters. It was like a great script being messed up by poor camera work and lighting. The authorial voice started to annoy me. It seemed to focus on "So THAT'S how the folks in 'Practical Magic' came to be that way." rather than on the here and now they were living in. I know this is a challenge in any book that spans decades and it was probably made worse by the fact that I haven't yet read "Practical Magic" but it kept me at a distance from the emotions in the narrative. It also seemed to me that the omniscient authorial voice was not an empathetic one. There was a flavour of, "See! This is what happens when you mess with this stuff." that I found unpleasant and which was compounded by an inconsistent approach to the balance between fate and agency.
I suspect I'll be thinking about and arguing with myself about this book for some time.
I know that I'll be going on to read "Practical Magic" and see if that makes sense of everything. Perhaps I'm just suffering from the same problems that would be faced by someone watching "Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace" without having seen "Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope".
I listened to the audiobook version of "The Rules Of Magic" which was expertly narrated by Marin Ireland. show less
I liked the ideas behind the story: the problems in dealing with a possible family curse that becomes real once you start to believe in it; the reaction of siblings with unusual gifts to parents who try not just to pretend that the gifts don't exist but take steps to prevent them from being used; the rites and rituals for the passing on of knowledge and ethical codes around the importance and inevitability of choice from one generation to the next and multiple stories of doomed love and abiding show more kinship.
There were also some great scenes that stuck in my memory: the first visit to their aunt's house, the doom-laden moonlit swim in Central Park, the Pastor and the sister sitting in lawn chairs in the cemetery, the porch light and all it meant to the local community when it was lit. The characters of the three siblings are well drawn and evolve realistically and the supporting characters are filled out enough to be real.
Listing these things, my review ought to be: "What a book! You MUST read this." but that's not how I feel.
The things I've listed are like the three-minute movie trailer that makes you hungry to go and see a hundred-and-ten-minute film that you then don't enjoy as much as you expected to.
For me, the storytelling was too much at arms-length from the characters. It was like a great script being messed up by poor camera work and lighting. The authorial voice started to annoy me. It seemed to focus on "So THAT'S how the folks in 'Practical Magic' came to be that way." rather than on the here and now they were living in. I know this is a challenge in any book that spans decades and it was probably made worse by the fact that I haven't yet read "Practical Magic" but it kept me at a distance from the emotions in the narrative. It also seemed to me that the omniscient authorial voice was not an empathetic one. There was a flavour of, "See! This is what happens when you mess with this stuff." that I found unpleasant and which was compounded by an inconsistent approach to the balance between fate and agency.
I suspect I'll be thinking about and arguing with myself about this book for some time.
I know that I'll be going on to read "Practical Magic" and see if that makes sense of everything. Perhaps I'm just suffering from the same problems that would be faced by someone watching "Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace" without having seen "Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope".
I listened to the audiobook version of "The Rules Of Magic" which was expertly narrated by Marin Ireland. show less
Before Gillian and Sally there was Franny, Jet and Vincent. Those are the souls we need be concerned with in The Rules of Magic. The mantra for the Owens children is: no walking in the moonlight; no red shoes; never wear black; do no harm and never fall in love. Easy words that become difficult if not impossible tasks to accomplish. All they want is love, to be loved and to be able to love. The price to be paid is extreme and devastating.
Written with the greatest perception of growing up different in the difficult era of the late 1950s when conformity ruled, the Owens children are beautiful, moody, bright, talented, oddly buoyant and outsiders. Simply put they are not like anyone else. Franny’s seventeenth birthday brings an show more invitation to visit Aunt Isabelle on Magnolia Street in Massachusetts. The game is now afoot, magic is in the air and the story becomes a tale of Courage or Caution through the decades traveling from New York, to Massachusetts, to France and California.
