Confessions of An Ugly Stepsister

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Summary: A good retelling of Cinderella...
Review: Cinderella, the real French story, not the sugarcoated Disney version, is my all-time favorite fairytale, and I couldn't wait to pick up Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister. This novel is told from one of the stepsister's point of view. The novel focuses on the circumstances that lead these three obscure characters to live with the beautiful girl that they hate and envy so much. From Margaret, Iris and Ruth, homeless and away from Britain, turning tricks in order to obtain a warm home in Holland to living with an eccentric artist, this fairytale paints a far more sympathetic picture of the evil trio. Of course, the story is dark and literary at times. Gregory Maguire does an excellent job in illustrating these characters in a different light. Also, I loved the fact that it was set during 17th-century Holland, which gives it the sort of historical elements that I love. This is a good, memorable retelling of the classic fairytale. Highly recommended...

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Summary: Finally! A Different Side of the Coin!
Review: First things first, I'm not usually one for the hero of a story; I usually more side with the villians. I've just found the 'bad guys' to be more interesting.

Second thing, for the most part, I am strong strongly AGAINST the whole Cinderella story, espeically the Disney version; I don't like the unconsiouse images that it represents, but this isn't where we discuss them.

I read "Confessions" in a single day; in all honestly, I was enthrolled by the book because it was a different side of the coin. It took a different spin on the story and gave life to the stepsisters, and especially Iris. Gregory Mcguire made Irish real; some you could rally behind, some one you could have sympathy for; an underdog.

I really liked this book, and if you want a different take, and aren't completely obsessed with the cleaned-up version Disney Cinderella, give this book a look through.

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Summary: Who needs Prince Charming when you've got a book this good?
Review: Gregory Maguire's Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister makes for an engaging and even absorbing read. (I started it on a train ride and finished it within two days; it was hard to put this one down!) It is a fascinating remake of the Cinderella story, with some memorable characters and some nifty plot twists--Maguire's gifts are creating interesting people and inverting expectations.
This book does have some drawbacks. The constant discussion of art, particularly at the beginning, may put off some people. (As an Art History major who is the child of an artist, I loved it. On the other hand, my boyfriend, an engineer with little exposure to art, found it excessive.) Also, the middle seems to drag a little, unlike the beginning and the end. (Beginnings seem to be Maguire's strength; they really pull readers into the story.)
In comparison to Maguire's previous novel, Wicked, Stepsister shows some maturation of his style. For example, the deeper themes (here concerned with looking) are integrated more smoothly with the overall plot, and the ending is less rushed.
Mr. Maguire is fast becoming a delightful writer, if he can keep up his creative energy to subvert more of our ideas about what is actually happening inside the tales we know and love.

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Summary: Cinderella deconstructed and rewoven
Review: Having grown up on and loved various versions of the classic Cinderella story, I was immediately drawn to this book because of the new perspective it offered on the tale -- the mysterious viewpoint of the "ugly stepsister." However, Maguire's excellent take on Cinderella does more than just reveal the heretofore unseen stepsisters and their complex histories and personalities. Framed by the familiar fairy-tale details, "Confessions" is a thoughtful, sometimes gruesome, very beautiful meditation on a host of timeless issues: social class, human psychology, artistic talent, the role of women, family love, and the nature of beauty.

By setting his revised Cinderella tale in the context of seventeenth-century Dutch merchant-class society, Maguire gives his story foundations of history and art, lending rich flavor to his sparingly elegant prose, and giving additional depth to his unusual cast of characters. The stepsisters (smart but plain Iris and her simpleton sister Ruth) and Clara, the lovely and haunted "Cinderling," are especially well drawn, in all their various idiosyncrasies; and the extraordinary love and conflict between them is the most outstanding of the strong threads carrying the story.

In short, Maguire has expertly boiled this classic fairy tale down to its essence, then rewoven it into something fantastic, strange, and unforgettable.

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Summary: Intelligent Original Retelling
Review: I read this in two days; it's a page turner. I love fairy tales and this book gets behind the milk-toast Disney version of the Cinderella story down to the more nitty gritty reality most real folk tales are based on. I've decided that this is a very feminist telling of the tale. Clara isn't exactly super feminist heroine material, but she and her sisters are in sharp contrast the the cartoon fairy tale versions of patriarchal womanhood you find in modern renditions of the this fairy tale. This retelling is raw and refreshing. As a woman, I was particularly impressed by the portrait of the relationships between the women in this story, mother to daughter, sister to sister etc. The emphasis placed on how the female characters relate to their positions in society and the way they feel, see the world and interpret their existance is fantastic. These women have voices and struggle with demons.

I don't know what some of the reviewers who gave this book bad reviews are thinking, I've read books ten thousand times worse, but unfortunately not that many that were so much better! Confessions is a fun and engaging read. I'll probably give it to a friend for Christmas. It's that kind of book. I really liked it.

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Summary: A great twist on the Cinderella story
Review: I've read books and seen movies that retell this story in many different ways; however, this one is my favorite. I enjoyed seeing a more realistic portrayal of the stepsisters, instead in of most stories, where they are depicted as being evil. Also, the ending of this book is more convincing than the fairy-tale idea that the characters will live happily ever after once they get married. But, the book isn't completely harsh and realistic. There are some parts that seem almost magical, but not in a way that seems implausible. Another aspect of this book that I liked was the illustrations at the beginning of every chapter-it's always easier on my imagination when there are pictures to look at. Overall, I liked this book a lot better than Wicked, the other novel by Maguire that I read. This is mainly because the characters were easier to sympathize and relate to. This is one of my favorite books and I would recommend it to everyone.

