Quentin, a logical, intellectual genius, grew up reading a series of children's fantasy novels set in a magical place called Fillory (A place Grossman compares to the land of Narnia in The Chronicles of Narnia). Quentin has always imagined Fillory, as his ideal world, his very own "Shangri-La", his "Middle-Earth", or even his "Oz". Unfortunately, this idealized sense of bliss makes his current, real life and situation quite boring and dull. He, like most unhappy or depressed people, realizes what he has, "'I should be happy, Quentin thought, I'm young and alive and healthy. I have good friends, I have two reasonable intact parents… I am a solid member of the middle-middle class. My GPA is a number higher than most people realize it is possible for a GPA to be.' But walking along Fifth Avenue in Brooklyn, in his black overcoat and his grey interview suit, Quentin knew he wasn't happy" (p.5). As frustrating and depressing as his attitude may be to the reader, it is what separates him from our common misconception of previously depicted, magical characters (Harry Potter) and/or worlds of fantasy and sorcery (Hogwarts, Narnia, etc). To his surprise, Quentin is admitted to a very mysterious, exclusive college of magic in upstate New York, called Brakebills College of Magic, where we see that learning the art of magic is not just activated with the flick of a wand or repeating latin text from spell book. The same way that art school is not a hippie-ridden, finger painting, "fun-fest" of unintelligent, hyper-emotional, drug addict students who rebelled against their doctor/lawyer parents (excuse my lack of formality). Along with hard work and strategy at art school, there are still young, irresponsible, and unwise decisions to be made. Brakebills College also has students who irresponsibly engage in partying, drinking alcohol, pursuing and wrecking relationships and having sex. All of these realistic elements of the book, emphasize the theme of growing up as a real person, seeking real happiness in life. With other "young adult" fantasy novels and movies, we are led to believe that magic resolves all problems (and mostly unrealistic problems, like slaying a 100 ft., three headed, guard dog or battling evil ghostly spirits), leaving us under the impression that a school of sorcery or a world of magic, in all cases, is the ideal, perfect world where most problems disappear. This particular book gives young adult readers, sort of a reality check. Quentin had dreamt for so long of the day he could find himself in Fillory, "Looking back, in a philosophical frame of mind, it occurred to Quentin that he'd always thought this would be a happy day, the happiest day of his life. Funny how life has its little ways of surprising you. Little quirks of fate" (p.281), even then, Quentin was not totally happy, he only had a temporary feeling of liberation.
(Artwork by Cecilia Bohlin)
Reading this book, on a more personal note, was easy for me to relate to. I've only read one of the many Harry Potter books and seen a handful of the movies, and I have only seen the first of the two Narnia movies, and besides the sense of imagination in the books and quality of animation in the movies, some of the main characters lacked a real human quality. I loved the Harry potter movies and thought the characters were well developed, but I personally found it hard to relate to any of them in a personal way, unlike Grossman's character, Quentin. As annoying as he may be, I can honestly say I have been almost a mirror image of Quentin growing up. I have experienced dissatisfaction, superiority to my parents and my peers, and depression for almost no reason at all. I have a good life, a supportive family, good grades, and a list of talents, but for whatever reason, I find myself unhappy most of the time. I have moved around, left one life to pursue another, changed myself and my image, upgraded most things in my life, changed jobs, hobbies, schools, and after all those "escapes" and alterations, after experiencing what I thought was the "ideal world" or the "perfect lifestyle", still, I have dealt with, and deal with the same challenges and struggles to this day. I believe Lev Grossman took a subject most young adults idealize, magic, and painted a realistic image for us to take on. Most people have a hard time relating to this feeling that Grossman uses to describe Quentin's character. Some might even express aggravation and dislike towards his personality. I think most people have experienced the desire to escape the mundane lifestyles they live, and perhaps reading a book where the character is so annoyingly realistic might be frustrating because it's so close to reality, it almost shatters the sense of 'escapism' and merges a real world with a fantasy world.
I believe most people live only to find a different or better life. I have an appreciation for imaginative books like Harry Potter, or Narnia, which portray magic and wizards as unrealistic and so far from our own world, we can idealize their gifts and lives, but the theme of The Magicians is that, one can jump from one place to another seeking happiness, running from "boredom", but , there is no escape from yourself. Lev Grossman so accurately states, "If there's a single lesson that life teaches us, it's that wishing doesn't make it so".
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