A review by bookbelle5_17
The Magicians by Lev Grossman

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Review of The Magicians
By: Lev Grossman
Quentin Coldwater lives a mundane existence, and his only comfort is his favorite childhood fantasy series, the Fillory books.  During his college interview he finds out that not only is magic real, but there’s a school where you can learn magic.  Living a life as a magician might be more complicated and complex than he realizes and Fillory itself is real.
This is a fantasy series that is definitely for adults with its more mature themes such as depression and using magic as an outlet.  All the students depend on magic and use as a way to cope with their problems.  As a main character Quentin is selfish and is never satisfied. He hopes magic will make him happy, but when things become easy for him, he gets bored. He is a flawed character that has main character syndrome as he thinks the world revolves on his problems.  Each character we meet has issues outside that magical world of Brakebills and magic helps them cope.  Alice doesn’t have the best relationship with her parents and doesn’t feel like you can’t live up to the burden of magic.  She doesn’t want it take over her life.  Eliot is a black sheep in his family and as a gay young man he doesn’t fit in with. Brakebills and magic becomes his solace.  Janet seems like an angry, scared, and girl that plays the bitch to survive.  Josh is someone who has magic he can’t control or understand.  Brakebills treats magic a like a science and academia, and we see Quentin’s progress, but it does allow his opinion of magic to evolve. Grossman explores how magic isn’t as a sugary, fun as we think it is. The first part is like a messier version of Hogwarts and the second part is an edgier Narnia. I like how because there are so many stories about magic schools, Grossman doesn’t spend time focusing individual school but treats it like being in college.   There is a darkness and grittiness to this world that is kind of charming in its way.
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