Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister

Posted on 25 April 2019 by Gregory Maguire

We have all 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 looks Set against the 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 While Clara retreats to the cinders of the family hearth, Iris seeks out the shadowy secrets of her new household and the treacherous truth of her former life. Read Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister Author Gregory Maguire – kino-fada.fr I love books based on fairy tales, but it s taken me forever to really read any of Maguire s stuff I still haven t read Wicked Years ago, I tried reading this book and just couldn t get into it But with so many people telling me how great this guy is, I decided to give it another shot This book follows the story of Iris and Ruth, two little girls who, with their mother, flee from England after their father is murdered Poor and begging, they ...In the lives of children, pumpkins turn into coaches, mice and rats turn into men When we grow up, we realize it is farcommon for men to turn into rats I enjoy Maguire s work He combines lively characters with literary writing.Unlike Maguire s other, wildly successful novel Wicked The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, this retelling leaves behind magic, instead relying on a genuine historical period and uncanny characters to imbue the novel with an unworldly tone In the lives of children, pumpkins turn into coaches, mice and rats turn into men When we grow up, we realize it is farcommon for men to turn into rats I enjoy Maguire s work He combines lively characters with literary writing.Unlike Maguire s other, wildly successful novel Wicked The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, this retelling ...Maguire s ability to come up with an interesting story is far better than his ability to tell the story His writing is often a bit too labored, his symbolism too transparent, and his literary devices a bit clunky.Like Wicked , Confessions offers the reader a variation on a well known story Also like Wicked , Confessions is not really all that much to write home about A somewhat creative variation, but one in which many of the characters are incredibly hard to like, and the story just Maguire s ability to come up with an interesting story is far better than his ability to tell the story His writing is often a bit too labored, his symbolism too transparent, and his literary devices a bit clunky.Like Wicked , Confessions offers the reader a variation on a well known story Also like Wicked , Confessions is not really all that much to write home about A somewhat creative variation, but o...This was an easy read and an interesting take on the Cinderella story, but it wasn t amazing It felt like it gave a very long build up to a climax that was vague and unexciting and a denouement that was pretty disappointing Only as an epilogue do we discover what happened to Iris, the main character of the book, and even then, it is brief and without many details.Many of the ideas introduced into the storyline also felt as though they were left hanging at the end of the book Clara, the This was an easy read and an interesting take on the Cinderella story, but it wasn t amazing It felt like it gave a very long build up to a climax that was vague and unexciting and a denouement that was pretty disappointing Only as an epilogue do we discover what happened to Iris, the main character of the book, and even then, it is brief and without many details.Many of the ideas introduced into the storyline also felt as though they were left hanging ...I am an idiot I did it to myself again After reading Wicked and hating it, I decided to give Gregory Maguire another go Apparently, Maguire is my literary equivalent to the corner brick on my fireplace that I keep stubbing my toe upon, even though I know it s there and I know it s going to hurt.But I picked up Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister , thinking I had to give Maguire another t...I love fairy tale retellingsespecially the ones that try to be the True version Set in 17th century Holland during the Tulip craze this version of Cinderella is by far my favorite The central character is not Cinderella who is a spoiled brat but Iris, the youngest of the two step sisters Margarethe returns to her homeland, Holland,with her two daughters plain Iris and simple Ruth, afer her husband is murdered in England She becomes the housekeeper for a painter The traditional I love fairy tale retellingsespecially the ones that try to be the True version Set in 17th century Holland during the Tulip craze this version of Cinderella is by far my favorite The central character is not Cinderella who is a spoiled brat but Iris, the youngest of the t...I remember when I read this book for the first time I bought it the day after it came out, because I was already obsessed with Gregory Maguire despite the fact that he had only written one other adult book at that point I started the novel in the morning, the day I had to take my parents to the airport in Kalamazoo We left that evening because their flight was an early morning one I read and re...Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister is way better than Wicked, not least because the characters have consistent personalities and the plot is coherent I appreciated the sensory details and descriptions, and the various characters are original There s a nic...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 farcommon for human beings to turn into rats.If magic was present, it moved under the skin of the world, beneath the ability of human eyes to catch sight of it.Immortality is a chancy thing it cannot be promised or earned Perhaps it cannot even be identified for what it is.It s the place of the story, beginning here, in the meadow of late summer flowers, thriving 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 farcommon for human beings to turn into rats.If magic was present, it moved under the skin of the world, beneath the ability of human eyes to catch sight of it.Immortality is a chancy thing it cannot be promised or earned Perhaps it cannot even be identified for what it is.It s the place of the story, beginning here, in the meadow of late s...This book gives a whole new view on the Cinderella, one that is completely believable It offers a real setting not just a land far, far away or a long time ago and speaks of real people It makes you think Is beauty a gift or a curse It offers a brave, out of the ordinary heroine, one of the ugly stepsisters herself The narrator shows you a new perspective on the Cinderella story Perhaps the wicked stepsisters were not so wicked Perhaps they had lives too Perhaps their lives were This book gives a whole...

English
25 April 2019

Gregory Maguire