The Magician's Land
The final installment in Lev Grossman's Magicians trilogy is
absolutely fantastic. As a finale, it's more than I could have hoped
for. It's deeply satisfying, making up for all the frustration that
preceded it. I must have felt every emotion while I was reading it, from
joy to terror to deep sadness. Sometimes all at once, which is really
amazing.
The book, and really the whole trilogy, is about growing up. Not in a YA coming-of-age way. It's about your twenties. About the stretch of time between when the law declares you an adult and you figure out the kind of person you want to be. For Quentin (and all his friends, really) this takes a while. It's a long process, and Quentin's immaturity makes the first two books frustrating. But in The Magician's Land he finally comes into his own. He deals with the consequences of his actions, faces up to the demons of his past, and muddles his way to becoming a mature, compassionate person. Someone you might want as a friend or even a mentor.
Grossman also gives us glimpses into the heads of his friends. Eliot is wonderful in a way I never really appreciated in the first two books, though that might also be because he has finally grown up. He's funny and empathetic. The kind of person it would be easy to be best friends with. Janet, on the other hand, is terrifying. She has her reasons, but she's a monster. I read her chapters with an expression of wide-eyed horror on my face.
The book isn't perfect, of course. Asmo is in it all too briefly, and the best part of her story happens off-page. Julia takes a little too long to show up, too, though it makes more sense in her case. But the shortcomings are few and are greatly outnumbered by the many, many things I loved about this book.
It's something of an exercise in nostalgia, revisiting Brakebills, Antarctica, the Neitherlands, and, of course, Fillory. But it's also about moving past and letting go of that nostalgia. Quentin's disappointment in, and his ultimate peace with, Fillory, which was a huge part of his childhood, is basically his entire arc. He has to learn that things aren't simple or perfect, that emotions and magic are wild and messy and it's better that way.
There's also a ton of material here for anyone who grew up loving Narnia and felt themselves betrayed by it later in life. For anyone who felt that love fade or sour. This trilogy draws on every book in that series, but The Magician's Land most clearly parallels The Last Battle and offers a more mature, adult take on that story. It deals with the problem of Susan from multiple angles, with various characters cast of Fillory for unfair reasons and reacting in vastly different ways.
This book is decidedly for adults. I don't think that often, but I definitely think you need some life experience under your belt to appreciate this book. You need to have failed and floundered and come out the other side. The journey Quentin and his friends go on is the same journey anyone in their twenties goes on. The frustration of the early books comes from their selfishness and stubbornness, but also from recognizing a bit of yourselves in them. It's uncomfortable to identify with such objectively horrible characters, and the best thing about this trilogy is watching them grow up and leave the worst versions of themselves behind.
The book, and really the whole trilogy, is about growing up. Not in a YA coming-of-age way. It's about your twenties. About the stretch of time between when the law declares you an adult and you figure out the kind of person you want to be. For Quentin (and all his friends, really) this takes a while. It's a long process, and Quentin's immaturity makes the first two books frustrating. But in The Magician's Land he finally comes into his own. He deals with the consequences of his actions, faces up to the demons of his past, and muddles his way to becoming a mature, compassionate person. Someone you might want as a friend or even a mentor.
Grossman also gives us glimpses into the heads of his friends. Eliot is wonderful in a way I never really appreciated in the first two books, though that might also be because he has finally grown up. He's funny and empathetic. The kind of person it would be easy to be best friends with. Janet, on the other hand, is terrifying. She has her reasons, but she's a monster. I read her chapters with an expression of wide-eyed horror on my face.
The book isn't perfect, of course. Asmo is in it all too briefly, and the best part of her story happens off-page. Julia takes a little too long to show up, too, though it makes more sense in her case. But the shortcomings are few and are greatly outnumbered by the many, many things I loved about this book.
It's something of an exercise in nostalgia, revisiting Brakebills, Antarctica, the Neitherlands, and, of course, Fillory. But it's also about moving past and letting go of that nostalgia. Quentin's disappointment in, and his ultimate peace with, Fillory, which was a huge part of his childhood, is basically his entire arc. He has to learn that things aren't simple or perfect, that emotions and magic are wild and messy and it's better that way.
There's also a ton of material here for anyone who grew up loving Narnia and felt themselves betrayed by it later in life. For anyone who felt that love fade or sour. This trilogy draws on every book in that series, but The Magician's Land most clearly parallels The Last Battle and offers a more mature, adult take on that story. It deals with the problem of Susan from multiple angles, with various characters cast of Fillory for unfair reasons and reacting in vastly different ways.
This book is decidedly for adults. I don't think that often, but I definitely think you need some life experience under your belt to appreciate this book. You need to have failed and floundered and come out the other side. The journey Quentin and his friends go on is the same journey anyone in their twenties goes on. The frustration of the early books comes from their selfishness and stubbornness, but also from recognizing a bit of yourselves in them. It's uncomfortable to identify with such objectively horrible characters, and the best thing about this trilogy is watching them grow up and leave the worst versions of themselves behind.
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