The Magicians

Lev Grossman's The Magicians officially came out today; I read an advance copy (say it with me) at Columbia. While at the course, I also met Grossman, his editor, Molly Stern, and members of the book's marketing and publicity teams. Needless to say, they all love this book.

My classmates had a more mixed reaction to a story I'd characterize as Harry Potter goes to Narnia, except with sex, drinking and drugs (so maybe it's the cast of The Secret History goes to Narnia after graduating from Hogwarts?). Grossman positions his text as a darker, more realistic exploration of conventional young adult fantasy. It's true that Harry, Ron, and Hermione only ever engaged in the chastest of kissing, and that Aslan sent the Pevensie children to war (twice).

In The Magicians, Grossman follows these events to their logical conclusions. Even if Rowling didn't acknowledge it, students at Hogwarts had to be having sex. And how did Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy not end up totally fucked in the head*? I'd still rather re-read The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, but I appreciate Grossman's approach (the Antarctica and Manhattan chapters are particularly inventive).

*Personally, I'm waiting for the day Gregory Maguire gives Susan Pevensie the Wicked treatment (seriously, how fucking sick would that book be, especially if she ended up as the White Witch?).