"Origin" by Dan Brown

Dan Brown’s Origin is the newest installment in the adventures of Harvard Professor of Symbology and Religion Iconography Robert Langdon. Dan Brown’s books are not my favorite. His writing style is a bit cheesy and he tends to make his art descriptions overly dramatic.  What I do like about Dan Brown is his ability to get me interested in certain historical facts, sights, scientific discoveries or pieces of art. Origin was no exception. I do now desperately want to visit Barcelona and already started a non-fiction book about quantum physics.

In terms of the overall story line, Origin was a pleasant surprise. I liked the plot and found the resolution to be more than satisfying. It is not possible to give a description of this book without spoiling the entire plot. Just be prepared to read about a sensational scientific breakthrough, a religious fanatic, a series of assassinations and there is a royal family thrown in the mix.  Sounds like Brown’s standard fare, doesn’t it? Some portions of the novel were predictable, some descriptions were too drawn out, and I lost count of how many times references were made to Langdon’s “eidetic” memory. Nonetheless, it is an entertaining and fast-paced novel, which did spark my curiosity about some famous sights in Spain and got me thinking about reading more non-fiction focused on latest scientific discoveries.  4 out of 5 stars.

"Stories of Your Life and Others" by Ted Chiang

I have been interested in Ted Chiang’s science fiction stories ever since I watched the movie “Arrival” that is based on his “Story of Your Life”. The movie and the original story examine the human concept of time. Chiang uses Fermat’s principle from physics to posit that time can be perceived in non-linear manner. Read the story – it’ll definitely mess with your mind.

Overall, I am very glad I finally picked up this collection. There are eight stories total, and at around 270 pages, it is a pretty short book. However, all stories are meticulously researched and have intricately developed worlds and characters. It is hard for me to pick a favorite. They were all really good. I did enjoy the three that had biblical/mythological undertones slightly more. There is a story about the tower of Babel, a story inspired by the Book of Job and a story based on the Jewish folklore about golems. If you like sci-fi and want to read something intellectually stimulating, this is a great book to pick up. I also appreciated the author’s notes in the back where he explained how he got ideas for each of the stories or what prompted him to structure them a certain way.

A very enjoyable and thought-provoking book. 5 out of 5 stars.

"The Rules of Magic" by Alice Hoffman

The Rules of Magic is a prequel to Practical Magic, which I reviewed in my previous post a short time ago. The Rules of Magic just came out yesterday, and it being an Alice Hoffman novel, it did take me a bit longer to get through it. As I mentioned before, her writing is quite descriptive and tends to have few dialogues. She is, however, a master of creating very vivid and atmospheric settings.

In The Rules of Magic we learn the backstory of the Owens aunts, Jet and Franny, whom the girls in Practical Magic come to live with in Massachusetts. We get to see Jet, Franny and their bother Vincent since the time they were little kids growing up in Manhattan and up to the point when the story of Practical Magic begins.

One thing I noted immediately especially since I read Practical Magic right before the prequel is that The Rules of Magic does not have the same dreamlike and mystical atmosphere. In addition, unlike the heroines of Practical Magic, the three Owens siblings in this book recognize their magic abilities early on and start experimenting with them. We also get a more detailed backstory on their ancestor Maria Owens who built the house on Magnolia Street and in many ways began the family legacy. Moreover, Hoffman finally places Maria in Salem. She still does not mention the town, but she does name the judge – Hathorne and there are numerous references to his famous literary descendant Nathaniel Hawthorne.

The overall theme of being true to oneself is strongly present in this novel. In addition, the Ownes children struggle with the curse which was supposedly put on all family members by Maria Ownes, and according to which something terrible will happen to the person they fall in love with.  Franny, Jet and Vincent are all scared of being in love for this reason. But slowly they do find the cure. The novel ends with: “Know that the only remedy for love is to love more” – I just love this idea. Loving more could mean taking chances, being brave and not being afraid to look like a fool. It can also mean loving someone enough to let them go and be happy with someone else, i.e. loving selflessly. It is a powerful idea.

Another quote that I underlined in my e-version of the book warns against knowing one’s fate. It reads: “Life is a mystery, and it should be so, for the sorrow that accompanies being human and the choices one will have to make are a burden, too heavy for most to know before their time comes.”

5 out of 5 stars. I received an e-ARC of this novel from Netgalley.

"Practical Magic" by Alice Hoffman

I read Practical Magic in preparation for Alice Hoffman’s newest release called The Rules of Magic, which is said to be a prequel to the original story. Practical Magic was published in 1995, and having now read two of Hoffman’s newest novels I can definitely see the difference in her writing. Practical Magic is very atmospheric, slow-paced, more character- rather than plot-driven. The story begins in a small town in Massachusetts where two orphan sisters have come to live with their strange aunts. The girls can tell that their family is not like everyone else in town. For one, the aunts wear black all the time. They also grow herbs that they use for healing and warding off all sorts of evil. Finally, the townsfolk visit the aunts late at night and seek remedies for issues of the heart. The aunts can bring wayward husbands home and turn an unrequited love interest into a passionate lover.

The girls Gillian and Sally do not show any particular interest in following in the aunts’ footsteps. They certainly understand that their aunts deal with the supernatural, but both in their own way try to distance themselves from that way of life and do everything possible to be “normal”. Hoffman almost never uses the word “witch” in this novel, she also does not mention Salem or spend a lot of time focusing on the witch trials. She skillfully hints at things or mentions things in passing. The readers are left to make their own conclusions and guesses. The novel is fairly short – 244 pages, but it is quite dense. There is almost no dialogue and plenty of long descriptive paragraphs. Still, I was surprised that it took me almost 5 days or read such a short book.

Overall, I liked the story and its message of being true to who you are. Even though Gillian and Sally run away from Massachusetts and distance themselves from their “witchy” relatives, in the end they realize that magic is in their blood. Only by accepting their heritage and coming to terms with it, they start finding peace and lasting happiness. 4 out of 5 stars. A great read for October.