Mirror, Mirror

The book that I most recently read was Mirror, Mirror by Gregory Maguire. The story is a adaptation, or more accurately a character development saga, of the classic fairy tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. This is the third book that I have read of Maguire's. The two others are: Wicked, now a Broadway play (the life and times of the Wicked Witch from Wizard of Oz) and The Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister (based on Cinderella). The feature I enjoy tho most about Maguire's style is that he wraps historically true facts and people into the legends of the fairy tales. The world in which we find our familiar characters are full of mystery, drama and mischievous behavior of real-life. 

Although Mirror, Mirror felt a little rushed and ended too abruptly based on the character development and plot sequencing, I still enjoyed the book for the exquisite detailing and imagination to which Maguire brings to all of his writing. I have said on more than one occasion that Maguire is one of the only authors that requires a dictionary to read it. His use of sophisticated vocabulary always challenges and intrigues me. 

One warning to the neophytes of Maguire's realm: do not expect a happy ending or a change to the inevitable....you already know the ending. His story is a wildly textured version of the flat and dimension-less version you already know. Enjoy!