Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story

Achingly Beautiful

The first chapter of Godmother sucked me right in and never let go. At the end of the first chapter when Lil unbinds her chest, soaks her aching body in a hot bath mixed with "eucalyptus oil and wintergreen oil, rosemary and thyme and dried mustard", and unfurls her feathery, white wings, I knew I had found a fantastical story. The second chapter delivered what I hoped for and more and within mere pages I was drawn deep into this achingly beautiful story.

Not only did the author, Carolyn Turgeon, immediately pull me into the story, she had me feeling Lil's, and later Veronica's, aching and longing for something more, something better, a different time, a better place, the place where they were meant to be.

The story goes back and forth between present day New York and the days surrounding the fateful night Lil, the fairy godmother, was supposed to get Cinderella to the ball to meet her destiny, because as we learn in the story, fairies are the keepers of destiny.

There were no shortages of passages to linger over but here's one of my favorites...

"This is what I had been brought to her for. Each human had so many selves, they said, and so much confusion. They do not know how to be who they are, who they are meant to be. That is how we help them"

Because the author took me precisely where she wanted me to go, I was not expecting the twist at the end. As I raced through the last chapter my reading was about ten steps ahead of my rational thinking and I felt like I was sinking and kicking for the surface, for air, as my brain tried to figure out what just happened.

When I closed the book the ending wasn't what I wanted for Lil. But the more I thought about the book the more the author amazed me at how eloquently she made me feel Lil's aching heart and body and in turn how it made me want perfect, sweet redemption for Lil. Then I saw the brilliance of the author and how she had taken me inside Lil's life and her secret torment and made me feel her every pain and heart ache so I could understand.

This story is by no means a light and fluffy retelling of classic fairy tale. This book is deep, a thinking-woman's story, a haunting story of regret and redemption, framed by the retelling of every little girl's favorite love story. If you've ever felt the haunting ache of regret and lost love then you will find a lot to love and relate to in this book.

UPDATE: I have made some slight changes to this review since I first posted it only because another review made me see the ending differently then I saw it. Even in rereading the ending the one sentence that points to what Lil does is ambiguous. If the other reviewer is right the ending upsets me a bit (though it's nothing I haven't read in a novel before) but I still stand by this book as a good read with great and imaginative writing.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

A must read! Great book!

When I read the synopsis of this book, I was very interested in reading it. I bought the book and began reading this book immediately. It's not your ordinary Cinderella story, but if you enjoy reading and reading about people who love books, you will enjoy the storyline. Great characters as well. I could not put this book down! You must read it!

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Godmother is one of the odder books I have read.

This book is not what I expected. Rather it is a highly unusual telling of the Cinderella story, from the perspective of the fairy godmother. At times, it is off-putting and the twist of plot sometimes gets to be too much. But it is worth persevering to find the odd turn to the end.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Bittersweet fairytale

What if the version of Cinderella that has been passed down through the years wasn't quite right? Perhaps the fairy godmother didn't resemble a plump bag of potatoes and was constantly tested by her strong feelings for all things human.

Lil is an old woman now, ekeing out a small life for herself in Manhattan, working at a bookstore, and always thinking of the past--her sister and best friends. At night, she goes home alone to her apartment, sinks into a hot bath and lets her wings unfurl. Lil, you see, is that fairy who was destined to get Cinderella and the prince together, but something went terribly wrong.

Now, with her apartment being sold and turned into offices, Lil begins to have a sense of urgency about her purpose among all these humans. Enter the luminous Veronica, the girl Lil believes will fulfill her destiny. The ball is a charity gala, the prince is Lil's boss, George, and Veronica will do nicely as the Cinderella stand-in.

All around her, Lil sees sadness and glimpses of what she believes are the fairies, readying for the time she will finally rejoin them.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Reviewed by Marta Morrison for TeensReadToo.com

"What occurs in the world of faerie will manifest in the world of man."

This thought was the main theme of GODMOTHER.

This was a dark retelling of the story of Cinderella. When I saw the cover, I thought,"a fun, light read." I was very wrong. This is a story about Lil, an old woman broken in spirit who lives a very meager life in New York. She works in a bookstore, and her life consists of working, eating, and sleeping.

But Lil has a secret. If you saw her back you would see wings. She is actually the fairy who was sent to be Cinderella's godmother, but she made a terrible mistake that night. Lil fell in love with the prince and couldn't help the broken spirit of Cinderella.

Since that night, Lil has been permanently in the world of man, thrown out of the world of faerie, until she can redeem herself and fix what she did to Cinderella.

This book is not for the immature reader. It has a very dark, ambiguous ending. The characters all live lives of despair.

However, this would be a good book to read in a book club or with a group of friends. It needs to be talked about. The writing was extraordinary and the author needs to be commended.

So read GODMOTHER if you would like a more realistic version of the beloved fairy tale.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Remember things in their innocent beauty

This book is incredibly powerful. I left every chapter inspired to see life anew and to experience it with all manner of passion. The story follows Lil, an exiled Godmother, as she seeks to right the wrong from her past and explain the real story of Cinderella.

Captivating and highly imaginative.

Recommended

When I started this book was not sure where it would take me. I came to really believe in the Godmother and was rooting for her to fix her mistake. But the ending fell flat for me. There seemed to be a quick fix to the unanswered questions and I was left wanting more.

depressing

I thought this would be a fun read, another take on the Cinderella story. WRONG! This was a sad story about a delusional woman who in the end commits suicide.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A Dark Fairy Tale That Will Leave You Thinking

Bookworms, I was so in love with Carolyn Turgeon's latest novel, Mermaid (review here), I had to rush out and buy Godmother as well. Like Mermaid, Turgeon's sophomore title looks at the flip side of fairy tales. Do you ever wonder about the fairy godmother's life when she's not making a perfect happily-ever-after for her charges? The first time I ever considered her plight was when I read The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey. There's so much hard work that goes into the job that all of these fairy tale heroes and heroines take for granted. Godmothers are people, too, though, and flawed ones at that.

