With such books as Confessions of an Ugly Step Sister and Mirror, Mirror, it's as if Gregory Maguire is saying, "Well, i can't think of my own story, but my writing is still good enough on some other level, so please give me a chance."
And i think Mr. Maguire is quite good enough on that basis. i loved Mirror, Mirror and Wicked, even though the story in each was rather lame at times.
But then, i am not one of those Nabokovists who worship plot and story above all else. Nabokov himself despised many other writers for that weakness, including Faulkner of all people, calling his meandering prose "topical garbage."
i do like Nabokov, so i don't wanna say anything bad about him, but i adore Faulkner, especially in Sanctuary and Light in August, both of which, i might add, had great story structure and terrific writing.
rather than merely despising him, Nabokov probably would have dismissed Maguire outright, as not even worth mentioning
but i think Maguire is notable in his ability to make unusual and surprising sentences. he doesn't beat you over the head with his vocabulary, as Pynchon might, but sprinkles it in like a deft cook, so that you feel that you've just eaten something quite delicious. in that way, he reminds one of Italo Calvino at the height of his powers, as in Invisible Cities.
well, who does not want to be reminded of Italo Calvino?
-ellie
