Adventures in Reading: "The Magicians" by Lev Grossman

I think that I initially saw this book on Borders.com. The whole "Harry Potter goes to college" idea stuck out to me, and I decided I would put it on hold at the library. After reading several reader reviews (also on Borders.com), I became a little nervous. Most people seemed to land somewhere between being bored with the book to seriously disliking it. Being a bit of a literary snob, I figured that these readers were probably below my level of awesomeness, and that I would enjoy the book despite their lack of understanding.

I love being right!

The main complaint of the negative reviews that I have read about "The Magicians" is that its depressing. That certainly can't be denied. Essentially, the "The Magicians" is the story about getting everything you ever thought you wanted, and realizing that it's not enough. Quentin loves his childhood books about the magical land of Fillory and the Chatwin siblings who get to have adventures there. And then one day...Quentin finds out that not only is he a magician, but has been admited to a special college of magic (sort of my dream come true, right there!). But even Brakebills College becomes mundane, and Quentin and his compatriots continue their search for meaning after they graduate. Through a series of events, it is discovered that not only is Fillory real, but Quentin and company can actually get there. Unfortunately, our dreams don't always turn out the way we think they will.

Grossman creates his magical world without a lot of the whimsy associated with magic in other fantasy novels. His concept for the entire novel seems to be very much grounded in what's "real"...the dirty, unpleasant, disturbing parts of life and magic. I think this is a big part of what some of the reviewers didn't like. They wanted to whimsy. They wanted the magic to make things lighthearted, even when circumstances in the book were serious and heavy. But Grossman sticks with his assertion that nothing is easy and nothing comes free.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in an edgier, darker take on the fantasy coming-of-age genre (a la Harry Potter). It's a long read. It's course and sad and complicated. But its refusal to conform to its contemporaries is also refreshing.

While he did tie up all of the proverbial loose ends by the end of the book, Grossman left the ending wide open for a sequal, which might just turn out to be his version of a happy ending. We'll have to wait and see.