I finished this book several days ago and have been thinking about why I am having the greatest difficulty trying to express my enjoyment and appreciation of Ms. Hoffman’s considerable talents. She has mastered the artistry of words. Her ability to grasp an emotion and wring it for everything it is worth is extraordinary. And the tale continues and it makes sense and you want more. There was so many memorable sentences to tuck away for future reference. “What is meant to be is bound to happen, whether or not you approve.”
It has been over a decade since I have read Practical Magic but I am headed to the library to check out a copy to reread and continue the journey of the Owens family.
Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an ARC. show less
Written with the greatest perception of growing up different in the difficult era of the late 1950s when conformity ruled, the Owens children are beautiful, moody, bright, talented, oddly buoyant and outsiders. Simply put they are not like anyone else. Franny’s seventeenth birthday brings an show more invitation to visit Aunt Isabelle on Magnolia Street in Massachusetts. The game is now afoot, magic is in the air and the story becomes a tale of Courage or Caution through the decades traveling from New York, to Massachusetts, to France and California.
I finished this book several days ago and have been thinking about why I am having the greatest difficulty trying to express my enjoyment and appreciation of Ms. Hoffman’s considerable talents. She has mastered the artistry of words. Her ability to grasp an emotion and wring it for everything it is worth is extraordinary. And the tale continues and it makes sense and you want more. There was so many memorable sentences to tuck away for future reference. “What is meant to be is bound to happen, whether or not you approve.”
It has been over a decade since I have read Practical Magic but I am headed to the library to check out a copy to reread and continue the journey of the Owens family.
Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an ARC. show less
The Rules of Magic is a prequel to Hoffmann's classic Practical Magic, perhaps even more beloved because of the 1998 movie starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. I confess that though I have seen the movie many times, I've never read the book it was based on. Luckily, as this is a prequel, it does not matter one whit whether you've read it or not.
In this story, you're treated to a previous generation of Owens siblings: Frances, called Franny; Bridget, called Jet; and the first son born to the Owens family, Vincent. All three are imbued with the magic of their bloodline and when the story starts they are curious teenagers shuffling from their Manhattan home to the small Massachusetts town where the Owens house on Magnolia Street has show more stood for 300 years. It's this summer that truly starts their journeys towards themselves, towards acceptance of who they are and the magic they wield. Many years pass within the novel, something that on occasion left me slightly confused as to the ages of the Owens, but you follow them along from teenagers until Sally and Gillian of Practical Magic come to live with them as children.
I was thoroughly enchanted by The Rules of Magic. It reads like a fairytale or a bedtime story being told to the reader, pulling you in, wrapping you in the lives of the Owens siblings. Each sibling is different, coming to accept themselves and their magic at different times, each of their voices unique. Romantic and gentle without venturing into 'romance novel' territory, Franny, Jet and Vincent each have vastly love stories that nevertheless leave their marks. I found each of them so enjoyable and my desire to know each character was fulfilled in such a satisfying way.
Three themes reiterate themselves throughout the novel: that being the most authentic version of yourself is important above all, not to live a little but live a lot, and that the only remedy for love is to love more. Vincent, Jet and Franny all struggle with each concept, taking steps forward only to take more steps backwards. As the reader, you're aware of where Jet and Franny end up, as aunties wise in the ways of magic and love, so to see these characters not only young but conflicted and combative about their own natures is fascinating. Vincent in particular is a revelation because he's unique to this story; it's easy to connect to him and the affection that Franny and Jet have for him matched my own.
Overall, I found The Rules of Magic to be a, well, magical story following the trials and loves of three intriguing characters. show less
In this story, you're treated to a previous generation of Owens siblings: Frances, called Franny; Bridget, called Jet; and the first son born to the Owens family, Vincent. All three are imbued with the magic of their bloodline and when the story starts they are curious teenagers shuffling from their Manhattan home to the small Massachusetts town where the Owens house on Magnolia Street has show more stood for 300 years. It's this summer that truly starts their journeys towards themselves, towards acceptance of who they are and the magic they wield. Many years pass within the novel, something that on occasion left me slightly confused as to the ages of the Owens, but you follow them along from teenagers until Sally and Gillian of Practical Magic come to live with them as children.
