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Summary: Wonderful Retelling of the Cinderella Story
Review: I first read Gregory Maguire's "Wicked" which I found so clever and creative,I was anxious to read this one as well. After just finishing it, I have to say I liked this one even more. The fun of his books is the perspective he takes, eliciting sympathy for characters that we've grown up despising. "...Stepsister" like "Wicked" plays heavily on the ideas of the destructive side of parenting, and the psycholgical effects it has on it's recipients. It's also great fun to follow the story through what you know, and how his version will get to the fairy tale result.
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Summary: You Must Read This One.
Review: Absolutely Wonderful! Maquire's writing gets better with each book! I know most of us have heard and can recite the Cinderella story but Maquire makes you see things much differently. The wicked stepsisters become the "fairy godmother", whilst preserving the primary theme. The ending was a surprise for me on who was telling the tale.
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Summary: You really want to know what I think of this book?
Review: It stinks! How did this crock EVER find a publisher? Affected, pretentious, pompous, silly, a complete and utter waste of time...and that was about the part I liked! Next time this author shows up at another writer's refuge (offering peace, quiet and completely free accommodation) with his latest grant in hand, someone tell him that the Emperor has no clothes. Force this poseur to find a job.
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Summary: Iris's life
Review: This book starts in a prologue which sets the stage of 17th Century Holland. From the point of view of Iris, one of the "ugly stepsisters" in the tale of Cinderella, you learn of the hardships she has to overcome. She, her mute sister, and her cruel hearted mother flee to Holland to get away from the persecution of her mother in England. A series of event eventually lead to the epilogue where you learn about the truths and outcomes of all of the characters. It kept me on my toes and I never wanted to put it down!!! Read it. I've read it 3 times!
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Summary: The Evil Side Of Cinderella
Review: About a year ago i wrote a parady on the famous "Cinderella" for class. Then my older sister bought a book called "Wicked" for vacation as a joke. She read it and highly recommended it so she gave it to me to read. I loved it. I saw that he had written another parady, a parady on "Cinderella" i begged my mom for months to get it for me. Finally right before school she got it for me. I loved it. It turns the story of Cinderella around and makes you feel so sorry for the sisters. I love the way he writes he makes someone that you have loved since childhood and puts her in a different light. I would love to read more parady's by him.
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Summary: Great novel
Review: I read this novel, expecting an interesting story that I could get caught up in. I did not expect that I would not be able to put it down! I loved every bit of the story, I was not dissapointed once, and I enjoyed the twist on the Cinderella version. I was extremely satisfied with this book and I choose to read more of the author's literature.
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Summary: The truth of beauty
Review: The world has been intrigued by the question of beauty for centuries. Keats wrote, "Beauty is truth and truth beauty." This entertains the question of what beauty is, however, Gregory Maguire tackles a far more plaguing question, in his stunning novel Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, of what the truth of beauty is.Throughout his novel, an adaptation of the fairytale Cinderella, Maguire weaves the question about the truth of beauty. Clara, the Cinderella of our story, is physical beautiful, but doesn't always have beauty of character. Iris is less attractive, but her spirit and intellect thrive casting the glow of beauty about her. Ruth is slow, but her affection supercedes any other emotion or wit, thus making her actions the utmost in beauty. The list of characters continues, each with his or her own demons or imps as he refers to them. In each personality, Maguire crafts a three-dimensional individual. The depth he creates is compelling and exceedingly real. These are people you may know in your life. This character might be you. He writes a tangible, accessible, intense and detailed persona. This is not a book that one just puts aside when it is finished. One must set aside, mull it over, consider its tenets, and discuss it with someone. One will want to, and maybe need, talk about this book with another reader. The novel's points are too profound to keep to oneself. Perhaps the most astounding, tacit account in his novel is the relationship between young Clara and the Master's apprentice, Caspar. He spins the tale of young romance that is genuine. The romance is not only for the young, but for anyone who feels. One's breath catches as Iris sits next to Caspar, feeling the warmth of his body against her own. One is not only transported to that place of the boundless joy of intimacy, but the sorrow and pain of knowing another is in a position of control of your happiness. In all, Gregory Maguire's book is one of questions, fears, survival, charity and goodness. He succeeds in his attempt to provoke the mind and enlighten the spirit. He challenges the preconceived notions of society, turning well-held conventions upside down. This novel is an entertaining read, wonderfully crafted story with a worth lesson.
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Summary: a little slow, but well worth it
Review: I picked up this book on a lark, and I was very suprised by it. It was a little slow in the beginning, but it was so incredibly difficult to put down that I stuck with it. I read it because I am interested in fairy tales and the various twists that authors can insert into the traditional stories thereby making them that much more fascinating. This author has managed to do this. He took the story of Cinderella, and changed certain aspects of it to make it a story that everyone could associate with, not just us romantics.
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Summary: See "Cinderella" from a new and different view...
Review: I tend to like it when authors take traditional stories with famous protagonists and tell it all from another point of view (recent examples include The Red Tent, The History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters). This book is no exception. In fact, it's intriguing because it shows that even in "fairy tales", things are not necessarily black and white. There isn't a good guy or a bad guy...just lots of grey folks in between (notice that the title is Confessions of an *Ugly* Stepsister, not a wicked one). Whole people, with virtues as well as faults. You end up having sympathy for just about every character in this tale. I think I'll be reading Wicked real soon.
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Summary: Confessions of a Pessimist
Review: As someone who had no desire to read this book, I was delightfully surprised. Forced to read it as it was a selection chosen for a book club, I ended up liking it. It is the retelling of the classic Cinderella, but told from a different vantage point-one of the Ugly Stepsisters. In a clever twist on there being two sides to every story, the concept of this novel gives the reader a whole new perception of what the Cinderella story could have been about. Although not the magical fairy tale of Disney's Cinderella, the author was able to keep the fairy tale essence in his writing style. This book was unique and thoughtful.
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