Cultural Dessert

'Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister' by Gregory Maguire

26 March 2008

Some time in 2001 I heard someone on the radio talking about a novel that was going to tell the story of the childhood of the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz. Even though the book had not yet been published in the UK, I was hooked by the concept. During a trip to Seattle in 2002 I bought a copy of 'Wicked' by Gregory Maguire at the wonderful Elliot Bay Book Company store and I loved it. It has since become a bestseller and spawned a Broadway musical. So it was with some expectation that I started reading Gregory Maguire's 'Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister' which attempts a similar trick with the Cinderella story. 'Wicked' is a strange and peculiar book which travels into the realms of magical realism: 'Confessions' is less ambitious - more a straightforward historical novel - and better for it. Both take the 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead' approach - showing you familiar events from the point of view of previously minor characters. But I thought 'Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister' had more in common with those other Tom Stoppard plays (such as 'Travesties' and 'The Invention of Love') where the more familiar story that the characters inhabit only gradually reveals itself. By the time 'Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister' resolves itself into the events around Cinderella's appearance at the ball it is almost a surprise. It's a very neat and satisfying story and has a lot to say about appearances and transformations.

Labels: Books

posted by Robin Simpson @ 11:58 am