Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory MaGuire
June 12, 2008 by Tracy
Filed under Book Reviews
We all have 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 exquisite looks.
Set against the rich 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.
Book Review
Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister begins with Margarethe leading her two daughters, Iris and Ruth, in search of food. They are homeless and poverty stricken until they encounter an egotistical, angry artist by the name of The Master. He takes them in under the condition that Iris poses for a painting. The painting has been commissioned by a wealthy man, Van den Meer, who notices that Iris can speak both Dutch and English. He agrees to have Margarethe hired as his cook so Iris can teach his beautiful daughter, Clara, English. Eventually Van den Meer’s wife dies and he marries Margarethe, thus becoming Clara’s evil stepmother. But this is where the fairy tale differs from the book.
Iris grows attached to Clara and her sister Ruth is portrayed as simple. We don’t even meet the prince until closer to the end of the book. Gregory Macguire brings to life complex characters and shows us a different perspective on the differences of beauty and ugliness. Just when I thought I had the story figured out, Mr. Macguire left me reeling with a twist in the final chapter. This is a book that changes perspectives and makes you think. I wish all fairy tales for were so thoughtful.
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Yeah, I really liked this one, too. I read it years ago, but it’s stayed with me.
I was going to comment on the book, but noticed the new look and my mind went blank. I love how you have rearranged your blog!
I loved this book and different twists to fairy tales. If you liked this one (and I apologize if you’ve read this one already) I’d suggest you check out Wicked by Gregory MaGuire. It’s a different take on the Wizard of Oz.
~ Popin
Susan, I agree!
J.Kaye Thank so much! I love this color
Popin, I will def. try Wicked I heard it’s even better, it was certainly more popular.
I haven’t read this one yet, but I was so impressed with Maguire’s Wicked. I really need to pick this one up.
I enjoyed this one. I liked it more than Wicked even. Though that could be because I’m prejudiced against reading the intimate adventures of a green-skinned witch.
I read another retelling of Cinderella, “Ella Enchanted”, which was quite good. I need to pick up this one as well.
I absolutely love Wicked. It is one of my ten favorite books. I loved it so much that I flew from Florida to NYC to see the play right after it opened. The play was fine, but nothing compares to the book (of course). I’ve tried to pick up Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister several times and always seem to get pulled away from it. Since you tell me the ending is good, I’ll have to make an effort again. Thanks
(Jumped here from the Bookworms Carnival)
I haven’t read this one, but I really enjoyed Wicked and Mirror, Mirror, which is a retelling of Snow White.
Visiting from the Bookworms’ Carnival
Ooh, this one is going straight to my wishlist! I’ve been meaning to read my copy of Wicked but it’s not calling to me yet. I pick it up and put it down and well, maybe I should start with this instead
Oh and I’m here from the Bookworms Carnival as well.
I do like it when someone comes a long and tells a story that’s off a tangent of the original – always good to know what happened to the minor characters.
I loved Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister and Wicked. These are the only Gregory MaGuire books I’ve read though. I tried reading Lost: A Novel but didn’t get too far into it. I loved how the Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister was located in a historical setting. It really made it a realistic story as opposed to the fairy tale it’s based on. Thanks for the review!
Sounds intriguing. I liked Wicked and I didn’t realize there was another along similar lines! I’ll have to look for this one.
I really did not love this book! I thought it was very boring. The most interesting part was the last chapter. But, I did read it a weekend. I prefer the Twilight series. I just finished it. That could be why this one dragged on.