The Charmed Wife

Another revisionist fairy tale, this time of the Cinderella story. Written by Olga Grushin, I am not sure how to talk about this book. It is so complex in changing settings, perspectives, time frames, nature of the main characters... I was just left trying to keep up and not particularly impressed with the somewhat didactic lessons offered at the end. Kirkus notes, "This novel occupies an uncomfortable place between realism, postmodernism, and folklore." They conclude that this retelling of the tale is "disappointing." It starts as a fairy tale. Cinderella is 13 years into her marriage with the Prince and has become so disenchanted and angry that she has hired a witch to brew a potion that will bring about his death. She stops short of making the final bargain. In the process of deciding, however, we learn of how her dream of "happily ever after" unravels over the years. Over the course of the book, we move from a land with palaces and beekeepers and shoe-shaped houses in the woods to penthouses in Manhattan and modern houses in the Jersey suburbs. Are the the step-sisters really step-sisters or is that just Cinderella's (Jane's) construction. And just what role does Cinderella/Jane play in the deterioration of her marriage. What remains true throughout most of the book is her love for her two children, but it is not sustaining. Nevertheless, I finished the book (after abandoning several others), hoping to get to a clearer understanding of what the author wanted to say. 

The New York Journal of Books has a more positive take on the book. "Timelines and chronologies and people and places seamlessly shift and morph and nothing is as it seems. That all of this works and ties together is due to Grushin’s facility with language, which is, in many ways, a marvel. It’s the kind of prose that demands you submerge yourself...." but also says, "A reader can get lost in such prose. Conversely, such prose can also lose a reader." I would disagree with the assessment that the shifts are "seamless" but judge for yourself. 

What is remarkable is that Grushin was born and raised in the Soviet Union, but after receiving and accepting a scholarship to Emory University, she decided to write in English. Do read the author interview in the LA Times for some in-depth biographical information and tie-ins to her writing.