Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister

Gregory Maguire is famous.

His first book for adults, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, was an enormous hit and grew even more monsterous when it was turned into a hugely succesful Broadway musical. His follow ups, including Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, Son of a Witch and Mirror, Mirror have earned Maguire the de facto title of Master of the Revisionist Fairy Tale.

Considering the subjects he writes about, it's very easy to dismiss Maguire as a one-trick pony. Reading Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister pretty quickly disproves that notion, though.

Maguire's take on the Cinderella story is written in a starkly different style to Wicked. It's a rich and rewarding historical novel, taking place in seventeenth century Holland rather than the whimsical Land of Oz. It starts off pretty grimly, with Iris and Ruth, the two 'ugly sisters' of the story, washing up dirty and hungry in an unwelcoming Dutch village. Right from that depressing start, Maguire pretty quickly establishes that this ain't no fairytale.

He uses the bare bones of the Cinderella story to link his novel's plot. There's a beautiful stepsister, a wonderful ball and a handsome prince. However the 'good' and 'bad' characters in the story aren't quite how you remember them as a child. Iris, the younger 'ugly stepsister', is the focus of the story and she perceives the famous events from a very different perspective than the average fairy tale book.

Iris becomes fascinated by painting - and through description of the painting craft Maguire convinces the reader to reevaluate their own definitions of beauty. The beautiful Clara - the 'Cinderella' of popular myth - is as much cursed by her beauty as she is blessed. Ugly Iris, who is lean-lipped and flat-chested, learns that intelligence, talent and vision can be as attractive as golden hair and a button nose.

Maguire manages to keep the reader guessing throughout the novel, which is incredible considering that his story is based off one of the best known popular tales in the world. We all know that Cinderella attends the ball and wins the heart of Prince Charming. How the established ending comes to pass, however, is a surprise to everybody. Who knew that this was how 'happy ever after' ended up?

If you're a fan of slightly whimsical literary fiction, like the works of John Irving or Audrey Niffenegger, you'll love the way Maguire weaves his tale. It's a beautifully constructed work of fiction and a very worthy follow up to the popular Wicked.