In Turgeon's Godmother, Lil is a fairy godmother tasked with getting Cinderella to the ball...but winds up falling in love with the prince herself. In the fairy world, loving a human-especially one destined for another-is forbidden, so Lil is banished to the mortal world. The novel begins in the present day. Lil is an old woman living in NYC. Every day, she works at a used bookshop while George, the store's owner, goes off looking for rare books. Every night, she returns home, poor, hungry, sore, and worst of all, lonely. Even after all these centuries in the mortal realm, she misses her fairy brethren so much that she constantly has dreams about all the good times they once had together. She also has nightmares of the time everything went horribly wrong. One day, a young woman named Veronica comes into the store to sell some old books, including one about the Cottingley Fairies Hoax. Turgeon introduces a bit of history to readers here, while melding the incident into her own lore. Lil realizes that the "fake fairies" on the cover are of her sister and their friends. That night, she bumps into a man who looks familiar to her and realizes that her family has finally returned for her. If she plays her cards right, she might be able to go home. She decides to set Veronica up with George. If she can be a godmother in the mortal realm and bring these two people their own happily-ever-after, she'll be redeemed.

Godmother is an intense read, at times very dark and psychological. It's full of twists and turns readers won't see coming, especially as the climax appears on the horizon and everything starts coming together. I'll tell you now...certain revelations left me stunned. I can see book clubs discussing certain aspects of this novel for hours; it's definitely a title that will appeal to all types of readers. I really loved Turgeon's characterizations of Lil and Veronica. My heart ached for Lil; I was rooting for her the entire time. In the mortal world, she was in so much pain and suffered so much heartache. Veronica was full of life and one of the quirkiest characters I've met in a long time. I hoped something good would finally come her way. The two women had a fascinating relationship with one another, as though they were a real family.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Excellent

This book is well worth the money and the reading time. It is a very unusual book, easy to read with compelling characters. It has twists and turns and, as can be seen by the other reviews, the ending can be viewed in different ways by different readers.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Cute

Cute storyline, but wish their was more clarity between both worlds.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Modern twist

I enjoyed this book with a modern twist to Cinderella's fairy godmother. The story moved from the present to the past to slowly unfold a different take to the night of the ball. The author weaves in humor as well as the influence of a single event that altered the way a character perceived her entire life and identity. I loved Turgeon's writing style and the New York City setting.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Surprising..

The idea of this book got my attention...and as I read, I was drawn in by the writer's imagination. She greated a very sympathetic character whom you begin to hope will find her way home.....

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Very Different Take on a Classic Fairy Tale

I have always loved fairy tales. And I have the collection to prove it. When I saw this book I immediately thought it would be fun to read. Boy was I in for a surprise. It definitely has a few twists and some surprising shockers but it's touching in a way. You actually believe that the old woman who narrates it could actually be Cinderella's Fairy Godmother but also that she could also be this lost soul who never got over her sister's tragic death but in her hay day. The end is although a nice touch it leaves you thinking what happens next. Does she go back to her fairy folk or does she finally join her sister in heaven? It's an interesting thought.
I definitely recommend this book.

CAPTIVATING, BITTERSWEET FAIRY TALE

Carolyn Turgeon has exquisitely created an achingly beautiful masterwork. I was quite simply enthralled from the very first captivating page. This is a gorgeous, lyrical retelling of the classic fairy tale, Cinderella, only this time, portraying the destiny of the fairy godmother. She has been exiled from the magical fairy kingdom to live out her days as a lowly human being. She profoundly regrets the unforgivable mistake that banished her and is deeply yearning for her fairy world. Character revealing flashbacks are brilliantly interwoven throughout the tale. A dramatic, surprize ending completes this haunting saga. I really, truly loved this book because I too, have felt that deep, aching sense of loss and regret for what might have been. You must read this book and share it with others!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Striking premise rules book

GODMOTHER first caught me by its title, since I am a godmother, but the major premise was unique: Cinderella's Godmother failed in her role and actually fell in love with the prince herself. Hence, for her wrongdoing, she is banished from the Faery World and sent to Earth to redeem herself. By finding another set of people to bring together and create happiness, she ultimately leanrs something about love and redemption herself. A touching story.

Captivating!

At the end of the book, the author leaves it to your own imagination to figure out the true ending. It is an interesting read!

Godmother = Redemption

I found this book an interesting twist to the Cinderella story. It has an unusual perspective and is worth the read. It explores a new question. What happens if the fairy Godmother falls in love with Cinderella's Prince.Apparently there are rules and consequences.

ADULT WOMAN'S FAIRY TALE - GREAT READ!

While scanning the shelves for the best book ever, I came across "Godmother". Was drawn in by the cover artwork. Started to read the back cover and was hooked. Came home and started reading this book and could not put it down until it was finished. And then when I finished it, I wanted to start it all over again because it left questions in my mind about the "Godmother". Was it all a dream, was she delusional or was she really the "Godmother" of Cinderella. Great read and would recommend anyone picking it up. You won't be disappointed!!

Where are they now?

Haven't you always wondered what happened to the other characters in the fairy tales? I did when I was a kid. Now we know!