Rating: 
Summary: An interesting perspective on a well-known tale
Review: Reading Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister was a little like participating in a scavenger hunt. The familiar details of the Cinderella story are hidden--sometimes tucked away, barely recognizable, sometimes out in the open but in different dress--waiting for the reader to discover.Like Wicked, his other novel, Maguire packs Confessions with layers of meaning. It's a discourse on the nature and value of beauty; the relationships between women and between women and men; the nature of a changeling; and what it means to "jump," as Margarethe refers to self-preservation. I also liked the way Clara was portrayed. In this version, she's not relegated to the status of servant by her tyrannical stepmother, she chooses it for herself--her own method of jumping. Additionally, while the relationships between the Fisher sisters and Clara are not always sisterly, they're dynamic relationships that reflect the caprices, virtues, and prejudices of real people, not the flat relationships portrayed in most versions of the Cinderella story. My biggest complaint about the novel is a pretty minor one. I won't ruin the surprise, but I was disappointed in the way Maguire handled the Epilogue. It didn't seem to fit with the rest of the novel; it's as it he wrote it simply for the value of a "twist." Regardless, readers interested in retellings of popular fairy tales, Dutch culture and history, or simply literary fiction will like this novel. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: BEAUTY IS ONLY CANVAS DEEP
Review: "You, you, you...aren't ONLY what you look like." (p. 336) This very unDisney-like rendition of the classic fairy tale is teeming with contradictions. There is beauty and kindness, ugliness and cruelty, but they are never paired as such for long. The would-be heroine, Iris, while doting on a seemingly stupid, obese sister and defending an overly ambitious mother, misinterprets the implications of her "plainness" and, more importantly, the power of good intentions over vanity. Her understanding of the world and its conceptions arise from her interest in art, which affects the way she interacts with the other characters. There is the ambitious mother, Magarethe, who at one point claims Iris is "too young to know how women must collaborate or perish" (p. 65), yet whose personal greed proves she works mainly for the good of her self; "Give me room to cast my eel spear and let follow what may" (p. 159). Coincidentally, Iris does collaborate with other female characters AGAINST her mother. The self-named "Cinderella", Clara, is a girl turned reluctant stepsister, then willing maid; "I have a father to tend to a kitchen to clean. It's all I want" (p. 238). A girl whose portrait becomes the only embodiment of timeless beauty in the novel...until unforeseen events prove otherwise. A girl who claims she's a changeling, or a child secretly exchanged for another (Maguire fails to thoroughly explain this). Symbolically she is, morphing from supposed ugliness to beauty to surrogate mother to seductress. All the while Clara's emotions are turbulent and oftentimes unreadable. She knows others will never get past her beauty. It makes her feel freakish. The roles of the men are the most fascinating part of 'Confessions'. There is the passionate and sexually misunderstood Caspar, The Master, who hates his portrait of Clara for its unsurpassable perfection and fame, and the sardonic Prince. They're ALL attracted to Iris on a very humane level. She is the only one who can potentially escape the classically rendered stereotypes. "What is the use of beauty?" Maguire challenges his characters to answer this question in their actions (even in the somewhat clunky and SURPRISING ending). It is only in their humanity, and they all show signs of it, that we get a glimmer of an answer and a redefined sense of good and evil. For a myriad of fairy tale interpretations, read "From the Beast to the Blond" by Marina Werner. It covers print and media renditions throughout time, throughout the world.
Rating:
Summary: Dark and good
Review: This book isn't as entertaining or "light" as I expected, but is definitely a worthy read. The writer's "old english" style, and the creative story line, provide for some good quality reading. Although the story does pick up in the 2nd half of the book, the interesting (and dreary) perspective that this book portrays the Cinderella story too, was fascinating. Confessions of... also has some suprises and interesting twists, and definitely makes one question the relativity of human beauty, and shallowness of human society.
Rating: 
Summary: Different from Wicked, equally absorbing
Review: In his two adult books, Macquire seems to take one premise and then explore them in character studies. In Wicked, that led him all over the place in terms of characters, plot, and pacing. In Confessions, he looks at the concept of "of what use is beauty?" and spins a much more focused and tightly drawn narrative than we saw in Wicked. One stylistic approach he used was the tense of the story, it does take getting used to. Instead of saying something like "Iris went to the window and looked out onto the town square", he says "Iris goes to the window, looks out at the town square". I can't recall another book written this way. It might put off people from the thematic elements of the story. Once again, we see how all things are relative depending on the perspective of the person(s) involved.
