beadgirl's review
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is a moving, thoughtful novel with a terrible title. Yes, it's a retelling of Cinderella (purporting to be the real story), but instead of arguing that Cinderella is secretly a bitch and the stepsisters were the true heroines, it is a meditation on beauty, trauma, and survival.
In this sense it reminds me of Till We Have Faces, C.S. Lewis's retelling of the Psyche and Eros myth. They both deal with women who have an unearthly beauty and sisters who are labeled ugly, and they both refuse to portray any of the main female characters as villains. The stepmother in Maguire's book, the closest the story has to an antagonist, does monstrous things but is no monster; she is a mother hardened by adversity and struggling to provide security for herself and her daughters.
It's the youngest daughter, Iris, who narrates the story, and she's caught between childhood, and the fanciful stories she tells herself, and adulthood, when she must come to terms with the strictures placed on women. She is convinced she's ugly and expects nothing of her future until her mother begins working for a master painter. He and his assistant show her other ways to look at the world, and spark in her an appreciation of the power of art.
Which is no small thing in this world (Haarlem of the 1600s). The Master laments the Protestant, business-like Dutch and their failure to appreciate the profundity of religious art. He hides his paintings of the freaks and oddities of humanity, lest they cause too much outrage amongst the conventional. And his masterwork, a painting of the Cinderella character (Clara), is able to inspire love, lust, business deals, jealousy, and artistic despair.
Clara, meanwhile, wants nothing to do with her beauty, having been traumatized as a young child and then stifled by overprotective parents. She's not the obedient (and personality-less) girl of the original story, but simply another young woman who has been controlled and told what to do her whole life, and rebels in the only way she can.
There's an unnecessary "twist" at the end that causes us to reconsider what we have been told about a character, but it ultimately doesn't add anything to the narrative. Overall, though, I enjoyed this melancholy tale.
mazza57's review
2.0
I love retellings but this one was not one of my favourites. The tale of cinderella is retold through the words of one of the ugly sisters. It starts off well but the author labours the telling which just goes on forever.
lahars_little_library's review
3.0
An interesting twist on the Cinderella story. There's great character development and the book leaves you guessing about characters' motives even at the end.
allisongiovanetti's review
3.0
"And what is the shape of your prison?" --Iris
I LOVE retellings and Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister is a great retelling of the Cinderella story we know and love, told from the POV of Cinderella's ugly stepsister, Iris. I felt like this story had just enough to it to be interesting and unique, while still providing the comfort of the story that is familiar to you. It was a really great retelling!
I had to mark it down to three stars because of the treatment of the other stepsister, Ruth. In the book, based on the descriptions of Ruth, it is very clear that she has some kind of special needs, whether that be Down Syndrome or she is on the Autism spectrum, and her character is treated terribly from start to finish! It is so hard to watch as other characters belittle her intelligence and appearance. The time period the book takes place in is a poor excuse for this behavior.
All that glitters is not gold.
I LOVE retellings and Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister is a great retelling of the Cinderella story we know and love, told from the POV of Cinderella's ugly stepsister, Iris. I felt like this story had just enough to it to be interesting and unique, while still providing the comfort of the story that is familiar to you. It was a really great retelling!
I had to mark it down to three stars because of the treatment of the other stepsister, Ruth. In the book, based on the descriptions of Ruth, it is very clear that she has some kind of special needs, whether that be Down Syndrome or she is on the Autism spectrum, and her character is treated terribly from start to finish! It is so hard to watch as other characters belittle her intelligence and appearance. The time period the book takes place in is a poor excuse for this behavior.
All that glitters is not gold.
wanderinglizzy's review against another edition
3.0
its a well written book, and the story is pretty good. but personally i think its too serious... some occasional comic relief would lighten the mood a bit and still have the serious themes to the story.
juniperb23's review
3.0
There was some interesting analysis of beauty and truth in this book. Those who are well versed in Flemish art and/or Dutch culture will find this book an interesting read.
In fact, it's kind of difficult to read this book without being familiar with Bosch, van Eyck, and Vermeer. The use of their paintings in this book elicit very strong emotions and allusions that would be hard to experience without knowledge of these paintings and genres. Also, a familiarity of the history behind the art and the religion behind the art would help tremendously. This is not to say that you must be an art historian to read this novel, but it would help.
