Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister: A Novel by Gregory Maguire
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Book Reviews of Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister: A Novel
Book Review: 17 year old reviewer of one of her favorite books
Summary: 5 Stars
Anyone who gave it little stars did not get it. Don't listen to them who didn't appreciate the story in the full manner that it was meant to be appreciated. If it's not your cup of tea, fine, but it is a unique and amazing book- read it for the experience, take in the words, trust the author that you will be presented with a finely woven story crafted with care. I love historical fiction, fairy tale, and fantasy, and this is a combination of all of those things as well as mystery. This book didn't feel quite like just a book to me, it felt like art, maybe a painting. No doubt much care was put into it and it has the fluidity of art, rather than the rigidity of essays and certain books, while maintaing a unique and structured craftmanship of it own. This is the opposite of fiction and realism, and a wonderful treat, but as with all things you should enter without expectations. Be patient and absorbing, take it as you go.Book Review: Clever and full of heart
Summary: 5 Stars
After being bowled over by Wicked (the retelling of The Wizard of Oz), I had high expectations for Stepsister. Whereas Maguire continues to dazzle the reader with a seductive command of the language, Stepsister trades the glitter and magic of Wicked for a flatter, earthier tone. And of course it is entirely appropriate because the milieu is a Dutch village where we become involved with a struggling painter and an upper-class family on the brink of financial collapse. Ingenious, sexy, and as inventive in turning a well-known story inside out and upside down as his previous novel, Stepsister kept me wondering how Magquire would reconcile the fairy tale with his *adult* version. And if the ending in Wicked seemed a little rushed and diluted to me (though I still recommend it highly), Stepsister's resolution is more contemporary and original, perhaps because he didn't have to match the outcome of a cherished Judy Garland movie.Book Review: Flips commonly held ideas upside-down
Summary: 5 Stars
Once again, Maguire shows his particular brand of genius. This book shocked me. I actually thought this one would be fluffy, but it's very deep indeed. In fact, it's the only work that celebrates the ordinary over the extraordinary in such an adept manner that I know of. Most people celebrate the extraordinary, but Maguire shows us that all things that are extraordinary, from the beautiful to the grotesque, are, well, God's mistakes or accidents of nature. This nook encourages readers to use the extraordinary to appreciate the ordinary, instead of the other way around. As a historian, I also like the fact that he used the Dutch tulip craze to illustrate this point. If anything, this shows that beauty and value are completely arbitrary. It's a good point to bring up in this discussion, and doing so in this manner shows just how knowledgeable Maguire is.
This book is a definite must-read.
Book Review: Well crafted and moving
Summary: 5 Stars
I never write reviews on here, but I just finished this book and I have to say it was one of the best books I have read in a long time. I will never look at Cinderella the same way again. This book doesn't just retell the story from another point of view, it does so by creating characters you connect with and pulling you into the story so much that you forget it's the same old fairy tale. I admit it's a little slow in the beginning, and it took me a few chapters to get totally into it, but once I did, I couldn't put it down. I expected this to be one of those stories where the Stepsister tells her side of the story, putting all the blame on Cinderella, but what I found was a truly moving story where there isn't a real villain, just three sisters who are all products of a dysfunctional family. I seriously reccomend this book to anyone who is looking for a good read.
Book Review: Vivid Tale of Deception and Fate
Summary: 5 Stars
You've all heard the tale of Cinderella. You know girl is ruled by Evil stepmother and stepsisters, girl has fairy Godmother, girl goes to ball, girl gets guy. Yay! Everybody lives happily ever after . . . but what if that was the wrong story? Have you ever wondered if that was all there was to the tale? What if the story tellers got it wrong and Cinderella wasn't so destitute after all and the stepsisters wern't so evil? This is what Confessions is all about. Imagine a poor family of three: Mother, and two daughters. And through vairius twists of fate, end up in a beautiful house with a pampered brat of a girl to suddenly call family. Not very apealing is it? This is the story of the innocent stepsisters who were berated by society and hurt by their own stepsister, Cinderella. It's an amazing story about love, hate, and hurt. I give it 5 stars.