After doing research for my reception report on The Magicians, I find myself having difficulty enjoying this book as a simple fantasy novel. I guess you can say I say blinded by all the conventional fantasy tropes: miserable boy discovers magic, escapes an old life and enters into a new life, makes friends and enemies, and sets out on a quest that takes more than magic to solve. From the sounds of the online discussion about Lev Grossman’s book, the overabundance of connections to Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narnina, and Alice in Wonderland blinded me from this “quasi-deep” meaning of the book.
Majority of the reviewers said this book could not be labeled as a simple fantasy book, because of the adult themes and the realistic characterization: "The characters that inhabit Grossman’s worlds are flawed and very, very realistic. The thoughts and behaviour of the late teen / early twenty-something’s whose lives we follow are excellently, and sometimes uncomfortably accurate. From the casual alcoholism to the hormone-controlled behaviour, the way these people behave will leave many cringing as they recognise themselves amongst the far-from-perfect ensemble." - Fantasy Book Review. Many bloggers argue that fantasy and reality are two contradictory elements and therefore, cannot work together in the same story.
As an adult fan of young adult and adult fantasy novels, I was kind of insulted by the response of the literary critics. One critic in particular gave the impression that Grossman’s novel couldn’t be fantasy novel and it was more a piece of literature!!!
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