~ Sue’s Bookshelf ~

Sue Littauer

Alice Hoffman is my favorite author. One of the highlights of my career at the Jewish Federation was the opportunity to meet her. I found her to be quite shy and reserved, but I had a lovely conversation with her and did manage to find a connection. She and my brother both live in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and when I told her where he lives, she knew exactly which house was his and said she walked by it every day! She even said to call her when I visited and we could meet for coffee.

I love Alice Hoffman’s books because she is a masterful storyteller. Her books are magical yet grounded. And from my view, the title of her book “Practical Magic” perfectly describes the essence of her books. Many begin with a character, a situation, or a seemingly random thought. The story follows, and when you least expect it, the book is magically tied together to become a gift to the reader.

When I think back to my favorites, I am reminded of “Turtle Moon,” “Second Nature,” “Illumination Night,” “At Risk,” “Seventh Heaven,” “Here on Earth,” “Faithful,” “The Museum of Extraordinary Things,” and “The Marriage of Opposites.” But my absolute favorite has always been “Practical Magic,” the novel published in 1995, which became a major motion picture starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman.

Ms. Hoffman has written two prequels to “Practical Magic” and is currently working on the fourth and final book in the series. Her most recent, “Magic Lessons,” published in October 2020, is historical fiction telling the story of the Owens women, beginning with Maria Owens in the 1600s, continuing with Maria’s journey to Massachusetts and the events surrounding the Salem witch trials. All the Owens women are described as beautiful with gray eyes and an intrinsic understanding of how plants and animal organs can cure various ailments, mainly lovesickness. We meet Hannah and Maria in “Magic Lessons,” Franny and Jet in “Rules of Magic” (2017), and Gillian and Sally in “Practical Magic.”(1995). After reading “Magic Lessons,” I went back and reread “Practical Magic” because what I remembered of the book was a dead man, red boots, and lilies. (Yes, they were all still there.)

While reading “Magic Lessons” and Alice Hoffman’s most recent books, I noticed a distinctive Jewish influence that wasn’t found in her previous work. I wondered whether there was a specific occurrence or event that had influenced her to reference Jewish history in her latest books. The books I am referring to are “The Dovekeepers,” “The

Marriage of Opposites,” and “The World That We Knew.” I emailed Ms. Hoffman through her publicist, feeling fairly confident I would get a response once I mentioned our Cambridge connection. A few hours later, I received the following: “I began to reference Jewish history more than I had previously after the death of my grandmother. My grandmother, Lillie Lulkin, was my connection to my heritage and history, and once she was gone, I felt a huge loss. It wasn’t a conscious decision to add this material to my novels; I was just drawn to Jewish history and folklore.”

Now would be a great time to settle in with these books about the Owens women. Your experience reading “Magic Lessons” will be enriched by the Jewish history found within its pages.

“Magic Lessons” will be our book club selection for May. It is available at the Levine-Sklut Judaic Library at the Center for Jewish Education. For more information, contact sueb.littauer@jewishcharlotte.org.