The Charmed Wife

On the surface, this is a modern telling of the aftermath of Cinderella’s wedding to Prince Charming, one in which the prince cheats on his young wife, they angrily separate, and she summons a witch to get revenge on him. That may not sound terribly imaginative, but the way Grushin tells the story, blending fantasy with reality and infusing it with psychological insights along the way, makes it an enjoyable read. I loved how she added nuance to all of the characters, showing different sides to the prince, the young woman he marries after an enchanted ball (who is the narrator of the story), her two stepsisters, the fairy godmother, and the wicked witch. I also loved how she cleverly shifted the traditional fairytale setting into the show more present in a gradual way without ever explaining it, which justified the out of order storytelling that I didn’t care much for initially. The little bits of bawdiness, the humor, and the portrait of the struggle of a marriage that’s not working all kept it entertaining.

I confess that other elements didn’t work as well for me, such as the side story of the two mice and their ancestors who live with them, which I thought didn’t add anything. There were points at which I thought the fantasy aspects sprawled and the reality aspects were repetitive, as there are a lot of randy, adulterous men here. Getting the perspective of an intelligent woman for both the traditional fairy tale and a modern day marriage, the quality of the writing, and not knowing what each new chapter would bring all won me over though. Grushin is a joy to read, and I like the breadth that she shows, with each of her books being unique. show less

Olga Grushin's "The Charmed Wife" will certainly charm readers who love flipped fairy tales, which I do. I am a huge fan of Margaret Atwood's fairy tales gone awry, or fairy tales from a woman's perspective. It was very funny: I laughed a lot. The novel was also quite original; I have never read anything like it. It turned out to be a lot more psychological than, say, a Jasper Fforde Nursery Crime novel, which is pure humor from beginning to end.

The book begins with a standard Cinderella story, only "Cinderella" (we don't know her name and she is a first-person narrator) is in her mid-30s, has two kids, and is completely over her Happily Ever After. Her prince is driving her crazy, as is her palace, with singing maids, chandeliers that show more clink all by themselves, talking teapots, that whole Disneyesque scene. She sneaks out of the palace in the dead of night and looks for a witch to curse Prince Charming, whose name is Roland. The witch wants to know the whole backstory, so "Cinderella" reveals all, little by little.

There is a parallel story line about "Cinderella's" pet mice, Nibbles and Brie, which begins as a wonderful parody but began to bore me pretty early on in the book.

When "Cinderella" begins to question everything about her marriage, Grushkin first has her main character take various extreme fairy-tale measures to lift the curse (there isn't a curse) such as going on long weird quests (this was quite funny) and making shirts out of nettles. All of this happens in the flashback accounts.

After the witch agrees to help, the Cinderella storyline comes full circle and other fairy tale story lines get woven into the narrative, and finally, all the fairy tale stuff falls away and reality begins to encroach, little by little.

This is a genius plot device, dropping the fairy tale elements of a novel until the reader lands in a straight historical fiction tale in a real place when the narrator wakes up from her fairytale dream. The story behind the story is all too familiar to real women everywhere. It was a fun read, but I was lost and unsettled for too many pages. I needed more explanations during about the last fourth of the novel.

I received an advanced readers copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley and was encouraged to submit an honest review. show less

What a keen observation on society through the prism of fairy tales (and so much more plot-wise!...).

I am not one for fantasy usually, but I am very partial to Olga Grushin, and will readily read whatever she writes - so far, including this novel, without any disappointment. So even though I encountered fantasy in the form of fairy tale world from page one, I instinctively knew that what she writes has to be uncommonly special and highly imaginative - which was soon proven: what with the Fairy Godmother transformation, for once, and that of the Witch, and how about the two pet mice - or, rather, the generation of them (!) and their story that parallels our human one so much!!!... So many plot lines intertwined - with the one, of show more course, prominent and steady throughout, and the insights made me gasp with wonder at times...

It starts and runs as a fairy tale with a parallel undercurrent: maturing, coming of age story - with all the emotional zigzags accompanying it... On the surface, it's just an unusual interpretation of well known fairy tales (one in particular), but of course it's so much more than that, as we soon find out. Extraordinary (and, sadly, ordinary at the same time) tale of Cinderella transformation - to princess - (back) to maid - to her own person! (All with the hardly predictable reasons behind these metamorphoses). A woman emerges whose "fairy tale" existence "has proven to be a sham", in a most poignant way... That's what happens even in a fairy tale: "Joy leaks out when there are enough cracks". But the end here is just the beginning!... show less

The Charmed Wife by Olga Grushin is the story of Cinderella after her supposed happy ending, which turns out to have been not so happy after all. The book ties other fairytales into one magical world, and is a beautiful and heartbreaking story with a twist that I definitely didn't see coming.

The story is intensely emotional. It's about a woman who is unhappy in her marriage, and Grushin expertly creates the claustrophobic feeling of being trapped in a relationship. She uses magic and fairytale tropes to paint a moving picture of a woman in crisis, experiencing a breakdown, and the unravelling of a marriage.

The writing is stunningly beautiful. At times it felt a little too flowery, but for the most part it set the scene perfectly. show more There's a dreamlike quality to the whole book, which as you progress through the story, makes more and more sense. About halfway/three quarters of the way through things start to feel very trippy, with the lines between reality and fantasy blurring. The whole book is very clever, and I found the ending satisfying.

I really liked all of the scenes with the witch and the fairy godmother, and the memories of Cinderella's marriage. I struggled a bit with the interspersed stories about Cinderella's mice. I felt like I was reading two different books at the same time, and at times the mouse sections felt weirdly 'disney' in an otherwise very beautiful and adult tale. I don't read much literary fiction, though, so I'm wondering if there were metaphors and analogies there that I just missed.

If you like your fairytale retellings with a more adult twist, or are a fan of literary fiction, this book is for you. show less

I've always loved "fractured" fairy tales, fairy tales rewritten for modern times and continuations...I find them so imaginative!

Olga Grushin has taken the story of Cinderella and extended it. It is 13.5 years since her wedding to the prince, she has two kids, no sign of love from her husband and is about as far from "happily ever after" as she can get. So, she decides to take action. Ms. Grushin does an amazing job of portraying a modern woman through her Cinderella character. She also blurs the lines between fairy tales and real life in a most satisfying way. Very imaginative and creative!

Gosh that was good. When is a fairy tale not a fairy tale? And what happens when the fairy tale ends? What if you thought you were in a fairy tale and it wasn't what you expected? Happily ever after only happens in fairy tales, right? But what happens when that "happily ever after " wears off and you have to face reality. To face your own flaws and problems, to quit hiding behind a fairy tale idea of what the world should be. To discover that maybe it wasn't love but escape or impossible dreams.

This is fairy tales turned on their head, shaken and brought into reality. It is not fun or light. It is all of the twists of middle age.