From the first chapter, I was completely absorbed. I felt like I had fallen through a crack into an undiscovered and beautiful land - Grossman took me to this magical place, just as C.S. Lewis had with the Chronicles of Narnia, and J.K. Rowling had with Harry Potter - to my immense delight, I was completely transported by the magical words on the magical page.
This feeling carried me through a good first part of the book, and I happily followed our hero, Quentin, and his bizarre mix of friends, through their magical training, and intricate workings of friendships and relationships. But unlike Lewis or Rowling, who gave us time and space with our characters, and whom we watched grow and adventure over many novels, Grossman gives us Book I through IV in one novel - and rapidly, too fast almost, we see our young protagonist grow into a complicated, miserable adult. It's a strange progression, and at times I felt like there was just too much happening. I wanted it to slow down - I wanted to see the characters develop slowly, gently - and of course, I wanted, at the end of this novel, to feel magical. Instead I felt sad.
Perhaps the disappointments and sadness are much closer to real life - and what really happens...but I, for one, believe in the magical goodness that exists, even if we can't see it all of the time.
A great escape, but it gets heavy and dark...that said, I am looking forward the sequel, due out in 2011.
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