Gregory Maguire's "Mirror, Mirror"


An off-beat take on the 'Snow White' tale from the author of 'Wicked'

Gregory Maguire started his literary life as an author of children's books. The genre of children's literature provided Maguire with a jumping point into writing novels for adults that are certainly whimsical but also serious.

Long before Maguire made that transition other writers explored the universality of well-loved fairy tales, and the psychological significance of the themes in children's literature that seem to survive and in fact thrive: the wicked stepmother and abandoned children, the bad wolf, the consequences of a lack of self-control.

But Maguire has really carved out his own niche as a novelist who not only finds universal and quite adult themes in familiar children's tales, but also shifts the perspective to one quite unexpected. And his themes go beyond the psychological and also explore the political.

Thus 'Wicked' is not the story of Dorothy, a child lost in a strange land and learning to act independently and as part of a community. It is, rather, the story of the Wicked Witch of the West, and how "wicked" may in fact only be "misunderstood" depending on your perspective.

And 'Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister' is not the story of Cinderella, a girl usurped by an older, wiser woman, but ultimately redeemed by love. It is, rather, the story of the stepsisters, caught in the middle and gaining no benefit from it.

'Mirror, Mirror' uses the story of 'Snow White' as its jumping point. But Maguire weaves in elements of the story of the Borgia clan. He mixes the reality of the existence of the Borgias, the whimsical elements of the 'Snow White' fairy tale, and an even more fantastical imagining of the seven dwarves than found in the fairy tale.

This is Maguire's most fantastical novel yet, with many lyrical passages which frankly had me re-reading them on a regular basis.

This is, in my opinion, not one of the plusses of this novel. I always have enjoyed Maguire's juxtaposition of quite plain, matter-of-fact descriptions of rather fanciful and off-beat events. That style brought you into a quite impossible world with a minimum of suspension of disbelief required. This novel requires more conscious relinquishment to the magical aspects of the story.

However, there are other strengths in this work. As always, Maguire paints vivid portraits of many characters. He is, perhaps one of the best novelists out there at immersing you in another world and delineating his characters without tedious adjective-driven prose, but rather through their dialog and actions. Maguire also shifts perspectives between characters far more in this book than those prior. This makes 'Mirror, Mirror', like his other works, a book you don't want to put down. You encounter new surprises at every turn and happily turn the pages waiting for the next one.

'Mirror, Mirror' is a quick, intriguing read. And it combines a throughline of mystery, punctuated by moments of pleased recognition at how he has taken a familiar tale and transformed it into something different and strange.

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Posted: Sat - November 29, 2003 at 09:34 PM       EmailFeedback

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