My husband wanted to reread one of his all-time favorite short stories- speculative, or otherwise- "Magic for Beginners" by Kelly Link. What appeals to my husband about the story is its spirited mix of danger and fun.
Since it had been some time since I'd read the story, we decided to read it together, out loud. The pacing of the story was much different than I'd remembered- much more of the action takes place before the road trip portion, which I had remembered, erroneously, as the bulk of the story. The other thing I had failed to remember was just how funny the story is. We had to halt the narrative over and over to accommodate my fits of laughter.
I love the characters in the story- especially the protagonist's father. His quirks seem so real, both because elements of his personality remind me of people I've known, and because these distinctive elements of his character organically meld character to situation, situation to plot.
I also love the way Link turns the mundane into fantasy. What could be more everyday than a bunch of kids obsessed with their favorite TV show? Yet Link takes their show, their burgeoning hormones, mixes in discarded sofas and a phone booth- and manages to make magic.
"Magic for Beginners" is available in a short story collection by the same name (which includes another of my favorite Kelly Link tales, "The Faery Handbag"). Amazon ranks Magic for Beginners #44 in best selling paper science fiction and fantasy anthologies. The Kindle edition ranks in the top 10% of sales in Kindle books .
Since it had been some time since I'd read the story, we decided to read it together, out loud. The pacing of the story was much different than I'd remembered- much more of the action takes place before the road trip portion, which I had remembered, erroneously, as the bulk of the story. The other thing I had failed to remember was just how funny the story is. We had to halt the narrative over and over to accommodate my fits of laughter.
I love the characters in the story- especially the protagonist's father. His quirks seem so real, both because elements of his personality remind me of people I've known, and because these distinctive elements of his character organically meld character to situation, situation to plot.
I also love the way Link turns the mundane into fantasy. What could be more everyday than a bunch of kids obsessed with their favorite TV show? Yet Link takes their show, their burgeoning hormones, mixes in discarded sofas and a phone booth- and manages to make magic.
"Magic for Beginners" is available in a short story collection by the same name (which includes another of my favorite Kelly Link tales, "The Faery Handbag"). Amazon ranks Magic for Beginners #44 in best selling paper science fiction and fantasy anthologies. The Kindle edition ranks in the top 10% of sales in Kindle books .
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