“The Charmed Wife” by Olga Grushin

“The Charmed Wife” is a story that was nothing as I expected. A book which initially promised me the reliving of my childhood’s fairy tales. Even so, it surprised me. I expected something dreamy, the meeting with Cinderella. Nevertheless, I found Jane, a mature and determined woman. The novel has proven to be like a thunder storm. Hard to say the difference between reality and fairy tale. Full of true action and unknown. Truly confusing and mixed up.

Title: “The Charmed Wife”

Author: Olga Grushin

Genre: Fantasy

Trope: Fairytale

Number of pages: 288

Recommended age: +16

Star Rating: 5/5 ⭐

Sneak Peek

Cinderella married the prince. They are now the proud and happy parents of two children. They lived happy ever after. What if…? Cinderella starts doubting that was the ending. Or even a happy one. Was she really in love with the prince? Did they truly know each other before doing the big step? She wanted to make him fall in love with her again. But she was blindfolded. Not anymore. She is now more than awaken. And she wants him dead.

A first vision upon the book

The action is spinning continuously without any way of stopping. I felt like I was in a crazy fairy tale roller coaster. Many children stories succeed in a baffling little dance around my mind. “Beauty and the Beast”, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, “Sleeping Beauty”. Even “Hansel and Gretel”. We meet within known elements from all the stories we grew up with. It is fascinating and intriguing as well.

       The narration gets rougher and rougher as the story goes on. Cinderella wakes up from her wrapped in crystal princess dream. She realizes with the help of some magic that something is wrong. Cinderella starts wondering about the exact moment when her marriage started degrading.

       “The Charmed Wife” is composed by a thin barrier between reality and fantasy. In the end we get to see the truth. Jane, known as Cinderella, imagines herself in a fairy tale. The magic colorful potions she takes are the ones which make her ill. The prince’s actions are so disgusting that I will not even mention them.

       No character is what it first seems. The witch and the godmother prove to be total opposites from their initial role. It is interesting to see how the things will work in the end. The character development is so unexpected! I really loved to see how the author found unfindable connections. Things from the fantasy world and reality. That is what makes an author authentic: a nowhere to be found writing technique.

Deeper into “The Charmed Wife”

The Dark Forest

It is amazing the way she runs right into the forest. The symbol of leaving her past life behind. We will ignore the fact that she technically abandons her children.

       She finds a pond and a strange girl finds her. My theory is that the teenage naked girl was actually a siren. Sharp teeth. Naked. Scales over her body. Amazing beauty. Pure cruelty. They are all clues. If the fact that she told Cinderella she would eat her was not enough…

       It could be that the girl was the crucial and decisive element. She made Cinderella confront reality, her true life and condition. It was like a quiet moment when she uttered the true secret. So entertaining!

The Godmother and the witch

Everything about these two essential characters is closely related to children stories. As I was saying, they are not what they seem. It is entertaining how the characters are in a continuous change of appearance and personality. My impression is that Cinderella would have never been the same without those two. They are crucial pieces in the puzzle of her life.

The reality

The difference is literally unbelievable. Jane’s family is nothing like Cinderella’s. Neither her relationship with her sisters. They are very supportive and have actual emotional sisters’ moments. Everything that happens to her upon the whole story is completing the puzzle. She gets her happy ending, but a better one than the one expected. The reality is always better. We get to live, love, see and feel everything. I think she is finally where she was supposed to be.

       The ending of the story is unclear. Somehow, the reality and the fairy tale version meet for one last time. Her whole adventure started from a foolish game in her childhood. Now she is Cinderella, but a better one. A nonconformist one. She does not believe in “… they lived happy ever after”. It depends which way in the woods she will choose.

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