From the Bookshelf of The Sword and Laser…

The Magicians (The Magicians, #1)

Lev Grossman

Start date: April 13, 2012

Finish date: May 1, 2012

Discussion leader: Anne Schüßler

Why we're reading this: Our first pick for the new audio/video era!
[close] Our first pick for the new audio/video era!

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Sep 16, 2012 Harold Ogle rated it liked it

Shelves: magic, alternate-universe, contemporary, fantasy, pop-culture, dimension-travel

"The Lost Boys" meets A Separate Peace, with a lot of winks to other pop culture. The book is split into five parts, each one covering a separate period in the protagonist Quentin's post-high-school life. Quentin is a narcissistic addict and hyper-scholar, who, at 17, is offered a chance to apply for an exclusive boarding school, which happens to be the only school for magicians in the United States. The first two parts have to do with his education at this school on each of two campuses, the th "The Lost Boys" meets A Separate Peace, with a lot of winks to other pop culture. The book is split into five parts, each one covering a separate period in the protagonist Quentin's post-high-school life. Quentin is a narcissistic addict and hyper-scholar, who, at 17, is offered a chance to apply for an exclusive boarding school, which happens to be the only school for magicians in the United States. The first two parts have to do with his education at this school on each of two campuses, the third part with the first few months of his life after graduation, the fourth part with a journey he and his companions take to another place, and the last part with how he doesn't deal with what happens in that other place.

I found the book to be entertaining and yet frustrating at the same time. First of all, I can't really relate to the whole boarding school experience. I was born and raised in California, where such things are either absent or very, very secret....this is why it resonates so strongly as A Separate Peace, for me. Similarly alien setting, similarly creepy self-absorbed young adults, and a similarly bleak existential view of the world. Quentin never met an addiction he didn't like, and throughout the book he indulges in many of them: sex, lust, drinking, narcotics, resentment, self-pity, pride...he's like a personification of the id, running around with no brakes or controls. As such I could relate to Quentin - I recognize his agonized search for oblivion - but I found it hard reading at times nonetheless. I think part of it is that he hits bottom several times, but never gets any recovery, or makes any different choices with his life. He just gets up after wallowing in misery for a time, dusts himself off, and jumps right back into the behavior that made him so miserable in the first place (and second place. And third place. And fourth place. And so on).
That's "The Lost Boys" for you: terribly powerful beings with pretty much zero maturity.

There's some cool stuff about the book. For one thing, it is occasionally sesquipedalian, which is cool to see in a bestseller. A bestseller that requires one to think is a rare thing! For another, there is actually a character reason for the book to have an advanced vocabulary, as opposed to anything written by Jack Vance (who employs a much more complicated vocabulary but always just on the assumption that everyone in a SF setting would be quite learned): Quentin is an elite, nearly professional academic, after all.

Ostensibly, the book is about learning magic, then using magic in an Adventure of a Lifetime, and that's (I think) what most people really enjoy about the book. It's cool to see him learn to sense, control, and eventually master magic, and it's cool to see him use it in a Quest in a land with fantastical creatures. But really, that's all window-dressing for the core of the story, which is the tragic tale of Quentin never being satisfied with what he has. He repeatedly finds contentment and sometimes even happiness, but it's never satisfying to him (he is an addict, after all). So he always screws it up. The book is much like a Greek tragedy. Though we don't have a Chorus telling us that it won't end well for him, it's pretty clear very early on in the book that Quentin will never succeed, the failures will always be his fault, and he will never be able to admit that. So the ending of the book is very bittersweet, as it offers hope of a new beginning, even though we know that nothing has actually changed with Quentin and thus it's a false hope.

It's a well-written, very interesting book that can be emotionally frustrating and wrenching to the extent that you have empathy or even sympathy for Quentin.

Now, some minor niggles/unanswered questions of mine which are effectively spoilers, as they require intimate knowledge of the book:
(view spoiler) ...more

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Jul 14, 2012 Serena rated it liked it

Not to be confused with The Magician, the story of the magic twins.

I like the idea of wizard college, and though the protagonist is a self-absorbed twit, his sarcasm is quite humorous at times and this was a good, fast read. One thing I did find annoying was the number of times Quentin "suddenly realized" what he had to do. You can only use that exciting plot twist so many times before it starts to get old. ...more

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Mar 13, 2017 Leslie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Quentin is self absorbed and very unlikable which made the book a slog to finish. Overall I enjoyed the book and was quite upset when my favorite character died. I spent most of the book rolling my eyes at Quentin and wanting to smack him. The story is solid and well told even if told through the eyes of a self absorbed douchebag.

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