I have a tendency, whenever I visit the library, to end up walking out with about six books. Even if I intend to only return a few and pick up the one on hold, I’m forever heading out to my car with an armful of books that caught my eye. The check-out period at our library is quite long (unless the book’s on hold from somewhere else), so when I get home I add them to my library collection and get to them when I get to them.
At some indeterminate time between one and three weeks ago I checked out The Magician King by Lev Grossman. I’m not sure why I picked it up, or if I found it in the new books shelf or what, but I remember not recognizing that it was a sequel to a book I read in 2009. The cover kind of reminds me of a thriller or other novel that I wouldn’t read, but when I figured out that it was a sequel, I added it to the pile.
My collection of library books currently sits where our TV used to be on our TV stand in the living room. The TV has been moved onto an Ikea table in our second bedroom, which is now our workout room. When we moved the TV, even though I never turned it on except to play Wii Fit, the space seemed too empty and so I put the (15 or so) library books I always have checked out onto it. Anyway, last night when I was choosing something to read I didn’t feel like the four other books I have in progress and so I shuffled through the pile and chose The Magician King.
I like Lev Grossman’s style, so I was immediately entertained. The Magician King has to do with magicians who are in the magical kingdom of Fillory. This appeals to me on many levels. The main character is a regular guy and most of the royals (there are four) speak in normal language and have even taught the youth of the kingdom to say “Jesus Christ” even though none of them know what it means. I’m a huge sucker for fantasy realms. Plus, did I mention magicians? Plus kings and queens? There’s a castle. I’m in.
I got about 60 pages in by the time I had to go to sleep, but the more I read, the more uneasy I felt. Something was wrong. I was really enjoying the story, and though it’s careful to subtly explain some things from the past, I have almost no memory of the first book.
Like I said, I read The Magicians in August of 2009. I only know that specific date because I entered it in my Goodreads account. I remember the basic beginning of the story: Quentin, an unhappy guy who is about to interview to go to Princeton, gets invited to a magical school called Brakebills. (Yep, the similarities to Harry Potter and Narnia have been much discussed.) The book tells the story of his time at college becoming a magician.
But other than that, I was drawing a complete blank (and still kind of am). I’ve looked over basic plot summaries. At some point in the story, Quentin and his friends discover that Fillory (the subject of a series of books like the Narnia ones) is a real country and not just fantasy. And in The Magician King there are allusions to Important Stuff that Happened in the previous book…but I can’t remember anything. Beyond the basic story…nope. No important plot incidents.
And the thing is, I remember really enjoying this book. I’m fairly sure I stayed up late at night for a few nights reading it. Lev Grossman’s writing and the characters all seem really familiar to me.
So, now I’m kind of curious about why exactly I can’t remember much of what goes on in this book. Is it because I didn’t actually love it as much as I thought? Is it because all the other books I’ve read since 2009 have taken its place? I suppose if I think about it, I can have difficulties remembering a lot about a given book unless I have a minute to look at it because I’m always reading a bunch of books. I know I’ve checked out books from the library before and three chapters in realized I’ve already read it, but this is the first time I’ve tried to read a sequel and come up with nothing about the first book.
The brain is so weird. My brain is so weird. I swear, The Magicians, I liked you. I really did.
Anyway, perhaps this is my cue to do a reread once I’m done with some of these other books. Strange times!