That being said, I don't think that this book had as much sparkle as Wicked. There seemed to be something missing from this book that I can't put my finger on. It seems more somber and doesn't have the same energy as his Maguire's first breakthrough book.
In fact, it's kind of difficult to read this book without being familiar with Bosch, van Eyck, and Vermeer. The use of their paintings in this book elicit very strong emotions and allusions that would be hard to experience without knowledge of these paintings and genres. Also, a familiarity of the history behind the art and the religion behind the art would help tremendously. This is not to say that you must be an art historian to read this novel, but it would help.
That being said, I don't think that this book had as much sparkle as Wicked. There seemed to be something missing from this book that I can't put my finger on. It seems more somber and doesn't have the same energy as his Maguire's first breakthrough book.
sarahbousq's review
2.0
Ugh. I just could not get into this book.
It was a retelling of Cinderella, from the POV one of the stepsisters. It had the potential to be really good, but it was so slow moving, long, and repetitive that I actually had to force myself to finish it.
We have Iris, who is headstrong, 'plain looking', and wants to learn how to paint. Then there is Ruth, her older sister, who is described as a mute, 'dumb', and in reality probably has some mental disability that wasn't known at the time this book took place.
Margarethe (their mother) and the sisters fled from England back to the Netherlands, their Mother's home country. They start working for the Master, a painter, and his apprentice Casper.
Iris and family later move in with Clara and her parents- Clara is our cinderella in this story. You would think this would be where some kind of plot starts, but no luck.
I really did not like anyone in this book. Clara was annoying, spoiled, and frightened of the world. I only begin to like her in the end, and only in terms of her relationship with Ruth.
I probably liked Ruth the most, but she was hardly in the narrative. Iris was just so focused on her looks and how she was plain and ugly that I was exhausted by her. Casper was sweet, but I wanted to slap him half of the time. The Master was kind yet selfish and self-absorbed.
Margarethe was legitimately insane. I won't even go into that one, because spoilers, but wow. Henrika, Clara's mother, was just cruel, especially to her daughter. Henrika's husband was so irrelevant that I don't even remember his name.
None of the big plot twists surprised me, and I was honestly thankful that the book was over, because I was just so done with this story and the characters. Good luck if you want to try reading it!
It was a retelling of Cinderella, from the POV one of the stepsisters. It had the potential to be really good, but it was so slow moving, long, and repetitive that I actually had to force myself to finish it.
We have Iris, who is headstrong, 'plain looking', and wants to learn how to paint. Then there is Ruth, her older sister, who is described as a mute, 'dumb', and in reality probably has some mental disability that wasn't known at the time this book took place.
Margarethe (their mother) and the sisters fled from England back to the Netherlands, their Mother's home country. They start working for the Master, a painter, and his apprentice Casper.
Iris and family later move in with Clara and her parents- Clara is our cinderella in this story. You would think this would be where some kind of plot starts, but no luck.
I really did not like anyone in this book. Clara was annoying, spoiled, and frightened of the world. I only begin to like her in the end, and only in terms of her relationship with Ruth.
I probably liked Ruth the most, but she was hardly in the narrative. Iris was just so focused on her looks and how she was plain and ugly that I was exhausted by her. Casper was sweet, but I wanted to slap him half of the time. The Master was kind yet selfish and self-absorbed.
Margarethe was legitimately insane. I won't even go into that one, because spoilers, but wow. Henrika, Clara's mother, was just cruel, especially to her daughter. Henrika's husband was so irrelevant that I don't even remember his name.
None of the big plot twists surprised me, and I was honestly thankful that the book was over, because I was just so done with this story and the characters. Good luck if you want to try reading it!
nonsensicaljourney's review
3.0
This book was very slow, and only redeemed itself somewhat at the end when everything came together. Maguire's ideas are fantastic and original, and his plot is decent, but his general writing style is easily quite boring.
ndrenee's review
2.0
Similiar to Wicked, not the best book but an entertaining read and interesting twist on the story of Cinderella.