POPSUGAR's Reading Challenge 2016: Gregory Maguire

Welcome to the blog that's going to document my (hopeful) completion of POPSUGAR's Reading Challenge. Each month, I will attempt to read 3/4 books and write about them. I admitted to my mom shortly after agreeing with myself to do this, that I wished I hadn't. Of course, there's a lack of accountability here to anyone other than myself...so theoretically I could just not blog my experiences of the books I've read. Few would know, less would care! However, because I either really hate or love myself, I'm trying very hard to become a better writer, reader, and thinker. So I guess being accountable to myself is all I need to do this....yeah, it's hate. I hate myself. Either that or I did something super bad in a prior life and I'm being punished with masochism in this one.

If it isn't obvious: The Reading Challenge list.

Before I begin with my first book, if I catch the attention of some very small part of the internet; I hope it will join me in this challenge. I'm making an assumption you all will also be readers, or want to become readers...if I'm wrong? Well, it wouldn't be the first time I've made an Ass out of you and me! Actually it's usually just me, so the company will be nice!

Alright, because I'm really not ready to publicly share my thoughts and potentially look like an idiot (particularly in front of friends who I've done a solid job of convincing I'm intelligent)-there's no better time to dive in!

Book #1: A book based on a fairy tale
So, before I begin I'm going to let you in on how I feel about fairy tales: I'm a mixed bag. As a child I loved them, I have all the Disney classics on VHS (Youngin's do a Google search) and for the most part could re-watch any one of them, any time. However, a lot of my love for Disney's classics came from their soundtracks not necessarily the story (barring the renaissance era which was filled with awesome female characters whom I adore). I mean, I'm still not sure what happened in Bambi...as I barely remember it. I know there's a hunter, but I didn't really get that until years after watching it. I remember being scared of Alice in Wonderland, but that's technically 19th century children's literature (yes, I realize Bambi isn't a traditional fairy tale either).

Anyways, beyond Disney's versions, I also loved the scarier versions of fairy tales. I have always enjoyed being put on edge, to the point where I can't stop thinking about something and re-write endings to my liking in my head.

Currently, I still like fairy tales but do see the problematic nature in some of them. They were passed down as morality tales/lessons, and it was pretty obvious who those lessons were usually for and about. It was women. Women and being virtuous. Of course I'm over-simplifying, and haven't put time period into context, yada, yada, yada...but this is my blog and a place for my opinions- so I don't care. Side note: If you're interested in this I recommend Fairy Tales and the Art of Subversion by Jack Zipes.

Long story short: I like fairy tales, and I enjoy contemporary re-examining of them. I've read a few adaptations, and really enjoyed them. This is why I chose to read Gregory Maguire's Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, for this part of the challenge. Gregory's  kind of made re-tellings his thing, and I really like the ugly stepsisters. Anastasia's my favourite character in Disney's Cinderella. Now, here's where I'm going to feel a little bad-I don't have much to say about this book. I read it in a day, but not because it was particularly gripping, more I read fast and have issues with not knowing things. (I'm a fan of spoilers; they have never once ruined my experience of something. In fact, I enjoy it more because of anticipation to see how what I know, plays out. I prefer to see how elements are connected and fit in, than the surprise of them. Science backs me up on this! )
The book was a quick, easy, read and enjoyable enough. Forgettable as well. If you were to ask me months from now (when book isn't fresh in my mind) my favourite part, I probably couldn't come up with anything. I could probably list things I liked, but I don't think I could muster the enthusiasm to gush about my "favourite" or the "best" part.

I'm not going to give a summary, as that's not my intent in writing this blog. If you would like a summary of the plot, Wikipedia does that quite well here!
I will talk about my thoughts on the characters and the general concept. So lets dive in:
 
This was definitely an interesting take on a classic tale, at least interesting enough they made a TV movie. It focused on Iris, the plain step sister and her new life in the Netherlands. It lightly examines the rise and fall of the tulip trade there. This background of true history definitely embeds the tale in realism, but I felt more could have been done with it. It's mostly used to have a rich man become a poor man...Getting back to Iris, our protagonist, we see a young girl on the verge of womanhood grow up. I can't say she's likable, but she is rounded. She's intelligent, if not learned, and has keen observational skills. Her internal thoughts show she picks up subtlety but in other things she's completely oblivious. There were moments I rooted for her, and others where I found her ridiculous. In short, she was probably a good example of a girl her age going through changes and hormones. Whose father has just been killed, causing her mother to uproot her from her home in England and take her to the Netherlands. She's her sister's caretaker despite being younger, and the only person her mother has. Kid's got shit going on! What I like is Iris is neither good nor bad, mean nor nice: Rather all at different times. She has a romantic plot that runs through the tale, and it is a fairly accurate portrayal of a first crush. She wants to be a painter, but her crush-the apprentice, would be there and she realizes she couldn't handle being that close to him, in unrequited love, all day...so she bails.

The other characters are: Ruth, Iris' elder sister who is mute and considered "grotesque". I don't want to give anything away in case someone wants to read the novel...but her reveal at the end, was probably my favourite part. It actually surprised me. Unlike Margarethe's (Iris/Ruth's mother) confession, which I saw from so far away, I thought I might get to call my optometrist and tell him I don't need his stupid glasses! Of course I wouldn't do this, that's not how vision works. I felt for Ruth, but she reveals she doesn't need my pity. She's no fool. She is sort of in the background a lot, always there but never really there. Yet, in the end, she is responsible for a pivotal moment.

Going back to Margarethe, I have to say I couldn't tell if she was a developed character or a cliche. She actually straddled the line (for me). There were moments where I genuinely felt that while her actions were gruff, her heart was in the right place. This was mostly at the beginning of the book, later when she marries Cinderella's (named Clara) father she becomes more of a stereotype. Which was too bad, because I really, really, really wanted Maguire to go another route. Actually, I just wanted more in general. I was fond of his Wicked, and wanted this to be just as tight. (Not saying Wicked doesn't have its own problems.)

Now, here's where I might stir some controversy with those who have read the book: My favourite character was Clara. Our Cinderella. She was brilliantly petulant and dramatic, in all the ways I like. She also had a lot of my sympathy, especially because of the glaringly obvious "secret" I saw miles away. She may act childishly, but there were hints she occasionally knew what she was doing as well. She wasn't soft, she wasn't hard. In fact, in a lot of ways her and Iris are similar.

There are a bunch of male characters too, but really I didn't care much about any of them to write. Yes, I'm lazy. Also this is my first post, I'll get better as I go!

In conclusion: There's interesting ideas about beauty and ugliness, youth and adulthood, vision and observation, but like I said: The book was sort of "meh" to me. The ending was abrupt, but I liked that. It was retelling of a story we know...it's a rare occasion where the ending is actually the least important part. We want to see how these re-imagined characters get there, not what it is. For those wondering...SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! it is the ending of Cinderella.
I can't say I would read this book again, but it isn't bad. If you really enjoy reading fairy tale adaptations, and like seeing familiar characters in new ways? Sure, read it. You're probably more likely to enjoy it than someone just looking for a cool book to read.

So that's it for my first Reading Challenge blog post. Join me next time for Book #2: Amy Poehler's Yes, Please