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Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister: A Novel (平装)
by Gregory Maguire
| Category:
Self-driven, Story, Ages 9-12,Children's book |
| Market price: ¥ 168.00
MSL price:
¥ 158.00
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| Stock:
In Stock |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
The great presentation of contrasts beauty/ugliness, kindness/cruelness, love/hate. |
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AllReviews |
1 Total 1 pages 5 items |
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Susan H. (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-25 00:00>
What were Cinderella's wicked stepmother and the ugly stepsisters really like? Maguire has come up with a fascinating hypothesis in this logical, not necessarily magical, retelling of the classic tale. Recently arrived from England, the Dutch-born widow Margarethe and her two children, ungainly and seemingly slow-witted Ruth and plain but intelligent Iris, move into the social mix that is Haarlem in the 17th century. Soon after her arrival, she marries a newly widowed tulip merchant with one child. The author firmly places his characters into the down-to-earth and stolid reality of Holland fearful of the plague and intent on developing the tulip business that will make it famous, yet capable of nurturing Rembrandt and Hals. The well-drawn characters include a striving Dutch painter and his appealing apprentice; a beautiful, otherworldly child; her scatterbrained mother and burgher father; and even "The Queen of the Hairy-Chinned Gypsies." The plot is plausible and, given the fact that readers will think they know how it all works out, full of surprises. This is not an easy read, but the pretext is appealing and the resulting story worth the effort. Thoughtful YAs will enjoy a new take on a familiar tale, and be thoroughly involved in this historical romp. |
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J. F. NORRIS (MSL quote), Chicago, USA
<2006-12-25 00:00>
Just when you think there have been too many re-imagined versions of well-known fairy tales along comes one that brilliantly reinvents perhaps the archetype of all fairy tales. Maguire, who previously wrote a subversively political tale about the wicked witch of the west, surpasses his debut novel with this compassionate tale of beauty and familial duty. Once again his richly detailed prose captures that feeling of a once upon a time that true fairy tales require and does so without ever appearing artificial. This story of Iris and Ruth, their complex mother Margarethe, and their stepsister Clara of the 'afflicted eternal beauty' is filled with wonderfully shaded characterizations that never fall into that good/evil dichotomy that Grimm and Perault use in telling the original versions. Can kindness reside within ugliness? Is beauty and attractiveness really something to be envious of? Is a mother's apparent tyrannical household an environment that will produce wickedness? Is a nearly mute sibling nothing more than a drudge to baby-sit? Find the answers to these not so simple questions within Maguire's excellent story and be prepared to be reassess your own prejudices about the 'ugly' and the 'beautiful.' |
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Brian Lemma (MSL quote), Sterling, USA
<2006-12-25 00:00>
The readers of this book, that is. Gregory McGuire has hit another one out of the park with Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister. Following up on "Wicked," the first of McGuire's expanded fairy tales, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister tells the story behind the story of Cinderella.
Childhood fairy tales, true to their intended audiences, tell stories of black and white, good and evil. Once we all grow up, though, we realize that the world is many shades of gray. McGuire's stories reflect that adult knowledge. That is why this story is so fun to read. I voraciously read fairy tales as a child, and McGuire has allowed me to revisit the stories of my childhood while entrancing me as an adult. His are quick reads, which is somewhat disappointing, because the end always comes too soon.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough, and I will be waiting for my 'prince in shining armor' to write me another grown-up tale!
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Oxzillia Schmitt (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-25 00:00>
This is a book that turns the story of Cinderella totally upside-down. Part historical fiction, part fantasy, part coming-of-age novel, this book tells the story of Iris, a young girl lacking in good looks, who is forced to leave her home in England when her father is murdered. Her mother, the harsh Margarethe drags her and her simple, dull sister Ruth to Holland where they are to live with their Grandfather. Unfortunately their grandfather has died without their knowledge and they are left homeless and penniless.
Over the course of the novel they become involved with the rich tulip merchant--van de Meere-and his uncommonly beautiful daughter, Clara, who is fated to become Iris's stepsister. Clara is strange and haunted. She never leaves the house and claims to be a changeling child. When Margarethe marries van de Meere, Clara retreats to the ashes; determined not to be seen, while Iris slowly finds the confidence to unveil the treacherous secrets that surround her life.
This book is extremely well written and is way more than a fairy tale. The twist at the end was really unexpected. The last two sentences are really beautiful, too.
"But to be most effective, the faces of children would need to be painted in a blur, the way all children's faces truly are. For they blur as they run; the blur as they grow and change so fast; and they blur to keep us from loving them too deeply, for they protection, and also for ours."
Anyway, I still can't decide whether or not his book was as good as wicked. They are both amazing in different ways I guess. I did find Confessions took a long time to get to the actual Cinderella part but that's just me. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to see the happy, boring little story of Cinderella that we've all heard so many times, gutted, torn into tiny pieces, and then put back together again to create this masterpiece.
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Irene Labrakou-Antonopoulos (MSL quote), Athens, Greece
<2006-12-25 00:00>
A different Cinderella...and a very exciting one for that matter. Cinderella for grown-ups, devoid of the innocence that surrounded its original version, devoid of the simplicity of characters, the straightforwardness and clarity of emotions.
Cinderella enters real life, where feelings of joy, love, malice, jealousy are more often than not implied, smoldering, as opposed to being thrown in your face; where characters are complex and often contradictory; where the invention of imps, witches, fairies and the like is more than anything a way to escape that which hurts; where beauty can be both a blessing and a curse. But a real life where, indeed, goodness and kindness can surface in the most unexpected of circumstances and can be found in the most unexpected of places, if only one cares to look. The writer cared to look at one of the 'evil' stepsisters and what he found there will come as a real surprise to us all.
Masterful storytelling by Maguire. I can't wait to get my hands on the rest of his books.
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1 Total 1 pages 5 items |
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