The Magicians

The novel The Magicians by Lev Grossman is one of the most haunting novels I have read in recent memory. Grossman’s novel is an interesting mash of almost all the big magic fantasies of the recent century. This includes works such as harry potter and of the Narnia series. However, this story is a more mature (and darker) story then the others and it also is one of the saddest and depressing novels I have read. What makes this novel so sad is the connection one feels with the characters of the novel which makes us go through plenty of rollercoaster of emotions the way Grossman writes the story.

The progression of this novel is quite lengthy, extending from the college years of Quentin all the way to his eventual tussle with the beast in his adulthood. Grossman basically writes the story of Quentin through his life as a student and a full fledge adventuring mage in one 400 page novel, basically compressing Harry Potter and Narnia into one readable sitting. This sort of stretch leaves out major gaps in the story (most especially in his years in college) and most years of his life pass with only one chapter dedicated to them. However, by getting a full view of his life, we see a great coming of age story where Quentin grows and matures through the many events and retrospects of his life. As a college student at Ringling, I can really sympathies with his years as a college student and I felt that I was able to connect with Quentin then most characters. With that being said, this novel is by far the saddest story I have read in my entire life.

Throughout the story, I was intrigued by the magic and wonder of the world but, most of my attention was directed to the relationship between Alice and Quentin. Through their ups and downs and their time together, I have come to love them as a couple. It’s hard to say what exactly led me to completely fall entranced in their relationship, but it was probably due to them being singled out and eventually fell in love which I thought was absolutely adorable and heartwarming. When Quentin (and eventually Alice) ended up cheating on each other, not only was I sad, I was almost in tears to see this relationship fall apart. When they got back together, I was feeling so happy that I ended up reading the rest of the book in one sitting because I wanted to see their happy ending together. But sadly, as if Grossman wanted to make me miserable and crying, he decided to bring death to Alice in the worst and ironic way possible. This eventually led me to be in tears for about an hour whilst reading the rest of the book, hoping she would come back.