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Title: The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman ISBN: 0-385-50760-7 Publisher: Doubleday Pub. Date: 24 June, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.82 (44 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Not Practical Magic or Turtle Moon, but it has its charms
Comment: The Probable Future opens in familiar Alice Hoffman territory: in a New England town, Jenny Sparrow frets over the legacy her daughter Stella will receive upon waking on her thirteenth birthday. All Sparrow woman - and they are all women - find their one "talent", always something magical or supernatural, on this day. The first Sparrow, Rebecca, could not feel pain while Jenny's mother Elinor can instantly detect a lie. Jenny herself dreams other people's dreams. In true Hoffman fashion, the gift Stella receives affects not only the direction of her life but of those who love her - Jenny, Elinor, Jenny's errant ex-husband Will; Will's brother Matt; Liza, the owner of the town tea house; Hap, Stella's new best friend; and Brock Stewart, Elinor's doctor and companion.
While parts of this novel are groaningly familiar, Hoffman deftly moves from these moments to something more solid and truthful. The author has her own gift, that of confident narration. Her characterizations are memorably detailed, with the portrayal of Brock Stewart perhaps the most touching I have encountered in her fiction. Unlike in Turtle Moon and Practical Magic, the magic realism here is not as much a crucial part of the story as it is an overlay. Even though Stella's gift does prompt a journey back to the Sparrows, the reasons seem forced and the action unnecessary. This story would be every bit as moving without the Sparrow women's gifts, fireflies that ignite, and bees that demand politeness. Some fans might be disappointed by the lack of seamless integration of magic and realism in this novel, but others will be thankful the author did not force it upon a story which has its most honest moments between ordinary people. Love and the author's literary expressions of its intricacies figure heavily, verging on sentimentality, but again, Hoffman seems to instinctively know when to abandon this direction just her writing is in danger of becoming maudlin.
Turtle Moon and Practical Magic remain Alice Hoffman's most inventive novels; however, The Probable Future has its own charms. Quiet, loving, and upbeat, this novel is more likely to appeal to women than to men.
Rating: 4
Summary: Attention: March Babies !
Comment: Alice Hoffman does it again. The Probable Future gently pulls us into the life of a small New England town through generations of the Sparrow women. Though the setting is contemporary with three generations of living Sparrows, we look back often enough to understand how their present day struggles relate to the Past. It reminds us to ponder our own heritage, how we got to be who we are and where we are. Of course, there is something magical about each woman and that is fun. You'll have to read the book to discover why it is of special interest to March babies. A nice, curl-up-under-the-covers read.
Rating: 5
Summary: fantastic
Comment: this book is incredible. i highly recommend it to all.
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Title: Green Angel by Alice Hoffman ISBN: 0439443849 Publisher: Scholastic Pub. Date: 01 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: The Amateur Marriage: A Novel by ANNE TYLER ISBN: 1400042070 Publisher: Knopf Pub. Date: 06 January, 2004 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman ISBN: 0425190374 Publisher: Berkley Pub Group Pub. Date: 05 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: The Drowning Season by Alice Hoffman ISBN: 0425184757 Publisher: Berkley Pub Group Pub. Date: 02 July, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: The Pursuit of Alice Thrift by ELINOR LIPMAN ISBN: 0679463135 Publisher: Random House Pub. Date: 17 June, 2003 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
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