Egg and Spoon by Gregory Maguire - Book Review

Gregory Maguire is a brilliant, conniving writer. He tricks you, for the first few chapters, into thinking his story is normal, that it's just like any other well-written novel set in 18th century Russia. But then, there you are, holding the book, and the story starts spinning out of control, slowly at first, then faster and faster. And you can't let go! Not until the end, when the wild begins to fade and you are landed, gently, back on the ground.

The novel isn't perfect. I felt that the conflict in the plot (the chaos of an abnormally early spring) was too remote from the lives of the main characters to mean very much and did little except to drag the characters along (mostly against their will) into the story. And, unlike in most stories, the conflict is brought about by an entity that doesn't have a direct relationship to the characters. Sure, the whole world is affected by this change in the cycle of the seasons, but what except for chance has brought the main characters to where they are and thrust at them the obligation to save the world? There were also a couple scenes that seemed to slow down a bit too much compared to the rest of the book. Lastly, I found some of the furniture in the witch's house outright vulgar. But the novel's worth outshines its mistakes. There isn't another book like it for many versts, so pick it up while its in reach.

It's wild—I can't say that too many times—and it's unique and mysterious. The subtleties are delicious: You realize Maguire never wrote it explicitly, but you get it, you know who that is or what a certain event means or what should—but probably won't—happen next, even before it becomes obvious. But I found myself skeptical and almost put off at times by the sudden unexpectedness and abruptness of the story, especially when it came to the scenes with Baba Yaga in it. I still wonder, Is the novel is just a bit too unbelievable? Sure, I read it through and loved the writing and the characters, but was the fairy-tale world and fairy-tale happenings too much—even for such a fairy-tale story?

I'll leave that for you to decide, readers. We each measure strangeness in a different way, and we each tolerate a different amount of craziness in the novels we read. But I'm pretty sure most of us haven't read enough books like this one, so it won't hurt to let just this one spike our strangeness-gage till it pops.

Egg and Spoon on Goodreads