Gregory Maguire has an incredible way with words. Though at times his sentences are overly esoteric, his descriptions, his syntax, his vocabulary are striking, almost magical, and truly aesthetic--in writing, in font, in presentation. This is most apparent in his fairy tale retelling. I absolutely adore his writing style, and note his books Mirror, Mirror and Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister as two of my favorite reads. While I am not at all a fan of his Wicked series, these two fairy tale retellings far outweigh my opinions of his stories of Elphaba and Oz.
Mirror, Mirror by Gregory Maguire
An adult retelling of the Snow White fairytale, set in Renaissance Italy and incorporating real-life figures like Lucrezia and Cesare Borgia, Mirror, Mirror is a poignant and well-written examination of beauty. The shifting perspectives, the scope of characters, even the marginally unsustainable belief that Don Vicente would go search for a sprig from the Tree of Life (this somehow jarred more than the notion of the earthen gnome-dwarves living in Montefiore) make this an enchanting read.
I don't believe this is quite as strong as Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, which I believe is far and away his best. As stated, Maguire's writing is beautiful--and sometimes too much so. When he falls too deep into trying to paint his words on his paper canvas, it can be very difficult to define what is actually happening in the scene or where it takes place, let alone pull a theme from it. Still, it is only so often that occurs, and for the most part, I was deeply involved in the medieval world he created.
While I wouldn't recommend this before Confessions, I would suggest someone read this to get a glimpse of Maguire's prose and his masterful command of perspective. Adult retelling of fairytales can be extremely hit or miss, and Maguire has done a good job with this one.
8/10
Mirror, Mirror by Gregory Maguire
An adult retelling of the Snow White fairytale, set in Renaissance Italy and incorporating real-life figures like Lucrezia and Cesare Borgia, Mirror, Mirror is a poignant and well-written examination of beauty. The shifting perspectives, the scope of characters, even the marginally unsustainable belief that Don Vicente would go search for a sprig from the Tree of Life (this somehow jarred more than the notion of the earthen gnome-dwarves living in Montefiore) make this an enchanting read.
I don't believe this is quite as strong as Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, which I believe is far and away his best. As stated, Maguire's writing is beautiful--and sometimes too much so. When he falls too deep into trying to paint his words on his paper canvas, it can be very difficult to define what is actually happening in the scene or where it takes place, let alone pull a theme from it. Still, it is only so often that occurs, and for the most part, I was deeply involved in the medieval world he created.
While I wouldn't recommend this before Confessions, I would suggest someone read this to get a glimpse of Maguire's prose and his masterful command of perspective. Adult retelling of fairytales can be extremely hit or miss, and Maguire has done a good job with this one.
8/10
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