The Probable Future

The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman


My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Delicious, magical, at times feverish. I love this one more than the first Hoffman I read, Local Girls, though both books are sensitive, with complex loves and hates.

Hoffman seems especially tuned to mistakes in love, the pushing away (and then reeling in) of family, self-discovery and growing up. Combine character flaws, spring fever and magical thinking, and you get this fine novel.

I love the witchcraft in this story, the 13 generations of Sparrow women, descended in a direct female line from Rebecca Sparrow who walked out of the wilderness at a young age, with long black hair, speaking a strange language. Each daughter and granddaughter down to the present day inherit a magical trait that expresses itself on her 13th birthday.

Thus we have Elinor, Jenny and Stella Sparrow, each pulling and pushing on each other, mother to daughter, each with her own passions and regrets. All the characters are at times likable, and then completely despicable. One character plays off the next like a scattering of billiard balls. They surprise themselves, and us, with the directions they rebound.

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Local Girls

Local Girls by Alice Hoffman


My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sweet, intimate stories. Growing up pains and family tragedy. Don't be put off by the bright pink bra and panties hanging on the front cover (my Random House Vintage edition)-- it's not really that kind of book.

I admit it was difficult for me to walk around reading a book with a pink bra on the cover, but really, it was very good. There is a reason Hoffman's name is frequently mentioned next to Alice Munro's.

These stories had a familiar flavor: mix freshness and wisdom with a pinch of femininity and a dash of heartbreak, sprinkle with love, hope and surprise, and bake over a lifetime.

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