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3.12 AVERAGE
3.12 AVERAGE
This book surprised me, I am glad I discovered it. I needed some serious processing afterward the book group questions were helpful at the end.
Really enjoyed this book, a much more adult version of Cinderella. What an interesting take on such an old and loved story. It was interesting to see it from the fairy godmother's thoughts.
What a great little fairy-tale adaptation! At first I wasn’t so sure I would enjoy this novel but it got better and better the further I read. The author does a fine job of capturing human emotions in her characters (I felt the same way about her novel “Rain Village”) although sometimes she becomes a tad bit repetitive (such as, okay...we understand...the main character is sad all the time...). This novel was well worth the effort and the ending was superb! I wasn’t expecting the twisty twist and that is rare for me. Back to my shelves this one goes, perhaps for a re-read in the future!
A great read sort of a retelling of Cinderella from the fairy perspective - I expected a twist at the end, but it was different than even what I imagined. In some ways it has the style of "The Lace Reader."
This is an exquisitely written modern fairytale that contrasts modern day New York City with the Old World. Lil's an old lady with a fairy past. She works at a used bookstore by day and pines away for her old life in her run-down apartment in the garment district by night. In order to make her past mistakes as a depressive Cinderella's Fairy Godmother right, Lil looks to set up her boss with a vibrant hairdresser with retro tastes. The end leaves the reader full of questions and more importantly a bunch of feelings. It's so well done.
I first read this book on a flight from NYC to California when it first came out. I totally ate it up in one sitting. I found the writing beautiful and the story ultimately sad, but I loved that all that gorgeous fairytale was really just the rambling imagination of mentally messed up old lady. It felt right for me at the time. It fit my pessimistic realist way of thinking. I didn't read the book doubting all along, but I kind of hoped this would be the case and loved that it came in such a lush package.
Flash forward 5 years and I decided to re-read it. I wanted to read something with imagination and pretty details. This time I read it hoping I read it wrong the first time. I was sure the feathers were real. They had to be real because I could feel how soft they were. I wanted the magic & believed it & willed myself to believe Lil was a fairy through to the end. The characters stayed strong with the 2nd read. I still loved Veronica & wished she was my friend.
I first read this book on a flight from NYC to California when it first came out. I totally ate it up in one sitting. I found the writing beautiful and the story ultimately sad, but I loved that all that gorgeous fairytale was really just the rambling imagination of mentally messed up old lady. It felt right for me at the time. It fit my pessimistic realist way of thinking. I didn't read the book doubting all along, but I kind of hoped this would be the case and loved that it came in such a lush package.
Flash forward 5 years and I decided to re-read it. I wanted to read something with imagination and pretty details. This time I read it hoping I read it wrong the first time. I was sure the feathers were real. They had to be real because I could feel how soft they were. I wanted the magic & believed it & willed myself to believe Lil was a fairy through to the end. The characters stayed strong with the 2nd read. I still loved Veronica & wished she was my friend.
A thoroughly enjoyable book if you skip the last chapter. Needless to say I did not enjoy the ending of this book. Many have mentioned the ending is ambigious. I don't have a problem with ambigious endings in principle however it felt out of left field even with her attempts at foreshadowing.
Despite the ending, I loved reading about the fairy world and how Cinderella's story came to life from the point of view of the Godmother. I was completely wrapped up in the story which is probably why I didn't like the ending.
Despite the ending, I loved reading about the fairy world and how Cinderella's story came to life from the point of view of the Godmother. I was completely wrapped up in the story which is probably why I didn't like the ending.
Since Wicked, there have been a rash of books darkening the tales we all grew up with as children (since not all of us grew up with the originals), and this is no exception. How does a Fairy Godmother become one, and who is chosen for the task? In this universe, fairies and humans are very close together--but not too close, and breaking that caveat has a deep price. Lillian is a fairy, sent to modern-day New York to help another Cinderella find her prince. Plagued with memories of her previous stint at Godmotherin' (that I won't get into in this review since it would be a huge spoiler), Lillian is having to battle with not only an old, broken body but also losing everything, even her memories of the young woman she used to be.
An interesting approach, certainly, and it is a good read, but there's something about the voice that is lacking; it doesn't have that oomph that makes you want to just sit and read it until the end. But, at the very least, in this case, an adaptation and modern retake of a decent story, at the very least, remains a decent story; which is more than can be said for a lot of the similar works of this ilk released around the same time.
An interesting approach, certainly, and it is a good read, but there's something about the voice that is lacking; it doesn't have that oomph that makes you want to just sit and read it until the end. But, at the very least, in this case, an adaptation and modern retake of a decent story, at the very least, remains a decent story; which is more than can be said for a lot of the similar works of this ilk released around the same time.
Honestly this was so hard to finish bc I just didn’t care about Lil as a character. I didn’t like her at all. I waited the whole book to find out what happened and then at the end it was such a disappointment. If I read it thinking of Lil as a delusional woman, it makes a much more interesting story. So that’s what I’ve accepted.
There is no way to discuss this book without revealing the ending so I won't say much. Lil's story drew me in from the very first page until the end. It was a bittersweet story about love and loss and how we as humans deal with them. The writing was well done, and I am looking forward to more from this author.