I decided to read The Magicians by Lev Grossman after hearing that it was like “Harry Potter for grown-ups.” I would agree, but I found it to be a book more about depression than magic.
Harry Potter fans will remember that in the fifth book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry starts showing signs of teen angst. The Magicians is about students at a secret magical college called Brakebills, so it addresses the issues that people may face after they should have grown out of “teen angst.” And unlike Harry Potter, the students of Brakebills are able to turn to alcohol to help solve their problems.
The book begins with the fact that the main character, Quentin Coldwater, has never been able to find happiness. He is still obsessed with fantasy books that he read as a child, about a magical place called Fillory (which seems to be a nod to Narnia). Fillory has always been in the back of his mind, as a place that would solve all of his misery.
A map of Fillory that I found on http://www.christopherplover.com. Christopher Plover is the author of the Fillory series, which only exists in The Magicians, yet he has a website. Perhaps the Internet is the closest thing we have to magic.
Soon Quentin finds himself enrolled in Brakebills and learns that magic is real. This is the first instance where he thinks all of his problems will be solved. This idea comes up several times throughout the book, the thought that, oh, this is where I belong; now I will finally be happy. At one point later in the book, Quentin says that his time at Brakebills was “a different lifetime.” He then realizes he has had several “lifetimes.” Each time his location changes, he assumes he is starting over, and that he left his depression behind him. Of course, this is never true.
This is a very sad and truthful idea that Grossman explores throughout the book. My grandmother used to say, “You take yourself with you wherever you go.” You can’t leave your problems behind, even if you are going to a place that has everything you ever wished for. You are still the same person; you still have the same issues.
Several times throughout the book, Quentin feels an immense satisfaction; as if this is the moment he has been waiting for his entire life. This happens when he begins to get the hang of practicing magic. He says that it felt like there was a lump in his chest for his whole life, just waiting to get out, and practicing magic finally releases it. He has these epiphany-like moments extremely often; again it is as if he has been searching for some magicial (no pun intended) cure for his depression.
The other factor that plays into all of this is alcohol. Quentin and his friends drink a lot. This is realistic since they are in college, but one of his friends, Eliot, is a full on alcoholic. They drink throughout the entire story, and once they leave college, they move on to harder drugs. Their inability to be sober also points to the underlying depression of Quentin and his friends. Magic is not enough of an escape, they need something more, and of course, even alcohol and drugs don’t make them happy.
The Magicians is also, of course, about magic, but I found it to be such an interesting book because of the way it addresses realistic unresolvable issues, and it doesn’t try to suggest that magic can really fix anything.
Check back soon for another kind of magic that doesn't solve anyone's problems...
The Canted Angle 