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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Beautifully written, but disappointing., September 7, 2009
This review is from: Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story (Paperback)
The cover of this book and suggestion of a Cinderella story will lure you in to a false expectation of a romantic fantasy with Disneyesque qualities. No spoilers here, but if that is what you are looking for, you'd do well to look elsewhere. Perhaps it's my own fault for not researching further into what I was reading, but I was immediately taken by the quality of this author's writing style. I kept turning every page, and my own false hopes for a happy ending were dashed.
However, for what it is, Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story is a novel well-worth your time and interest. Brava, Carolyn Turgeon!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not at all what I expected... I can't figure out what was true, July 16, 2009
This review is from: Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story (Paperback)
Plot Summary: The fairy Lil failed in her duty to get Cinderella to the ball, so the elders banished her to earth in the body of an old woman. The only trace of Lil's former glory is a pair of snow-white wings that she straps down with an Ace bandage. She lives in a tiny, broken down apartment in NYC, and works at a used bookstore owned by an absent-minded wealthy guy. When a vibrant young hair stylist comes in to sell some books, Lil sees a cosmic opportunity to make things right, and play matchmaker between Veronica and her boss, George. Lil is convinced that if this couple finds love at the charity ball, then she'll be allowed to return to her fairy home.
The story flowed beautifully for the first half of the book, but the second half twisted in upon itself several times, and I'm no longer sure what it was about. I thought this would be a straightforward fantasy sweetened with romance, but now I wonder if the entire story was nothing more than dementia punching holes in the soft brain of an old, tormented woman.
This is one of those books that leaves the interpretation up to the reader, and for some reason I'm leaning toward the darker path. Somehow this fantasy persuaded me to turn my back on the magic, which is the last thing I want to do. Was Lil a fallen fairy, or a mortal woman trapped by mental illness? Since this story is told in a first person narrative, I have no one's word but Lil's. It's like listening to my three-year-old insist that she didn't color on the bathroom door, but the evidence and logic are overwhelming (I still need to clean that door, *sigh*).
Lil's fall from grace happened on the night when Cinderella was supposed to meet her Prince at the ball, some 300 years in the past. The flashbacks become progressively more disturbing, until it reaches a conclusion that no little girl wants to contemplate. To balance these bitter memories, Lil latches onto Veronica, whose passionate, creative, larger-than-life personality makes her appealing to anyone who breathes. I didn't really see the match between vibrant Veronica and the lifeless George, and it's a pity that his character wasn't fleshed out more.
This was stranger, darker, and more confusing than I had anticipated, but there were flashes of beauty that almost seemed fay.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story by Carolyn Turgeon, July 23, 2009
This review is from: Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story (Paperback)
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Unlike many of the reinvented fairy tale novels published recently, Turgeon's Godmother isn't aimed at young adult readers, but adult readers, with its edgier and more enigmatic handling of the content. It reminded me more of Gregory Maguire's work in the genre than any other author's although Donna Jo Napoli and several short story authors have lots of sharp corners in their stories, too. I found myself thinking about Napoli's masterpiece "The Magic Circle" every so often while reading this novel since both offer similar themes of older women seeking redemption from past mistakes.
Godmother is the story of Cinderella's godmother, banished to the mortal world after her bad handling of Cinderella and the prince. This godmother, Lil, barely resembles the usual fairy godmother imagery. She is not a benevolent, rather flighty, bringer of good fortune. Well, at times, yes, she is, but not in the expected ways. Lil is bereft from her losses and lonely although blessed with friends and people who care about her in the mortal world. Now that she is banished, stuck living in New York City and working in a small rare bookstore, she desperately wants to return home. She is desperately trying to re-earn her wings to borrow the cliché of angels. She finds a new woman, Vivian, she hopes to help and thus redeem herself. The story unfolds, mixed with flashbacks to 300 years earlier when she first tried to help Cinderella win her prince.
There are a few surprises and twists and an ending that will most likely either satisfy or frustrate the reader. This book explores the psychological side of the character while still telling an interesting story. It's a fairly easy read, not an overly heavy or long one--it's considerably shorter than anything by the above mentioned Maguire, for one thing. I'm still digesting it, not adoring it, but enjoying it all the same, more intrigued than anything.
So yes, I recommend it. I admit the book sat on my stack of "to be read" books (always an overwhelming stack) for a while since the reviews had been mixed and I was reluctant. Consequently, I ended up liking the book much more than I expected to. If the subject and themes interest you, try it and don't put it down until the end which will hopefully make it all worthwhile for you.
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