Is this new land a place where magics really happen?
From Gregory Maguire, the acclaimed author of Wicked, comes his much-anticipated second novel, a brilliant and provocative retelling of the timeless Cinderella tale.
In the lives of children, pumpkins can turn into coaches, mice and rats into human beings… When we grow up, we learn that it’s far more common for human beings to turn into … common for human beings to turn into rats…
We all have heard the story of Cinderella, the beautiful child cast out to slave among the ashes. But what of her stepsisters, the homely pair exiled into ignominy by the fame of their lovely sibling? What fate befell those untouched by beauty… and what curses accompanied Cinderella’s exquisite looks?
Extreme beauty is an affliction
Set against the rich backdrop of seventeenth-century Holland, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister tells the story of Iris, an unlikely heroine who finds herself swept from the lowly streets of Haarlem to a strange world of wealth, artifice, and ambition. Iris’s path quickly becomes intertwined with that of Clara, the mysterious and unnaturally beautiful girl destined to become her sister.
Clara was the prettiest child, but was her life the prettiest tale?
While Clara retreats to the cinders of the family hearth, burning all memories of her past, Iris seeks out the shadowy secrets of her new household — and the treacherous truth of her former life.
God and Satan snarling at each other like dogs… Imps and fairy godmothers trying to undo each other’s work. How we try to pin the world between opposite extremes!
Far more than a mere fairy-tale, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister is a novel of beauty and betrayal, illusion and understanding, reminding us that deception can be unearthed — and love unveiled — in the most unexpected of places.
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My extremely controversial list of Gregory Maguire books I’ve read, in order of Fav to Least Fav, controversial mostly because of where I’ll put #1 and #2:
1) Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister
2) Wicked
3) Out of Oz
4) A Lion Among Men
5) Mirror Mirror
6) Son of a Witch
7) Lost
FIGHT ME.
This book is the corrected story of Cinderella from the perspective of one of her stepsisters. Iris and Ruth flee England with their mother to Holland after their father is murdered. They find their way into the home and eventually part of the van den Meer family, stepsisters to Clara. Clara is the unnaturally beautiful child who is as fearful as …
Love the idea of a new way to look at fairy tale from my past. delightful !!
Though I read this book in high school, I recently reread it and remembered why I enjoyed it so much. It’s crazy to think so much of what we learn or hear, is based purely on perspective. This book reminded me, again, to seek out various perspectives in every story told.
I’m quite intrigued with the premise, a retelling fairytale of Cinderella and her stepsisters. This is a slow build up and sadly it did not move at a pace that made it entertaining. Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for en ebook copy. This is my honest review.
One of my all time favorite books.
This book is amazing.
I love fractured fairy tales so this was a sure bet for me.
A very dark retelling of the Cinderella story. Very well done!
I really tried to get into this book, especially because I’m an avid reader. But halfway thru I stopped reading it because it just wasn’t keeping my attention.
His stuff is dark and the endings, for me, are unsatisfying.
A fun new take on a classic story, with a surprising twist at the end.
A wonderful retelling of the Cinderella story with a twist. Told from the point of view of one of the step-sisters, set in Holland in the midst of the tulip trade and the Dutch Masters (painters), and with compassion for most of the characters. I did have a hard time putting it down.
A twist on an old Cinderella
His books generally start a little slow and are very dense vocabulary wise but totally engrossing and well written.
What Mr. Maguire does with old, worn-out stories is completely fresh. Even though fairy tales are considered well-known and predictable, these stories definitely aren’t! Made me re-think things I thought I knew about great stories; Maguire is a genius!
Interesting…you wouldn’t expect to get a view of the tulip commodities market in a book about Cinderella’s ugly step-sister!