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ceallaighsbooks's review
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
“This was the great mystery of the city in which she lived. It was so filled with variety that she had always trusted, somehow, that she would find her own available place in it. A perch, like that of any bird. A hidey-hole like the one that little white owl had found. There was enough otherliness here to have room for Laura. Surely?”
TITLE—A Wild Winter Swan
AUTHOR—Gregory Maguire
PUBLISHED—2020
GENRE—literary fiction, fairytale retelling
SETTING—ca. 1960s NYC
MAIN THEMES/SUBJECTS—coming of age, NYC, Catholicism, immigrant communities in NYC, fairytale themes & motifs, winter, family
WRITING STYLE—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
CHARACTERS—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
STORY/PLOT—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
BONUS ELEMENT/S—Once again I read a Maguire book at the precise moment in my life where I find the protagonist the *most* relatable.
PHILOSOPHY—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Why does the most obvious thing, the only thing that doesn’t need to be said, hurt so much when it is actually said out loud?”
I really enjoyed this beautiful, dark story about a young girl living in New York City with her Italian immigrant grandparents in the 1960’s at Christmastime. I found the MC, Laura, really relatable as she struggled with not being able to meet her grandparents’ and teachers’ expectations of academic proficiency and proper socialization, of feeling alone and lost, of having people who cared about her and wanted to do what was best for her but who didn’t truly know or appreciate her for who she was.
The story itself was strange and unconventional so don’t go in looking for a plot that will pull you along, come to this book for the gorgeous writing, the insightful take on families and coming of age themes, and the loose but clever retelling of a lesser known fairytale.
I also personally loved the ending but based on what I’ve read I might be the only one who did so… 🙈😂
“Then, as she watched, out on the open water a single swan swept up from some hidden cranny. It paced itself in the snowy air more or less across from her window. Moving at the same rate, but out in the wild. Heading north. It was single, yes—unless you counted its reflection, which made it a pair of swans.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
TW // blood, some gore (Please feel free to DM me for more specifics!)
Further Reading—
- Hiddensee, by Gregory Maguire
- Gingerbread, by Helen Oyeyemi
- Oligarchy, by Scarlett Thomas
- Dark Tales, by Shirley Jackson
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Gore and Vomit
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