Another book by the author of Wicked, Gregory Maguire's "Mirror Mirror" is his skewed version of the Snow White story.
Set in 1500's Italy, we find a young girl, Bianca De Nevada (literal translation: White of Snow) living with her loving widowed father on an isolated piece of farmland. There are "dwarves" (almost rock-like creatures), a woodsman, a wicked woman (not a step-mom) and the wicked woman's brother, a mirror (that does not talk) and a quest for the apples from the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.
The wicked woman is Lucrezia Borgia. I wished I had known more about her before I read the book. She's a real person in history, thrown into the book as a vain, incestuous evil creation. Her real story is very sordid, and it would have added more depth to the reading of this book. As it was, I was a little bored with the book, and again, wished I had read on the Borgia family before reading this one.
Mr. Maguire's books are usually a little dark. As I said about "Wicked," this is not your mother's 'Wizard of Oz', or in this case, 'Snow White.' It's dark and adult.
1 comment:
I found how he mixed in the historic element to be the best part of this book. It would have made it better for you, but even still this isn't my favorite of his works.
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