Magic for Beginners Audiobook By Kelly Link cover art

Magic for Beginners

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Magic for Beginners

By: Kelly Link
Narrated by: Mark Bramhall, Cassandra Campbell, Danny Campbell, Robbie Daymond, Kirby Heyborne, Rebecca Lowman, Arthur Morey, Lorna Raver, Meera Simhan
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Perfect for fans of George Saunders, Karen Russell, Neil Gaiman, and Aimee Bender, Magic for Beginners is an exquisite, dreamlike dispatch from a virtuoso storyteller who can do seemingly anything. Kelly Link reconstructs modern life through an intoxicating prism, conjuring up unforgettable worlds with humor and humanity. These stories are at once ingenious and deeply moving. They leave the listener astonished and exhilarated.

Includes an exclusive conversation between Kelly Link and Joe Hill

Read by Mark Bramhall, Cassandra Campbell, Danny Campbell, Robbie Daymond, Kirby Heyborne, Rebecca Lowman, Arthur Morey, Lorna Raver, and Meera Simhan

©2005 Kelly Link (P)2014 Random House Audio Anthologies Anthologies & Short Stories Contemporary Fantasy Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Paranormal & Urban Science Fiction Short Stories Witty Feel-Good

Editorial reviews

"Funny, scary, surprising, and powerfully moving within the span of a single story or even a single sentence." (Karen Russell, The Miami Herald)

Critic reviews

"A sorceress to be reckoned with." ( The New York Times Book Review)
"She is unique and should be declared a national treasure." (Neil Gaiman)

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There's no doubt that Kelly Link is a talented writer and surrealist. These stories are engaging, well-written, full of interesting characters, and interesting takes on literary structure, but most of them just didn't work for me. I really prefer more grounded fantasy. I also felt no emotional engagement with these works, other than a great deal of impatience.

Not really for me

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What would have made Magic for Beginners better?

The title suggests that the stories are packed with magical realism but many are ordinary people doing very ordinary things, really kind of dull.

What could Kelly Link have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

There needs to be few more plot twists. I get this is a style, very New Yorker, but I was misled by the title thinking this was something else.

Where's the magic?

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This was a really unique read. Link blends together magical, sci-fi, and horror elements into stories about everyday people with relationships and problems and jobs. You’ll be reading about a guy working at a convenience store and then suddenly there will be zombies and no one will bat an eye. Each story is unique, intriguing, and vivid. If you’re okay not understanding everything, then this is an excellent read.

Magical Realism

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Within 30 minutes of each story I sampled, I moved on. After two hours of searching, I stopped ...

i was Intrigued ... But

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It took some masochism to go trough many of the stories. Many are somewhat surreal but also awkward, hard to digest and I think they do not work well at all despite the effort of Link. I recommend you skip them completely. But I was touched by the writing of both 'Magic for beginners' and 'Stone Animals' and to a certain degree 'The Faery Handbag'. The characters felt very alive and real. In these stories the 'magic' is in the writing by Link rather than the topic treated in the stories themselves

Two good and many very bad stories put together

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Loved these quirky, original short stories. They have a creepy undercurrent and a touch of magical realism. If you like writers like Neil Gaiman and Angela Slatter, you'll probably like Kelly Link.

Haunting and Original

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Kelly Link never fails to wow me. I'm always loving and learning from her work.

awesome

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inane non sequitur stitched into prose, delivered in grocery list voices incongruous to the characters' whiny emotions

like a twitter feed

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Not one of the stories we worth the time. All started out fine, and had my interest. I can't say they took weird turns, but they were just plain weird.

None had any conclusions, they ended and left you with a big WTH.

Don't waist your time ( like I did).

not recommended.

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I’ve tried twice to listen to these stories. Sorry, not a fan and don’t understand the overwhelming praise.

Second time not the charm...

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