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A Wild Winter Swan
A Wild Winter Swan: A Novel | Gregory Maguire
5 posts | 6 read | 4 to read
After brilliantly reimagining the worlds of Oz, Wonderland, Dickensian London, and the Nutcracker, the New York Times bestselling author of Wicked turns his unconventional genius to Hans Christian Andersen's "The Wild Swans," transforming this classic tale into an Italian-American girl's poignant coming-of-age story, set amid the magic of Christmas in 1960s New York. Following her brother's death and her mother's emotional breakdown, Laura now lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, in a lonely townhouse she shares with her old-world, strict, often querulous grandparents. But the arrangement may be temporary. The quiet, awkward teenager has been getting into trouble at home and has been expelled from her high school for throwing a record album at a popular girl who bullied her. When Christmas is over and the new year begins, Laura may find herself at boarding school in Montreal. Nearly unmoored from reality through her panic and submerged grief, Laura is startled when a handsome swan boy with only one wing lands on her roof. Hiding him from her ever-bickering grandparents, Laura tries to build the swan boy a wing so he can fly home. But the task is too difficult to accomplish herself. Little does Laura know that her struggle to find help for her new friend parallels that of her grandparents, who are desperate for a distant relatives financial aid to save the family store. As he explores themes of class, isolation, family, and the dangerous yearning to be saved by a power greater than ourselves, Gregory Maguire conjures a haunting, beautiful tale of magical realism that illuminates one young womans heartbreak and hope as she begins the inevitable journey to adulthood.
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review
Reggie
A Wild Winter Swan: A Novel | Gregory Maguire
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Mehso-so

I picked this up at the library because they said they were doing a bookclub on it tomorrow and it was only 230pgs. Of which the last 80 were only the good ones. Oh man I hate read that first 150. It‘s Coming of age, Laura has just been kicked out her school. She‘s been raised by her Italian immigrant grandparents because her father and brother are dead and her mother has never recovered. It‘s Christmas and the household is getting ready for👇🏼

