Practical Magic
Like any good female millenial, I loved this movie in high school. I can't even count the number of times I tried to watch it with my friends. I even have a vague memory of trying to watch it while I was in labor, but things were honestly pretty blurry by then. I hadn't realized it was based on a book until a few months ago when I heard the prequel was coming out. But I was immediately anxious to read it and see all the things the movie left out.
Here's the thing, though. The movie significantly changed the book. I barely even recognized it as the same story. Sure, Sally falls in love and her husband dies young, leaving her depressed and bitter. Sure, Gillian accidentally kills her abusive boyfriend and runs to her sister for help. But other than that, the similarities are merely superficial.
In the book, the aunts border on neglectful, rather than fun. They never wanted kids, and they only keep Sally and Gillian around out of a sense of duty. But they do nothing at all to raise them. Sally runs away from them after her husband dies, not before, and becomes a wholly self-sufficient single mother who only visits her aunts for a week every summer. And she usually leaves early. Her daughters are teenagers during most of the action of the book, and they're no more interested in magic than she is. And most importantly, Gillian and Sally don't ever try to resurrect her asshole boyfriend. He still haunts them, but it's just because he was an asshole.
I'm not entirely sure whether I liked the book or not. There was a lot of nostalgia here for me, and I loved the parts I recognized. I tried to be more zen about the parts they changed, and that's easier to do when you read the book after seeing the movie. If I'd loved this book first, I almost certainly would have hated the movie. But I'm not at all sure I would have loved this book without the movie.
The writing is fluid to the point of distraction. The point of view changes without warning, and new characters are introduced in the same way, which makes for a slightly dizzying experience. I kept re-reading passages to see if I'd missed something only to realize that the book was just that abrupt.
Still, I'm glad I read it, and I'm excited for the origin story in the prequel. I'll always love the movie more, but now I appreciate it in a way I hadn't.
Here's the thing, though. The movie significantly changed the book. I barely even recognized it as the same story. Sure, Sally falls in love and her husband dies young, leaving her depressed and bitter. Sure, Gillian accidentally kills her abusive boyfriend and runs to her sister for help. But other than that, the similarities are merely superficial.
In the book, the aunts border on neglectful, rather than fun. They never wanted kids, and they only keep Sally and Gillian around out of a sense of duty. But they do nothing at all to raise them. Sally runs away from them after her husband dies, not before, and becomes a wholly self-sufficient single mother who only visits her aunts for a week every summer. And she usually leaves early. Her daughters are teenagers during most of the action of the book, and they're no more interested in magic than she is. And most importantly, Gillian and Sally don't ever try to resurrect her asshole boyfriend. He still haunts them, but it's just because he was an asshole.
I'm not entirely sure whether I liked the book or not. There was a lot of nostalgia here for me, and I loved the parts I recognized. I tried to be more zen about the parts they changed, and that's easier to do when you read the book after seeing the movie. If I'd loved this book first, I almost certainly would have hated the movie. But I'm not at all sure I would have loved this book without the movie.
The writing is fluid to the point of distraction. The point of view changes without warning, and new characters are introduced in the same way, which makes for a slightly dizzying experience. I kept re-reading passages to see if I'd missed something only to realize that the book was just that abrupt.
Still, I'm glad I read it, and I'm excited for the origin story in the prequel. I'll always love the movie more, but now I appreciate it in a way I hadn't.
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