The Book With the Draggin' Plot

So, this book is the first in a trilogy that was published posthumously and became a huge international sensation. I've finally gotten around to reading it, and, well, Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

It's not that it's written poorly -- in fact, the central mystery at the heart of the book is quite well-crafted. It's just that it takes so long to get into the investigation that by the time you do, you've almost forgotten why you were reading in the first place.

On top of that, the translation from Swedish into English is clunky at times, and anything which slows the pace at which you can turn the pages in a page-turner is a detriment to enjoyment. Moreover, although I have some Swedish ancestry, the culture depicted in this book is so alien that it's hard to fully immerse oneself into it. 

I've never read so many descriptions of coffee being brewed, poured and shared in my life. And I get it... it's cold. But do I need page upon page of text telling me how cold it is? It's like Anne Rice and her infatuation with pointing out each and every magnolia tree in Louisiana before finally getting around to introducing the witches. I get it... now can something happen?

Really, this book was really three compeltely different stories mashed up into one - the first was about the titular girl, which was essentially a version of La Femme Nikita. The second was a snooze-fest about financial espionage that smacked on John Grisham platitudes. The third was a noir-esque "cold case" that actually had some meat to it, save for the fact that for about 100-150 pages, the main character sat around debating whether or not to participate in trying to solve it. 

It's decent, but not the be-all end-all that it was purported to be. Personally, I waited several years before deciding to read the book, and now that I have... I wish I'd waited for David Fincher's movie. 

For Those in Hogwarts Withdrawal

I just finished reading The Magicians by Lev Grossman, and wanted to share my thoughts. The book's plot draws on both Harry Potter and the Narnia series, but thrusts these recognizable memes into a far more gritty and unforgiving environment. 

Quentin, a Brooklyn high schooler, is on his way to an interview that he hopes will help him get into an Ivy League school. Things don't go as planned, as instead, Quentin discovers a dead body waiting for him. Quicker than you can say Gryffindor, he is magically transported to Brakebills, a college that he never even knew existed. 

However, although this school teaches that magic is definitely not PG-13 -- and the extra-curricular activities that go on when class in not in session would make most people turn a shade of red brighter than a Weasley's head of hair -- as time goes by, Quentin and his schoolmates learn that though magic can do many things, it cannot provide happiness or a purpose in life. 

Searching for some sort of "quest" to occupy their time, they make another shocking discovery -- that the mythical land of Fillory, which most of them read about in books as children, is in fact a real place. However, their eventual journey there once again shows that the sugar-coated stories told to children often gloss over some deeper, darker, painful truths. 

This is not a fantasy novel full of precocious children, benevolent elderly wizards and cute, cuddly talking animals. While there are moments of humor throughout the novel, at its core, this is a harsh and sometimes depressing spin on what it means to leave childhood behind -- and the overwhelming cost of trying to hang on to that innocence when it comes your time to finally grow up.

Some people may not like how this book -- the first part of a planned trilogy -- ends, but if you're willing to rid yourself of those "everybody lives happily ever after" endings you were constantly exposed to as a kid, you may find the journey through its pages are more than worth the effort.