Title: Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story
Author: Carolyn Turgeon
Cinderella might just be the most popular fairy tale. Not surprising really, most of us feel under
apprenticed or taken for granted.
Cinderella works her fingers to the bone, but finally is elevated and is
able to sit down. Of course, she is elevated
because she is beautiful and nice.
Turgeon’s
retelling of Cinderella is supposedly about the godmother who upsets the tale
by falling in love with the prince destined to be Cinderella’s husband.
Part of
what Turgeon is paying with is the idea of memory and trauma. Her protagonist, Lil, the godmother of the
title, feels that in order to regain her place among her sisters she must play
matchmaker to her employer and new found friend. In some ways, this romance plot is the
weakest part of the book. But it does
serve the larger issue of the book which is connected to narrative and memory and,
to a lesser degree the question of worth.
Lil is chosen to help Cinderella, but is she the right one.
Lil in
many ways is someone that society would discount, in many ways despite being
the godmother is also the Cinderella figure, though she doesn’t necessary have
a shoe to fill. Her white hair and age
make her something other – someone to be humored, loved, or even coddled, but
the question does arise -do those around Lil, even those who truly seem to are
for her, know her or even have her interests at heart. This is particularly true when the twist comes
because how it is revealed by one character comes across as cruel and
dangerous. In fact, it renders the character
who does it almost unlikable. Not so
much that she does but how she does that.
The
twist of the novel is one that while and seems to have divided the
readership. You are either going to be
impressed by it or disappointed. While
twist does have some build it, the middle section of the book, which menders
slightly, could have done a better job of building up to it. It is a powerful twist however.
Turgeon's Mermaid, which was published after this, is the better novel.
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