The Rules Of Magic

Alice Hoffman Scribner €15.99 Almost 20 years have passed since Hoffman published Practical Magic, the story of two sisters with enchantment flowing through their veins and an ancient family curse hanging over their heads. It went on to become a film starring Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock, and remains Hoffman’s best-known title. Now comes a prequel, winding back to Fifties New York and starring the sidelined aunts, Franny and Jet, and their swoonsome younger brother, Vincent. Never quite comfortable in their own skins, the siblings are about to discover who they really are. Hoffman’s classy prose imbues this modern fairy tale with bite as well as beauty.

Hephzibah Anderson