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Summary: Poetry, Passion, and Power
Review: A marvelous book, a 300-page temptation, an invocation to the reader to plunge headlong and feetfirst into a tarantella of political intrigue, old magics, subtle loves, and unsubtle appetites...Maguire does not simply take the age-old tale of Snow White and set in in early Renaissance Italy, as others have done in their retellings of the classics. Intriguingly, he finds the place where it fits best, where it lodges, and roots, and grows...and so the story of the beautiful young Bianca becomes tangled with the history of Lucrezia Borgia, her poisons and her passions, and the resulting tapestry is rich, subtle, frightening, and revelational...and no one has EVER explained the dwarves as Maguire has done here, as strange, earthy entities caught somewhere between timeless torpor and true humanity. Lovely, and strange, and highly-recommended.
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Summary: Disappointing
Review: After racing to the store to pick up the new Maguire book, I was very disappointed in Mirror, Mirror. Have read all his books and seems like they are getting less and less interesting after Wicked. Wondering if Wicked will be Gregory's peak novel. Would not recommend this book, actually I took mine back for a refund.
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Summary: A Bold Stroke
Review: Although not as complexly compelling as Wicked, 'Mirror, Mirror' works as a bold take on classic tale. Rather than the sympathetic Elphaba of 'Wicked'- whose wickedness is the product of her circumstances- or the fairly neutral stepsisters in 'Confession'- who were more caught up in the story and weren't the locus of evil- Maguire gives us Lucrecia Borgia as Snow White's nemesis, and dares to draw her as irredeemably evil, but written in a way that betrays the author's almost giddy love for her. As with his other works, this book takes a while to engage and can feel over-written at times. It is worth the effort though, as you get a rarely told perspective- an incestual, conniving, insecure, poisonous, ruthless and evil protagonist- one who is not misunderstood, a victim of her circumstances or alibied in any way. Some readers will have a hard time with a totally unsympathetic, and at times creepy protagonist- but those who don't need a rooting interest will be amply rewarded with a lush, original take on the sanitized, desexualized 'Snow White' we all know.
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Summary: Fascinating take on an old fairy tale
Review: First off let me say that I devoured this book. . . took me all of two days! He took the story of Snow White and tied it in with the Borgias. I love history interwoven with fiction/fantasy, no matter how improbable. Knowing some of the Borgia family history, it wasn't all that unbelievable! It might not have been the best written book I've ever read, but the plot was good and held my attention. Held it to the point that I desired to read it! I always like a retelling of a myth or fairy tale and this was one of the best I've ever read. The telling voice changes back and forth between A LOT of characters, which was a bit confusing to me at times. This was mainly because I was still in the previous character's mode and I don't switch quite that fast. Some of it plot was a little unclear, which could again be put down to me and not the actual book. On the whole I liked it and I'll definitely try at least one of his other books. Matter of a fact--I'm planning a trip to the library for just that purpose!
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Summary: Wonderful
Review: Gregory is back and it is wonderful!!! It had to be after that awful dribble LOST came out 2 years ago. I bought this book yesterday (I still had faith in GM) and I could put it down until I finished it. It held me in thrall and I just couldn't read it fast enough.The only complaint..it wasn't long enough!!! I don't want to give any of it away but this Snow White is no Disney cartoon. And man oh man these dwarfs are very strange and there's one extra one that we never knew about(?!). Get this book and have a wonderful time reading it. Gregory is back and its so good to have him back writing something great once again!!!!
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Summary: Off the beaten path
Review: Gregory Maguire captivated me with 'Wicked' and 'Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister'. I even enjoyed 'Lost' for the puzzles and suspense, however 'Mirror Mirror' has left me confused and disappointed. In previous stories Maguire has told us the story around the story - things that we weren't told about in the original fairy tale - but left the original fairy tale intact. Mirror just smashes fairy tale out of Snow White and leaves a disorganized, confusing mess. There was little of the original tale left - and I'm not talking about the pretty, bluebird infested Disney version, even the Grimm Bros. would be disappointed in this one. The character choices were intriguing but the actual story telling lacks quite a bit. Other reviews get into more depth on this, and I agree with quite a few of them. I look forward to more stories from Maguire in the hopes that this is a learning experience. Before buying this book, read all the reviews, the good and the bad, then make your choice. I don't regret the buying or reading of this book - but I've read better.
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Summary: A new slant on an old fairy tale
Review: Gregory Maguire has put a most clever twist on this incredibly rich and creative retelling of the classic story of Snow White. In a seamless blending of history and fairy tale, the story takes place in 16th century Italy. Snow White is personified as Bianca, the beautiful and naive daughter of a Spanish expatriate who manages the Montefiore farm. Lucrezia Borgia, the decadent, beautiful, and manipulative murderess, replaces the role of the wicked stepmother as Bianca's caretaker. The seven dwarves are creatures far stranger than any I have ever seen depicted before. Part man, part rock, and wholly surreal, they move through their own dimensions of time and space. The poisoned apple is plucked from the fabled tree of knowledge. The language is lyrical and evocative of far away times and places. Objects ranging from the mirror to the dwarves' cottage are painted with detail so realistic yet magical that the reader is immersed in the off-kilter and eerie world of fantasy. Colorful secondary characters such as the cook, priest, and gooseboy add humorous contrast to the evil machinations of the Borgias. Take a trip to Montefiore and revisit a fairy tale reflected in a mirror of history, myth, and magic.
