Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister (Paperback)

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Review
?[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.

14 Reviews 5 star:  (6) 4 star:  (3) 3 star:  (4) 2 star:  (1) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 4.0 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   18 of 19 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant re-working of the Cinderella story, 26 May 2002 By  m.carr@btinternet.com (UK) - See all my reviews 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. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   7 of 7 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars an interseting take on an old story, 4 April 2006 By  friendlyfreak - See all my reviews 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. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   5 of 5 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful re-telling , 20 May 2008 By  Deborah (Kent, UK) - See all my reviews This review is from: Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister (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. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 14 customer reviews...		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 4.0 out of 5 stars A dark fairy-tale of old Better than "Wicked" in my opinion, and that was already good. In turns funny and tragic, this story reads like a lenghtier real fairy-tale, one of the important yet disturbing... Read more Published 4 months ago by BookJumper 5.0 out of 5 stars 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... Read more Published 13 months ago by Philip Thompson 5.0 out of 5 stars 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 15 months ago by Deborah 5.0 out of 5 stars 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 23 months ago by R. Pickersgill 2.0 out of 5 stars 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 4.0 out of 5 stars 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 3.0 out of 5 stars The pumpkin doesn't stop here I read this dark unusal twist on Cinderella but didn't enjoy it as much as "Wicked". The setting of Holland is very well painted as are the descriptions of the 3... Read more Published on 22 Sep 2006 by Mr. Alan A. Barham 3.0 out of 5 stars Confessions Whilst I was intrigued by the concept of the book, I found the book itself slightly slow. I enjoyed the way in which Maguire creates complete whole characters, not merely... Read more Published on 17 Jul 2006 by Clear Smith 5.0 out of 5 stars The Power of Art This is probably my favourite book by this author. Although, there is actually no magic taking place in this story line, there are lots of ordinary actions that produce the same... Read more Published on 15 Nov 2005 by halfgirlhalfmagpie 3.0 out of 5 stars A great book that tells the truth about the Cinderella story There's no sign of mice or pumpkins in this twist of what really happened in the tale of Cinderella. Read more Published on 16 Jun 2000 by noellloyddickson@netscapeonlin... Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 14 customer reviews...

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