Monday, February 27, 2012

The Magicians


With big nods to The Chronicles of Narnia and the Harry Potter series I also found myself thinking of The Catcher in the Rye. The book opens with the main character, teenager Quentin Coldwater, mopey, bitter, and lonely in Brooklyn. He is also secretly in love with a popular children's fantasy series about siblings who discovery Fillory through walking into a grandfather clock. Now here's the Harry Potter part...while Quentin is interviewing for admission to Princeton he has a disturbing and strange experience which leads to him being transported to a college for potential magicians. His ensuing years of college are interesting to read about as he seeks happiness in the world of magic that he had only hoped was real. The annoying part is Quentin's adolescent angst about his parents, girls, and friendship. A constant theme of being happy with oneself no matter where you are is great, but living through that growing knowledge with Quentin can become tedious and I found myself wanting to slap him near the end of the book. That being said, it really is worth the read for anyone who has a tolerance for magic and fantasy fiction. If you don't, you might want to take a pass.