Rating: 
Summary: creative, amazing
Review: The story begins when Margarethe Fisher brings her daughters from their native England to the thriving city of Haarlem, where a kindly grandfather's home promises safe haven. Iris (who narrates) is too plain to marry, and elder sister Ruth is hardly able to speak. A beautiful "changeling" child seen through a window confers a kind of blessing on the astonished Ruth, and the resourceful Margarethe quickly restores their fortunes, installing them as house servants to portrait painter Luykas Schoonmaker, thes master, and later marrying Luykas's widowed and wealthy patron, Cornelius van den Meer (whose willful, strangely reclusive daughter Clara is that very "changeling'). As Margarethe seizes ever greater riches and power, Iris begins to blossom into a confident young woman whose artist's eye earns her the respect of both the Master and his handsome apprentice Caspar, becoming a handmaiden-mentor whom the highborn beauty Clara eventually accepts as a sister. Maguire's patient re-creation of the world of the Dutch burghers builds a solid realistic base from which the novel soars into beguiling fantasy when its links with the familiar Cinderella story become explicit. The visiting Dowager Queen of France arrives in Haarlem seeking a worthy portraitist. A lavish ball, Clara's enchantment of a Handsome Prince, and a wonderfully ironic surprise ending all figure prominently in the greatly written climax. A ravishing meditation on the truism that "beauty helps preserve the spirit of mankind." Maguire is a great writer who uses his words to create and twist storylines of favorite tales.
Rating:
Summary: Cinderella
Review: Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister is a basic Cinderella story, except that it is told from the ugly stepsisters point of view. Plus their are other little twists like the stepsisters are all friends, and Clara (Cinderella) chooses to clean and stay inside, no one forces her to do anything she doesn't want to. This book is a very good fantasy novel, especially if you like the story of cinderella. I liked this book because I really love fantasy novels.
Rating:
Summary: Enigmatic and surprising
Review: Just to quickly correct a review written below, there is a character in this novel who is "assumed" to be the lover of the Master, but it turns out that it is just a spiteful lie. He is not gay after all. That said, I would highly recommend this book. Maguire is an intensely gifted writer (I remember realizing that Wicked is not a book to be read lightly, rather, a book that could be taught to a college class.) This book is a surprisingly fast read... once you get into it, it's hard to put it down. Maguire's style in this story is a gritty, no frills true story of the Cinderella. One actually does not miss the lack of mice, and pumpkins, and fairy godmothers as the real story is so enticing. Plus.. the ending packs a wallop that you don't expect. The historical background involving the tulip trade and the changing society of the Netherlands is interesting, but also integral to the tale. After you read this, you'll have an entirely new perspective on the fairy story on which it is based. I gave it only 4 stars because of a personal bias that I could have used a few more explanations, and the ending seemed rushed, but otehrwise, this is a great tale.
Rating:
Summary: Beauty, Brutality and True Magic
Review: I first read "Wicked" a few years ago, and originally logged in to Amazon to buy a second copy for myself. I was excited when I learned that Mr. Maguire had taken on the story of Cinderella. What about the stepfather? Or a father? Who were they? What caused our herione to be swathed in cinders to begin with? What if each stepsister had special, endearing qualities? There was art and beauty and magic in the story's Dutch setting, there was poverty and brutality, too. This book is so very creative, so thought provoking - it soars. I am still mulling the ramifications 14 days later. Open your eyes to the possibilities in fairy tales, read both books!
Rating:
Summary: Wow! What some people do on their first date.
Review: I loved this book and it was a quick read. I disagree with those that think this was better than Wicked. Don't get me wrong, this was great, but Wicked was, well wicked. This book is written in a sort-of-but-not-really Shakespearean like manner, but in this case easy to comprehend (Sorry not a Shakespear fan). And what is the true meaning of a Changeling?" I think there were many many different examples of this in Confessions. He's a smart writer that Maguire! Also, some of the characters are great. I can almost picture the Queen of the Hairy Chin Gypsies. I also thought is was great to have a gay character in this story, but then again I couldn't picture him with the Master. Great book, I would suggest any book club to read this - I can only imagine the discussions.
Rating:
Summary: Slightly Lacking
Review: This really was a pretty good book. However,it was much better in concept than in execution. Taking such a familiar story and characters and turning them around so the reader sees them in a whole new light is a very special gift of Mr. Maguire. That being said, his knack for this sort of thing is much better displayed in his novel <u> Wicked </u>, which was a true masterpiece of creativity. Had I not read <u> Wicked </u> first, I think I would have enjoyed this one much better and would have given it a higher rating. This just isn't his best work.
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