Reggie an important Xmas dinner when a boy with one swan arm and one regular arm crashes into the side of her bedroom wall during a winter storm. A great 80 pages does not rescue this from so-so. But I get to go to bookclub now! 🙌🏽 3mo
sarahbarnes Another great review! 🩵😆 3mo
quietlycuriouskate Happy bookclubbing! 😊 3mo
See All 25 Comments
Centique Fingers crossed that there were some kindred spirits at the bookclub 🤞🤞 3mo
Rissreads I love your commitment! 🤣 (edited) 3mo
Reggie @sarahbarnes @quietlycuriouskate @Centique @Rissreads so sad news. I went to bookclub and I guess I saw the time wrong. I showed up 5 minutes until one and they had started at 12 and were just about to finish. But they let me say my thoughts on the book. And as soon as I finished this man straight across from me says-I felt the opposite in every way you felt about this book. We locked eyes and I marked him as my READING NEMESIS! lol he was 👇🏼 3mo
Reggie real nice about it. I got next months book and am looking forward to it. There was 9 of us, 2 of the women had binders. They were serious and pretty cool. 3mo
quietlycuriouskate Well that went from "Oh no!" to "Oh wow!" in very short order, Reggie! ? 3mo
Centique Every good story needs a hero and a NEMESIS! 😂 Im glad you have one! Look forward to the next instalment of Book Club Zombies Take Over the Library. 😍 3mo
Rissreads So what is the next book? This bookclub sounds very intimidating! 😳 3mo
Reggie @Rissreads Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman is our next book. I think the women with the binders and there was one woman with a book journal, I think they‘re just very organized people. Albuquerque has 9 libraries and I found one that has a fright night bookclub that I‘m also gonna try to make so that‘s exciting! 3mo
Reggie @Centique @Rissreads so I went to bookclub today and the same man was there, my nemesis. He went after me and said the exact opposite of everything I said. It was hilarious until he mentioned that we brought up slavery. Because in this novel it‘s in the periphery in one of the sections. AND THEN he says that ‘if I was getting paid room and board maybe I would never leave. That doesn‘t sound so bad.‘ Spoken like a true Fox News person. Omg. He 👇🏼 3mo
Reggie also mentioned that he had an ex wife and I couldn‘t help but think she had escaped. And that if he had enough money he would have one of those mail order brides. Someone he could control. Besides him everyone else was great. Even though I didn‘t like it there was a cuddly looking guy next to me who said he reading the rest of them cause he loved the book. And it made me happy for him. There was a lady there with her binder giving us all the 👇🏼 3mo
Reggie backstory to Salem, and there was another lady who printed out a recipe from the book. And another one who played us a song from the book on her laptop. Overall I enjoyed it. Also, there was this woman named Delores who was old and she was a battle axe about how much she didn‘t like this book and I adored her. lol. 3mo
Rissreads @reggie this book club sounds BONKERS! I have a feeling the members are way more interesting than the books! You need to write all this down. It‘s gold! Write a screen play! Which book club character can my daughter play? 🤣 You are braver than me, I think this book club may be a little too anxiety inducing for me. They all obviously take it so seriously! Cuddly guy sounds nice and what a gorgeous way to describe someone! 3mo
Rissreads Nemesis/Fox News guy sounds like he just loves the sound of his own voice! 🤮 So what‘s the next book? I hope it‘s better than the last 2! Who gets to pick? Do you take it in turns or are they already set? Does the bookclub have a theme? (edited) 3mo
Centique @Reggie oh my god your nemesis is AWFUL! I read that bit to my husband and daughter & cue Massive Jawdropping 😳 Just imagine you have us as an audience behind you GASPING at every awful thjng he says. As @Rissreads says what a great screenplay this would be. Fingers crossed that cuddly guy is not Ted Bundy. 😂 (I really really hope that cuddly guy is NICE! A tiny bit boring cos predictable is preferable to exciting in the apocalypse- but NICE) 3mo
Centique @Reggie also this is the best book club update ever! Thank you for updating us 💕💕 Hope work is not too manic and the world is being kind and the winter is not blizzarding you 😘 3mo
Reggie @Rissreads @Centique the lady told me they can only pick so many books because to be able to have bookclub they have to have so many copies of a book and have it also in different formats. Our next book is called The Paris Library. I think they have the next couple of books picked out. I think once you‘ve been there a while you get a turn. Rissa, we would have to doctor up your daughter about 40 years to play anyone in this group. I‘m the 👇🏼 2mo
Reggie youngest one by 10-15 years at least. Paula, cuddly guy should be afraid of me! lol, after I told them I read horror he asked for a rec and I gave him one. I look forward to the next bookclub. 2mo
Rissreads @Reggie so you are the spring 🐥 chicken of the group! They can do amazing things with makeup and prosthetics these days! 🤣 (edited) 2mo
Reggie @Rissreads if they can give Nicole Kidman that nose in The Hours they can do anything. 2mo
Rissreads @Reggie I laughed out loud when I read you recommended a horror book to cuddly guy! He doesn‘t know what he is in for! How long until the next book club? I can‘t wait to hear what he thinks! Maybe I should join a new random book club? Yours is so interesting! I need a bit of crazy in my life! 2mo
Reggie @Rissreads It‘s the 2nd Friday of every month. You should start one at your library. See how it goes. I bet there‘d be interest. There‘s also a horror bookclub that I went to this past month on the 1st Thursday of every month and that was good, too. 2mo
Centique Oh wow! I hope cuddly guy likes the book recc 🤞🤞💕 2mo
64 likes25 comments
blurb
TripleS
A Wild Winter Swan: A Novel | Gregory Maguire
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Downtime before the workday

review
GerardtheBookworm
A Wild Winter Swan: A Novel | Gregory Maguire
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Mehso-so

Usually enjoyed the fairytale retellings of Gregory Maguire and this certainly puts me in the mood for holiday reading. Struggling with a death of a sibling, parental divorce and the possibility of being shipped off to boarding school, all that changes when the main character ecounters a real life swan boy. Inspiewd by the classic Andersen fairytale, this coming of age story takes a while before the story takes off. A bit meh and lackluster.

review
PandaPanda
A Wild Winter Swan: A Novel | Gregory Maguire
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Bailedbailed

I just couldn‘t get into this. It totally may not have been the book‘s fault (I‘m a little distracted right now 😬) but the characters just didn‘t draw me in and I didn‘t really care about them. This was my #bookspin for this month so extra bummed I didn‘t finish! @TheAromaofBooks does it still count for bingo?

TheAromaofBooks Yes, DNFs count towards your progress!! Sometimes you just have to let a book go!! 3y
PandaPanda @TheAromaofBooks I agree. Trying to work on the idea that life is too short to read books your not interested in! 3y
readordierachel Pretty cover though! 3y
TheAromaofBooks It's taken me several years to be able to adjust to that attitude. I used to finish every book no matter what, but now that I have a TBR with hundreds of books it just seems silly to force myself to wade through something that isn't working for me. Here on Litsy I've also learned to love the term 'hibernation' for a book that isn't working right now... but might work when I'm in a different mood later haha That definitely happens, too! 3y
46 likes4 comments
blurb
actualdisneyprincess
A Wild Winter Swan: A Novel | Gregory Maguire
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