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Summary: '...shadows offer more.'
Review: Gregory Maguire states in his most recent adult fable; Mirror, Mirror, that the 'light catches our eyes, but shadows offer more'. Perhaps he should have pulled his story from the shadows, because this one is certainly lacking. Don't get me wrong, I really love this man's writing style, and his prose....his imagination is incredible; his ability to re-tell an age old story and breath fresh life into it is amazing. Snow White; Renaissance Italy; the Seven Dwarves, and all the lore that goes along with them;...a magic mirror, poisoned apples, and Lucrezia Borgia as the Wicked Queen of this tale? WOW!!!!! So; why is it less than 300 pages long? I loved every word of this book...I loved the concept...I loved the twist on the Snow White tale...I loved the literary liberties Maguire took....it isn't what IS there that I didn't love...it's what ISN'T there.... Bianca De Nevada is the consummate Snow White...innocent, beautiful, obedient...Lucrezia Borgia as the 'wicked queen' is perfectly cast....and the supporting characters are equally as likeable...there just isn't enough of them... I don't think it necessary to take up space with a 'synopsis' of the Snow White story...it's been around for years...and I highly recommend further reading on the Borgias...there is a wonderful study of them called 'The Fall of the House of Borgia' by E.R. Chamberlain if you can get your hands on it. But Maguire's re-telling has left a lot to be desired...granted it is his story, not mine, but....with such a wonderful cast to work with, and so much story...this is a feeble offering at best. HOWEVER...if you are a Maguire fan...read this book...his story-telling capabilities are in full bloom...just hope that next time he gives you a little more of what you love.
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Summary: The Italians call it "Merda"!
Review: Having enjoyed and just finished reading "Wicked" for the second time to prepare for seeing the Broadway musical, I had half finished reading "Mirror Mirror" when I found ot that Maguire was to appear at a local bookshop. What a disappointment! He read passages as if to a group of kindergarteners, and was very vague and defensive about answering questions about mistakes in the text of "Mirror" and just seemed to want to bask in the obsequiousness of the small group of fawning admirers who had gathered for his signature. The book is muddled and poorly plotted with mostly flat undeveloped, uninteresting characters who are weird for the sake of weirdness. The prose is turgid, pretentious, overblown, with lots of show-off Italian phrases in italics . Unfortunately, anyone who thinks Daniel Handler is a good writer is already suspect in my book. I don't think I will waste any more money on his books, not with so many other more capable writers around. By the way, Greg, Queen Isabella died before Columbus,not after, and in the early years of the 16th century, it was not called the Atlantic, but, among other titles, the Ocean Sea. You need an editor you can trust, someone who will hand your manuscript back and say, "This needs work!"
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Summary: Intelligent but not really entertaining.
Review: Here lies a version of the classic fairytale of Snow White set in the early 1500, in Tuscany. While many elements of Snow White could be found in this tale, it pits the non-fictional Borgia family as the proverbial "evil witch", though their part in the story itself was very loosely based on their real lives. While it is evident at the beginning of the book that the author intends to delve on the philosophical and read-between-the-lines aspects of the base fairytale, it fails to entertain. Oftentimes it is tedious and in truth, I wish that the author would just skip these parts and tell the damn story. However, I cannot discount the fact that these are all intelligent observations, boring though they are. It becomes more evident as the pages go by that the author is more interested in telling a story about the Borgias, particularly Lucrezia, than he is of Bianca, otherwise known as Snow White. In terms of the Borgias' lives and interactions, this could pass as a good fictional account, but as a version of Snow White... not that it failed, just that perhaps it would have been infinitely more compelling as a short story rather than a drawn out novel. Many parts of it were, I could only assume, allegorical. The symbols and fancies could boggle ones mind, mainly because the story started out so realistically then tumbled into magical gobbledygook. I should have expected it, knowing it was a fairytale after all, but it came out too weird, and adjustments and reminders in perception had to be made. Ultimately, it's tiresome to try to understand the meaning of Bianca, the dwarves, the mirror, Vicente's quest, the apple, the coffin, the deer come to fetch Lucrezia... The verses in the book were wonderful, though. I enjoyed how it gave the characters more volume and how it set the mood. For all this, I give this book a two and I wouldn't hastily recommend it. I'm still deciding on who would best be served by reading this. Perhaps someone who wishes to make a thesis on the fairytale of Snow White or the Borgias. Who knows?
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