Book review: Lessons in Magic and Disaster

The cover of Lessons in Magic and Disaster by Charlie Jane Anders. The tile and author are in yellow. Thiere is a purple background that looks like cracked concrete, with small scattered daisies pushing their way through.

I received this novel as an ARC via NetGalley. You can preorder it here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/lessons-in-magic-and-disaster-charlie-jane-anders/21751603?ean=9781250867322&next=t

I’ve long been a fan of Charlie Jane Anders’ work, and this novel is exactly what I needed it to be.

Jamie is a literature grad student in the Boston/Cambridge area, working on the 18th century novel. Jamie and her mom, Serena, are both grieving the death of Serena’s wife Mae. Serena’s grief is devastating, and Jamie decides to teach Serena about doing magic as a way to try to bring Serena back to focusing on the present.

This… does not go well (hence the title).

The story bounces back and forth between the present, the 1990s when Serena and Mae were younger, and the 18th century works that Jamie is studying. Found family and the challenges of building community when things are hard are front and center, as it’s a predominantly queer cast of characters.

Heartfelt and heart-wrenching in the best ways, this novel is about grief and belonging, recovery, healing, and love. Even when you aren’t exactly perfect. It is full of messy but well-meaning people trying their best, screwing up, and figuring out how to do better and move forward, even when it hurts. Especially when it hurts. Because the space between surviving and living is huge, and the best way to fill it in is with people who love and accept you for you.

Because it turns out that there’s no way to make grief not hurt, even with magic. The fact that it hurts is proof that the grief comes from love, and leaning into that love is the way to keep living.

Highly recommended, like the most comforting of hugs from a loved one at a difficult time.