Alice Hoffman
Autor/a de Practical Magic
Sobre l'autor
Alice Hoffman, an American novelist and screenwriter, was born in New York City on March 16, 1952. She earned a B.A. from Adelphi University in 1973 and an M.A. in creative writing from Stanford University in 1975 before publishing her first novel, Property Of, in 1977. Known for blending realism mostra'n més and fantasy in her fiction, she often creates richly detailed characters who live on society's margins and places them in extraordinary situations as she did with At Risk, her 1988 novel about the AIDS crisis. Her other works include The Drowning Season, Seventh Heaven, The River King, Blue Diary, The Probable Future, The Ice Queen, and The Dovekeepers. Her book, The Third Angel, won the 2008 New England Booksellers' Award for fiction. Two of her novels, Practical Magic and Aquamarine, were made into films. She has also written numerous screenplays, including adaptations of her own novels and the original screenplay, Independence Day. Her title's The Museum of Exteaordinary Things, The Marriage of Opposites, Seventh Heaven, and The Rules of Magic made The New York Times Best Seller List. (Bowker Author Biography) mostra'n menys
Sèrie
Obres de Alice Hoffman
The Collected Novels Volume One (Property Of | The Drowning Season | Fortune's Daughter | At Risk) (2016) 28 exemplars
The Collected Novels Volume Two: The Foretelling, White Horses, Angel Landing, and Seventh Heaven (2018) 6 exemplars
Property Of / Second Nature 1 exemplars
The Witch of Truro 1 exemplars
Ploughshares Winter 2017-2018 1 exemplars
Obres associades
The Book That Changed My Life: 71 Remarkable Writers Celebrate the Books That Matter Most to Them (2006) — Col·laborador — 387 exemplars
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Eighteenth Annual Collection (2005) — Col·laborador — 223 exemplars
Who's Writing This? Notations on the Authorial I, with Self-Portraits {not Antæus} (1995) — Col·laborador — 72 exemplars
Cape Cod Stories: Tales from Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha's Vineyard (1996) — Introducció — 52 exemplars
The Artists' and Writers' Cookbook: A Collection of Stories with Recipes (2016) — Col·laborador — 18 exemplars
Amerika, Amerika bloemlezing — Col·laborador — 8 exemplars
Faerie Magazine, #38 Spring 2017: The Warriors & Goddesses Issue (2017) — Col·laborador — 3 exemplars
Enchanted Living, #52 Autumn 2020: The Natural Magic Issue (2020) — Interview / Excerpt — 2 exemplars
Etiquetat
Coneixement comú
- Data de naixement
- 1952-03-16
- Gènere
- female
- Nacionalitat
- USA
- Lloc de naixement
- New York, New York, USA
- Llocs de residència
- Boston, Massachusetts, USA
New York, New York, USA - Educació
- Adelphi University (BA)
Stanford University (MA, creative writing) - Professions
- novelist
short-story writer - Relacions
- Hoffman, Lisa (cousin)
- Organitzacions
- Hoffman Breast Center
Doubleday
Brandeis University - Agent
- Elaine Markson (Elaine Markson Agency)
Amanda Urban (ICM Partners) - Biografia breu
- Alice Hoffman is an American novelist and young-adult and children's writer, best known for her 1995 novel Practical Magic, which was adapted for a 1998 film of the same name. Many of her works fall into the genre of magic realism and contain elements of magic, irony, and non-standard romances and relationships.
Membres
Ressenyes
Llistes
Five star books (1)
Magic Realism (9)
Legal Stories (1)
To Read (1)
100 New Classics (1)
Eastern Europe (1)
5 Best 5 Years (1)
A Novel Cure (1)
Judaism (1)
Autumn books (1)
Page Turners (1)
Sense of place (1)
Which house? (1)
Female Author (2)
To Read (3)
Carole's List (5)
Indie Next Picks (1)
Witchy Fiction (1)
Everand 2023 (1)
READ in 2023 (1)
Jewish Books (1)
Premis
Potser també t'agrada
Autors associats
Estadístiques
- Obres
- 64
- També de
- 33
- Membres
- 51,796
- Popularitat
- #293
- Valoració
- 3.8
- Ressenyes
- 1,925
- ISBN
- 1,046
- Llengües
- 20
- Preferit
- 196
Not sure I found either of the characters particularly empathetic or authentic. I have no problem with unsympathetic protagonists, but in this case both characters evince a frustrating level of gullibility/lack of introspection - dramatically necessary, perhaps, but irritating. There's not a lot of plot, and what plot there is comes off as contrived and far-fetched.
But there's also much to savor here, like Hoffman's lovely, evocative descriptions of the Manhattan wilderness in the days before human development entirely consumed the Hudson River and its environs. Also relished the historically accurate depictions of Coney Island, immigrant tenements, and the devastating Dreamland Fire of 1911. Her portrayal of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and its aftermath is gut-wrenching.
While Hoffman employs many of the elements of literary fiction - themes, symbols, extended metaphors - there's not necessarily a lot of sophistication to it. Water and fire symbolize transformation. Dreamland symbolizes human hubris. Starlings represent invading Europeans/civilization. A fish that may or may not have been reborn symbolizes the miracle and hope of love. There's a cactus that finally blooms at the moment that Coralie's free will finally blossoms, and an extended metaphor in which Jane Eyre serves as a construct for exploring the definition and price of freedom, wrapping up in a rather unsubtle denouement in which the Coney Island fire parallels the famous conflagration at the end of Bronte's novel. In other words, nothing your average high school literature student wouldn't be able to access. (And just in case you do overlook something, the author includes an afterward, in the form of a letter, that clears up any possible ambiguities.) Indeed, it sometimes feels like the literary elements are driving the story rather than visa versa. They add some richness, but detract from the authenticity of the story while adding little in the way of added insight or profundity.
This was my first Hoffman novel, so can't shed any light on how it might compare to her others. I enjoyed the tale for what it was, but am not sure - based on this outing - whether I'm in any hurry to explore Hoffman's wider oeuvre.… (més)