Confessions Of An Ugly Stepsister: A Novel
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?[A] bewitching story..."Confessions has its roots in a fanciful tale--the Cinderella story--but it teases out motifs deeper than the generic fall-in-love-and-marry-the-prince-happily-ever-after....Witty and wise?Adult and sophisticated, his musings on beauty, ugliness, magic, reality, and imagination explore how our past follows us always and shapes our self-perception.? --"Chicago Tribune?A ravishing meditation on the truism that 'beauty helps preserve the spirit of mankind.' Maguire is rapidly becoming one of contemporary fiction's most assured myth-makers.? --"Kirkus Reviews" (starred)?A tale so movingly told that you will say at the end of the first reading, 'It's been a long time since I've read a book this good.' For philosophical depth and lively evocative language, few writers match Gregory Maguire.? --"Nashville Tennessean?A beguiling reconstruction of the Cinderella story...Maguire's sophisticated story-telling reimagines age-old themes and folklore-familiar characters...a vision that fantasy lovers will find hard to resist.? --"Publishers Weekly"?Captivating and beautifully written..."Confessions is a rich canvas of colorful characters and fantastic events rendered by an artist attentive to every surface and texture.? --"Book Magazine?Lively and delicious...its language is an extraordinary blend of moving narrative and music....[Maguire's] books may be placed beside the works of Marion Zimmer Bradley, John Crowley and the late Mervyn Peake. This dark folktale, a reworking of the Cinderella fable, is as exotic a vision...as mysterious as life itself.? --"Memphis Commercial Appeal?[An] engrossing story...endearing and memorable.? --"Boston Herald?Highly absorbing...Maguire'sprecise, slightly archaic language...sweeps readers through this mysterious and fascinating story.? --"Booklist?[An] arresting hybrid of mystery, fairy tale, and historical novel..."Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister isn't easy to classify or forget....The characters in these ?Confessions' might not end up happily ever after, but you won't want to miss them.? --"Detroit Free Press?There was a time, long ago, when Cinderella was simply a children's tale in which good triumphed over bad, pretty over ugly, pumpkins and mice over carriages and footmen....Now, the story has much more depth. Gregory Maguire has applied his devilish writing style and vivid imagination to the story of the glass slipper, and, in doing so, turned this simple tale into a Gothic saga of 17th-century Holland.? --"Fort Worth Morning Star-Telegram
Product Description
Beautifully plays on the beloved tale of Cinderella. In this remarkable version we are taken to Amsterdam, where two impoverished sisters and their widowed mother are taken in by a Flemish painter, and the startling events that follow.
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First Sentence
The wind being fierce and the tides unobliging, the ship from Harwich has a slow time of it. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
The wind being fierce and the tides unobliging, the ship from Harwich has a slow time of it. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
You will fall in love with plain Iris as she lives her life in the shadow of the beautiful, troubled and petulant Clara. The book explores the nature of beauty and love, painting and the early tulip trade in Holland. Full of twists and surprises. Don't miss it.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This review relates to the paperback edition.
During an enforced 3-hour stopover at Los Angeles airport I found this and couldn't resist the cover or the blurb. I haven't read/seen any of his books, so had nothing with which to compare this, and I loved it. It runs alongside Cinderella in a non-parallel line which every now and again curves in to touch the fairy story and remind us of the original, but at the same time keeps very much to its own path. The setting of 17th-century Holland is evocative and atmospheric, including the use of art and the tulip-trade, the machinations of the desperate Margarethe are terrible and at the same time understandable, and Iris is - well, she's lovely. There are comments in some reviews that there is no magic in this book and strictly speaking that's true, but there is definitely more than a hint of something other-worldly and dangerous that lurks in the background and pervades the atmosphere of this book.
The illustrations are lovely - I hope they have been kept in the hardback edition.
During an enforced 3-hour stopover at Los Angeles airport I found this and couldn't resist the cover or the blurb. I haven't read/seen any of his books, so had nothing with which to compare this, and I loved it. It runs alongside Cinderella in a non-parallel line which every now and again curves in to touch the fairy story and remind us of the original, but at the same time keeps very much to its own path. The setting of 17th-century Holland is evocative and atmospheric, including the use of art and the tulip-trade, the machinations of the desperate Margarethe are terrible and at the same time understandable, and Iris is - well, she's lovely. There are comments in some reviews that there is no magic in this book and strictly speaking that's true, but there is definitely more than a hint of something other-worldly and dangerous that lurks in the background and pervades the atmosphere of this book.
The illustrations are lovely - I hope they have been kept in the hardback edition.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
i actually wanted to read this book because i'd seen the film adaptation and i was interested i where the idea had come from. the film itself while intinsically the same varies in a few ways, so dont assume you can skip the book and watch the film. But i'd advise you not to skip the book as it is beautifully written and a joy to read. it's a real page turner of a book. i loved it because i just love that whole reinventing a fairytale concept.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Loved it!
Bought this book after reading 'Wicked', and im so glad I did! Brilliant idea and such a good story, have recommended to everyone I know!
Published 9 months ago by Monghog
A really interesting reworking of the Cinderella story, better for...
Gregory Maguire is an author probably best known for his adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, Wicked. Ifve read the entire trilogy, with somewhat mixed results: Wicked itself I... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Katie Stevens
Overall, it was an okay read
I appreciated the sensory details and descriptions, and the various characters are original. There's a nice twist near the end which gave me a little brain jolt, and I always like... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Rebecca
Good quality product!
Good quality item, i was very impressed with its condition! i would recommend this seller to anyone!!
Published on 31 Aug 2009 by L. Rowley
A dark fairy-tale of old
By turns funny and tragic, this story reads like a fairy-tale, one of the important yet disturbing ones by Andersen for example. Read more
Published on 2 Mar 2009 by BookJumper
I Confess better than Wicked!
A brilliant take on the story of Cinderella that I really loved. Very clever and much more human than his other stories as there are no elements of fantasy but its just as magical. Read more
Published on 26 May 2008 by Philip Thompson
Beautiful re-telling
During an enforced 3-hour stopover at Los Angeles airport I found this and couldn't resist the cover or the blurb. Read more
Published on 18 April 2008 by Deborah
confessions yes, wicked no
This is my favourite book in this genre (I'm used to reading Sci-fi) I was pleasently surprised and couldn't put the book down I would definately recommend it. Read more
Published on 22 Aug 2007 by R. Pickersgill
It's not Wicked
Unfortunately, this one is in a very different league, predictable, shallow and disappointing. Read Wicked, its fantastic, .... Read more
Published on 22 Jun 2007 by Jiagi
Strange Take on Cinderella
Confessions is a very strange take on the cinderella story. I enjoyed the plot as Margareath try's to keep her daughters from going hungry and off the streets. Read more
Published on 7 Feb 2007 by G. Bruist
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