Book Review: The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic

By Julia Padgett

Sometimes in life, we need a little bit of escapism. Slipping into a different world to encounter other peoples problems and lives can be an anodyne that we welcome. Lets face it that may be the primary reason most of us read especially when the real world gets heavy. Picking a title and going somewhere else is its own sort of magic. That is precisely the purpose of Emily Croy Barkers The Thinking Womans Guide to Real Magic.

Main character Nora quite literally slips into another world right when her own world is not really working out. She finds herself being enchanted and controlled by magical beings for a brief period before being rescued by the magician, Aruendiel.

Once Nora escapes the enchantment, she realizes that her modern world experiences dont mesh well with this darker, primitive, and grim existence. Apparently working on a doctorate in English literature really doesnt keep you fed in imaginary worlds either. However, she soon begins getting tutored in magic and has some cooking skills that come in handy in the kitchen as well.

Barker lures you in with a richly descriptive, imaginative background and flawed main characters that grow on you in spite of themselves. No, this book is not going to solve a moral crisis, probably will not enlighten you much, but it will keep you entertained, and sometimes, that is exactly what you need in life. When you finish the book, you may wish there were more of it. Rest assured, Barker is working on a second and third book to continue the intersected worlds of Nora and Aruendiel, so we can look forward to more adventures and mental breaks to come.