A review by jesshc
Ogre Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
3.0
All right, I read this book during the winter and wrote this review, then I saw this moving quote from Levine herself about how hard it is to write a book so I didn't post it. But I just reread Ella Enchanted, and, as usual was blown away by how PERFECT the ending is. That and the final, VERBAL confrontation between Harry and Voldemort, and Lizzy and Darcy finally telling each other how they feel are my top three most satisfying literary moments. I am in AWE of Gail Carson Levine. She wrote the book that caused me to fall in love with reading. It's really not fair to compare this, or any other book to the book that has been my transitional object for the past 22 years. I wouldn't feel the need to if this book didn't completely contradict the cannon that I love so much and obviously know FAR too well. So I'm posting my original thoughts, and if you aren't interested in an in-depth analysis of how this differs from Ella Enchanted, maybe stop reading:
Apparently COVID has led me to reading books written by my favorite childhood author and then becoming far too indignant about the canon. It makes absolutely no sense to me that Sir Peter would respond to Lucinda showing up at his wedding to his second wife (Mum Olga) in Ella Enchanted if she had already given him a "gift" when he proposed to his first wife, as she does in this novel. How would he not have run screaming from the room when he saw Lucinda in EE? And the curse is SO SIMILAR. Beyond that, in EE I find Ella's parents' marriage to be compellingly realistic and deeply sad. That Eleanor was trapped into it by magic cheapens the narrative that she made the very human mistake of falling in love with someone who wasn't who she thought he was. Eleanor's character-defining playfulness doesn't feel the same across novels AND there is no way Mandy and/or Eleanor would not have told Ella about the first curse if it had happened.
I also didn't find that the ogres' powers of persuasion were consistent with how they worked in Ella Enchanted. That Ella is able to use the ogres' powers against them is one of the best parts of the book, and this once again cheapens a powerfully human moment in which Ella uses her wits and her skills of language and imitation to save her own life.
Which brings me to my next observation. Ella Enchanted is a deeply human, moving story of grief and finding inner strength, not just for love but to protect a country. The depth of the characters and their relationships (the friendship between Ella and Arieda! The relationship between Ella and Mandy! How many books pass the Bechdel test this well??). The magic is very sparing and only used to emphasize the themes and metaphors being put forth. Ogre Enchanted is a fun fantasy caper, but it was hard to see characters we know drawn with less depth and magic far more central. Sir Peter is neither a good father nor a good person in EE, but he is far from the cartoonish mustache-twirling villain he is in this novel. I suppose there is a message here about inner beauty and friendship, but it's quite heavy-handed. The curse is broken because the characters realize they love each other and decide to get married, which again, is a fine fairytale ending if we weren't in a universe where our last protagonist broke her own heart and the heart of the person she loved to protect him and her country, then proceeded to save both through sheer willpower. I won't go into it, but Lucinda seemed very inconsistent as well.
I also found it very disappointing that Evie got married in the end, especially to Wormy. If she had to fall in love, as she was adamantly against in the beginning, I wish her highly evident crush on Lady Eleanor had been taken further--if her feelings were reciprocated, it might have been an interesting way to explain why Lady Eleanor married a man like Sir Peter (if approached with the depth of Ella, this would not feel like a retcon to me in the way that a second Lucinda curse did).
Ms. Levine, I know it is hard to write a book, and I am so grateful that you have persevered and given us what is in my opinion, the best book for this age group ever written. As we say on Passover, dyenu! But this book really bummed me out.
Apparently COVID has led me to reading books written by my favorite childhood author and then becoming far too indignant about the canon. It makes absolutely no sense to me that Sir Peter would respond to Lucinda showing up at his wedding to his second wife (Mum Olga) in Ella Enchanted if she had already given him a "gift" when he proposed to his first wife, as she does in this novel. How would he not have run screaming from the room when he saw Lucinda in EE? And the curse is SO SIMILAR. Beyond that, in EE I find Ella's parents' marriage to be compellingly realistic and deeply sad. That Eleanor was trapped into it by magic cheapens the narrative that she made the very human mistake of falling in love with someone who wasn't who she thought he was. Eleanor's character-defining playfulness doesn't feel the same across novels AND there is no way Mandy and/or Eleanor would not have told Ella about the first curse if it had happened.
I also didn't find that the ogres' powers of persuasion were consistent with how they worked in Ella Enchanted. That Ella is able to use the ogres' powers against them is one of the best parts of the book, and this once again cheapens a powerfully human moment in which Ella uses her wits and her skills of language and imitation to save her own life.
Which brings me to my next observation. Ella Enchanted is a deeply human, moving story of grief and finding inner strength, not just for love but to protect a country. The depth of the characters and their relationships (the friendship between Ella and Arieda! The relationship between Ella and Mandy! How many books pass the Bechdel test this well??). The magic is very sparing and only used to emphasize the themes and metaphors being put forth. Ogre Enchanted is a fun fantasy caper, but it was hard to see characters we know drawn with less depth and magic far more central. Sir Peter is neither a good father nor a good person in EE, but he is far from the cartoonish mustache-twirling villain he is in this novel. I suppose there is a message here about inner beauty and friendship, but it's quite heavy-handed. The curse is broken because the characters realize they love each other and decide to get married, which again, is a fine fairytale ending if we weren't in a universe where our last protagonist broke her own heart and the heart of the person she loved to protect him and her country, then proceeded to save both through sheer willpower. I won't go into it, but Lucinda seemed very inconsistent as well.
I also found it very disappointing that Evie got married in the end, especially to Wormy. If she had to fall in love, as she was adamantly against in the beginning, I wish her highly evident crush on Lady Eleanor had been taken further--if her feelings were reciprocated, it might have been an interesting way to explain why Lady Eleanor married a man like Sir Peter (if approached with the depth of Ella, this would not feel like a retcon to me in the way that a second Lucinda curse did).
Ms. Levine, I know it is hard to write a book, and I am so grateful that you have persevered and given us what is in my opinion, the best book for this age group ever written. As we say on Passover, dyenu! But this book really bummed me out.