I was thoroughly enchanted by The Rules of Magic. It reads like a fairytale or a bedtime story being told to the reader, pulling you in, wrapping you in the lives of the Owens siblings. Each sibling is different, coming to accept themselves and their magic at different times, each of their voices unique. Romantic and gentle without venturing into 'romance novel' territory, Franny, Jet and Vincent each have vastly love stories that nevertheless leave their marks. I found each of them so enjoyable and my desire to know each character was fulfilled in such a satisfying way.
Three themes reiterate themselves throughout the novel: that being the most authentic version of yourself is important above all, not to live a little but live a lot, and that the only remedy for love is to love more. Vincent, Jet and Franny all struggle with each concept, taking steps forward only to take more steps backwards. As the reader, you're aware of where Jet and Franny end up, as aunties wise in the ways of magic and love, so to see these characters not only young but conflicted and combative about their own natures is fascinating. Vincent in particular is a revelation because he's unique to this story; it's easy to connect to him and the affection that Franny and Jet have for him matched my own.
Overall, I found The Rules of Magic to be a, well, magical story following the trials and loves of three intriguing characters. show less
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Author Information
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Alice Hoffman, an American novelist and screenwriter, was born in New York City on March 16, 1952. She earned a B.A. from Adelphi University in 1973 and an M.A. in creative writing from Stanford University in 1975 before publishing her first novel, Property Of, in 1977. Known for blending realism and fantasy in her fiction, she often creates show more richly detailed characters who live on society's margins and places them in extraordinary situations as she did with At Risk, her 1988 novel about the AIDS crisis. Her other works include The Drowning Season, Seventh Heaven, The River King, Blue Diary, The Probable Future, The Ice Queen, and The Dovekeepers. Her book, The Third Angel, won the 2008 New England Booksellers' Award for fiction. Two of her novels, Practical Magic and Aquamarine, were made into films. She has also written numerous screenplays, including adaptations of her own novels and the original screenplay, Independence Day. Her title's The Museum of Exteaordinary Things, The Marriage of Opposites, Seventh Heaven, and The Rules of Magic made The New York Times Best Seller List. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Awards and Honors
Awards
Distinctions
Series
Work Relationships
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Rules of Magic
- Original title
- The Rules of Magic
- Original publication date
- 2017-10
- People/Characters
- Frances "Franny" Owens; Bridget "Jet" Owens; Vincent Owens; Susanna Owens; Dr. Burke-Owens; Isabelle Owens (show all 20); April Owens; Levi Willard; Haylin Walker; Rafael Trouble Correa; Regina Owens; William Grant; Emily Flood; Reverend Willard; Alan Grant; Charlie Merrill; Jonas Hardy; Agnes Durant; Sally Owens; Gillian Owens
- Important places
- New York, New York, USA; Massachusetts, USA; Sag Harbor, New York, USA; Paris, France; Santa Cruz, California, USA
- Important events
- Stonewall Riots; Vietnam War; Monterrey Pop Festival
- Epigraph
- There is no remedy for love but to love more.
---HENRY DAVID THOREAU - First words
- Once upon a time, before the whole world changed, it was possible to run away from home, disguise who you were, and fit into polite society.
- Quotations
- Do as you will, but harm no one.
What you give will be returned to you threefold.
Fall in love whenever you can.
"Let's see what you'll have," their aunt said. "Courage or caution?"
For what you can fix, there are a hundred remedies. For what cannot be cured, not even words will do. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Drink lavender tea when you cannot sleep. Know that the only remedy for love is to love more.
Classifications
- Genres
- General Fiction, Fiction and Literature, Fantasy, Historical Fiction
- DDC/MDS
- 813.54 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American fiction in English 1900-1999 1945-1999
- LCC
- PS3558 .O3447 .R85 — Language and Literature American literature American literature Individual authors 1961-
- BISAC
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- ISBNs
- 32
- ASINs
- 8