Closing of The Magicians

Last night I finallyyy finished The Magicians. Though the story was interesting to some degree and the novel was very easy to read, I cannot help feeling like nothing actually ever happened. The physical kids went to Fillory and had one thrilling terrifying fight with some crazy creatures, but that was it... then we didn't see any of the characters again and Quentin did nothing in Fillory but hang out and recover. Then he found a magical pony (I think) and wished himself home. He ended up in an easy high paying job that he neither cared about nor disliked. Just like the rest of the book, Quentin was indifferent. Even in the end when his friends came back and asked him to come to Fillory with them and be a king, he decided to go because he was indifferent, so why not?

Overall, the whole novel was rather depressing and unfulfilling. I thought it was all about a quest and eventually Quentin would come to realize what he's been searching for all of his life. Instead, he became less emotional than ever and never ended up finding what it is that could make him happy. I can't seem to find the meaning of this novel or the purpose for all of the allusions to other magical works. Maybe this will all be explained in class today.... Hopefully!