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Summary: Confession: I was let down.
Review: Like Maguire's other novel for adults, Wicked, the concept behind this book is great- telling a popluar children's story from another point of view to show that the evil and the ugly perhaps were not so awful after all. Unlike Wicked, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister is not political and complex in nature with well-drawn multi-dimensional characters, relationships, and surprises. It is a good story at points but not great, and I often found myself wondering who Maguire was writing for- a ten year-old child or the adult reader who is the intended audience. The story and actual writing seem to fall into an in-between place where maybe both, but perhaps neither, the adult nor child can find full gratification from the novel.

It is interseting to see the events of Cinderella fleshed out in a new way through the eyes of Iris, one of her plain step-sisters. The story is filled with subthemes and plots focused mostly on art, beauty, and dark forces. There are many historical details centering around masters of oil painting, the Dutch tulip trade, and beliefs in witches, goblins, imps, and changelings. Strangely I felt that there was simultaneously too much and too little going on in the plot at the same time- all of the elements that would seem necessary to make a good novel were present, but none were developed deeply enough while some minor details were developed too much and felt distracting. I kept comparing the scenes in the Master's studio where Iris begins to develop an "eye" for shapes, colors, and painting to Tracy Chevalier's Girl With a Pearl Earring, and Confessions didn't come close to matching up. Many of Maguire's points keep circling and circling back upon themselves and by the end of the novel I never wanted to think of the celebrated "Young Woman with Tulips" painting again- the point and theme had just been belabored too much.

There were moments of Confessions that I truly enjoyed such as when Iris and her mother Margarithe study the unsettling portrait of the magic world of horrors. I was left feeling that the eyes peeking from the bird's beak were truly staring out at me. But more often I felt that the descriptions and archaic language were contrived and that Maguire was trying too hard. At times the narrative dragged and various elements did not mesh together seamlessly. For example, Iris believes her friend Caspar whom she is in love with and who clearly loves her too is gay just because her step-mother implies he is. This ridiculous belief becomes a central plot element. Earlier Iris describes playing "Girl Stag of the Meadow" with her slow and lumbering sister Ruth. As Ruth is on her hands and knees with branches tied to her head and a foul-smelling plet over her back, "Iris kneels behind her sister, right up against her, like that bull Zeus pressing against a cow." I found this random and disturbing and somehow Maguire found it necessary to weave this image back into the plot at various points.

As the novel ended I was glad that it was done and the climax was finally realized, because it felt that the ball was a long time coming with a lot of unnecessary diversions and shallow meditations with a few moments of brilliance. Happily, the glass slipper scene has a whole new context and the motivations of the characters are, of course, different from the fairy tale. I was left at the end pleased to have a new version of the Cinderella story in my mind, and I pondered if Confessions could be sold as a somewhat feminist novel, but ultimately instead of lingering visions of beautiful Clara, or tulips, or plain Iris, I was left with the disconcerting and random image of "Girl-Stag of the Meadow" in my mind and I wished it would just go away.

Rating:
Summary: New life for Cinderella....
Review: Maguire does an excellent job of breathing new life into the story of Cinderella. The writing is diverse...switching from humor, to whimsy, to a darker tone, and conjuring up wonderfully lush images. I was afraid I would be bored, having read the same old Cinderella story so many times, but Maguire really adds his own twist and I found myself sucked into what felt like a light work of historical fiction.

The story takes place in Holland and deals a great deal with painting and the tulip industry. From this perspective I would highly recommend the book to those who enjoyed Girl With a Pearl Earring, because it has some of that same flavor.

The only thing that kept me from giving the book 5 stars was the feeling that Maguire could've made me care for a few of the characters more. They weren't at all flat, but there might've been more emotional involvement if a few things were handled differently. Despite that one issue, this is a fun, relaxing, overall excellent book, and one that I will probably re-read in the future.

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Summary: Nice lessons without being preachy. Lovely novel!
Review: Wow! Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister is moving, poignant drama filled with magic, adventure, wit and subtlety. What a fantastic read!

It begins with an old crone listening to children in the street reciting the fairy tale CINDERELLA, and realizing that they must be speaking of *her* family, but the story has been bastardized, butchered beyond recognition. This is how it "really" happened, from the point of view of the crone, one of the two so-called wicked step sisters. And what an absolute joy to read. Stripping the fairy-tale of it's magic mice and fairy godmothers allows for true issues of self-worth to be addressed, along with a good dose of romance and wit.

The story is cleverly plotted, coming up with mundane explanations for the magic in the fairy-tale, while telling the unique tale of the compassionate step-sister who is instrumental in her two sisters' development. The tension within the story is palpable and utterly credible. Iris, an awkward teen, fears her looks and the scary magic she perceives lurking around her in her new home and her new country. Clara's confrontation with "Wicked Step Mother "Margarethe is the story's driving conflict, and all the reasons behind the Margarethe's behavior are rivetingly explained.

Iris has a good, true heart, but must overcome her low esteem and fight her mother's tyranny to find love. Clara, too must come to terms with her looks, which she deems just as much a curse as Iris' ugliness. Her search for courage and competence after being raised as a porcelain doll is a valuable lesson to put across to readers without being preachy.

Margarethe is a formidable villain to every character in the story, capable of taking them all on with cunning. The writing is quick, intelligent and humorous and filled with menace, at all the right moments. Yum yum yum. Can't wait to read Wicked. Bravo!