Reviews

Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link, Shelley Jackson

jess_mango's review against another edition

4.0

Magic for Beginners is a fun, quirky and clever collection of short stories from Kelly Link. These stories are the perfect light entry into spooky Halloween since they have a touch of the supernatural. We have a story about zombies that is not a "zombie story" but rather a story about a guy's zombie contingency plan. A story about ghosts that is not a "ghost story" but is a story about living people who are married to ghosts. And so on.

I also loved that the first story was locally set and made mention of The Garment District, which is a local store to get all kinds of second hand clothing.

What to listen to while reading...
Meet Me in the Woods by Lord Huron
Little Dark Age by MGMT
Red Rabbits by The Shins
Conversation 16 by The National
Little Ghost by The White Stripes
Come on Eileen by Dexys Midnight Runners
Tweeter and The Monkey Man by Traveling Wilburys
I Died so I Could Haunt You by Stars
They are Night Zombies! They are Neighbors!! by Sufjan Stevens
Sympathy for the Devil by The Rolling Stones

lattelibrarian's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I have a feeling I started, perhaps even finished, this book before but I in all honesty can't quite remember. This is an ephemeral book, with short stories that make you cock your head and laugh and be wistful. I'm not a big short story person, but Kelly Link is a true talent and it shows through the characters and imagery.

deanna_rigney's review against another edition

4.0

Link's writing is a weird and wild ride. Her stories remind me of the strange little paperback Hitchcock collections I used to read when I was younger, full of fantasy and creepiness at every turn. Reading her short stories is tantamount to looking at abstract art...beautiful, bizarre, haunting, thought provoking, and open-ended. She's a very imaginative writer.

stevemozza's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

1.25

skepticcurmudgeon's review against another edition

5.0

This was the best collection of short stories I’ve read since the late great Harlan Ellison was writing.

slicciardi's review against another edition

3.0

This started off so strong and then halfway through my interest completely waned.

justwingit03's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny lighthearted mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Some of the short stories I did DNF but overall a decent collection of stories with themes of magic. The content does get a bit odd and mature at times readers should be wary that this book may not be appropriate for young audiences. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Sexual content, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Mental illness, Abandonment, Grief, Kidnapping, Addiction, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Bullying

limabeangreen's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

3.0

whatzudoin's review against another edition

1.0

I tried to get into this book and I couldn’t. I got close to halfway into the book, but the stories never spoke to me. I found myself struggling to really like the stories. I’m not sure if it was the writing style or what.

briannastw's review against another edition

It’s just too weird.