Mirror Mirror: A Novel by Gregory Maguire Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $15.41 You Save: $9.54 (38%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $8.41 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Mirror Mirror: A Novel
Book Review: Try to borrow this, rather than buy it!
Summary: 3 Stars
This is the fourth Maguire novel I've read, and so far it's my least favorite. I agree with the other reviews which say that this is a little slow - the twists and turns are fairly interesting, but there doesn't seem to be much force driving the reader ahead.
Maquire does seem to have done his research on the times, but since I know little about the Borgias, there aren't as many "Ah ha!" moments as there were with "Wicked" or "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister."
Mirror Mirror: A Novel
Book Review: I'm bummed, this book was bad!
Summary: 1 Stars
Ones taste in books is highly subjective. This one was bad in my opinion. I really wanted to like it. It was boring and the plot never came together. It feels like it was written by a completely author than Wicked and Confessions.
The good thing is it is a quick read.
Book Review: Hypnotic
Summary: 3 Stars
Mirror Mirror: A Novel, is as you dear reader probably already knew, a retelling of the wellknown fairytale Snow White in 16th century Italy.
The Good: The story is moderatly interesting, and it has some a few really great characters, namely Lucrezia and the seven dwarfs, as well as the old priest and the cook. Maguire's prose is poetic and beautiful, and the dialogue is masterful- its both smart and sensitive, and tells so much about the story. And because the plot is so intriguing you're pulled along-not so much in wanting to know what happens next, but needing to know what happens.
The Bad: This was undoubtly a very intersting book, yet sometimes it felt that Maguire was confined in his story of Snow White. There seemed to be so many things he wanted to do in his story, yet he couldn't necessarily fit them in, or get them to make sense because as a fractured fairytale, his storytail had to have some sembelance to Snow White. Also, at times there were a bit too many unnecesarily descriptions- Maquire went on and on about certain things without getting to the root of the story. We know he can write well- now can we please get to the root of the story? Likewise, there was no fresh breath of newness or uniqueness in the character Bianca (or the Snow White). Though she was set up as a contrast to Lucrezia, she spent most of her time asleep- we never got to know or care for her. Personally, i think this was a result of all the conflicting plot threads the author had running through the story- this book would have been much better if the prose was more sparse, and if he said less with more words more often. This book definatly could have benefited with staying generally in the perspective of the dwarves and Lucrezia, as they were undoubtly the strongest characters in the book. Likewise, sometimes the symbolism in the story felt convoluted.
The UGLY: Actually, there wasn't much of it. While some of the descriptions boarded on unneccesary, there was still a bit of vile, bitter beauty about them which actually added to the book's charm. Of course, the prudish in all of us will be revolted with many of the incest undertones throughout the book, it did make the villian seem impossibly more human, and way more interesting.
Overall rating: It's worth a read, but you'll either really enjoy and admire this author or you'll toss it across the room---- but for it's many faults, Maguire is still arguably, a genius.
Book Review: Not my favorite Maguire book
Summary: 3 Stars
I have read Wicked, Son of a Witch, Lost, and Mirror Mirror. I loved the other three (my favorite was Lost). I found that Mirror Mirror was very slow through the middle of the book. It picks up a little at the end, but I guess I've been spoiled by Maguire and expected miraculous books all the time. This one doesn't match the other three, but does have some interesting parts to it. However, I don't understand why the dwarves were stone-like creatures. Am I missing the symbolism (symbolism is not my forte)? Overall, I could have skipped this book. If this is your first Maguire book, please try another one. The rest are fantastic!Book Review: Disappointing and Dark
Summary: 2 Stars
Having read Wicked, Son of a Witch, and Confessions, I was ecstatic to find the time to sit down with Mirror Mirror. I wish I had done anything else! While Maguire's cleverness is apparent, I found myself speedreading ahead to see when another inane description of something small and pointless would end, and skipping ahead at the frequent pepperings of bodily secretions and functions. While the ideas and approach to the Snow White fairy tale are brilliant, they are delivered with a cold darkness that paints the world in a light that I read to escape. The theme of the sexual situations left me feeling defiled and dirty, as if I had stumbled onto something hideously grotesque. And, as a woman, I was greatly insulted at the description of Bianca's first menses. Of all the research done for this book, Maguire couldn't ask one woman what menstruation is like? It reminds me of the ignorant descriptions of school boys who know nothing of the female mysteries and talk about it as though they are professors- much to the disgust of those surrounding their ignorance. Maguire has lost a great deal of my respect with this one. Inappropriate for children under 16.