Ella Enchanted

Read this as an adult and I see how it is formative for people but it was just nothing special for me. 😔

what a cute book! i should read more middle grade fiction

An entertaining retelling of Cinderella told from the perspective of a young girl cursed by a fairy with the “gift” of obedience. Throughout Ella’s life, whenever someone commands her to do something, she must obey or suffer from headaches and pain.

The remainder of the novel focuses on Ella’s quest to break the fairy’s curse. The author manages to create an story which embraces the reader from the start and doesn’t let go until the story has ended. Although this story is a retelling of Cinderella, Levine creates such an engaging story that you forget the original Cinderella story until it is presented towards the end of the book.

This was an interesting take/retelling on the tale of Cinderella, though I didn't appreciate the way the father treated Ella (although that could be my bias for the movie version of the father since that was my first introduction to this story). I enjoyed the characterization of the other main characters and the banter that the reader gets to see between Ella and Prince Charmont was better relationship progression than how it was in the original tale, at least the disney version.

This will always be one of my favorite books. Ella Enchanted is a true classic, and definitely one of Gail Carson Levine's best books. Ella is a wonderful, stubborn, strong, independent character. Char was also a great character, and I felt for him when Ella had to lie to him about her feeling to protect him.

That fool of a fairy Lucinda did not intend to lay a curse on me. She meant to bestow a gift. When I cried inconsolably through my first hour of life, my tears were her inspiration. Shaking her head sympathetically at Mother, the fairy touched my nose. “My gift is obedience. Ella will always be obedient. Now stop crying, child.” I stopped.

Impossible to rate as an adult:

Ella Enchanted was my favorite book growing up and, consequently, I know it almost by heart (I was actually surprised by how well I remembered not just the story itself, but specific quotes) and have quite a bit of nostalgia attached to it. That said, I do think it holds up. It's Middle Grade, to be sure (and MG published in the 90s, which feels a lot younger than what's published today), but it's well-written, imaginative, and engaging.

The world that Gail Carson Levine created is enchanting. It’s stuffed to the gills with every classic fairytale creature imaginable—ogres, fairies, gnomes, elves, giants, phoenixes, unicorns, centaurs, hydras—and is filled with all sorts of delightful pieces of magic, my favorite being a magic book with stories that constantly change (okay, typing that out I’m realizing it’s a Kindle, but those weren’t around when Levine was writing. Also, I love my Kindle.). Perhaps in an adult fantasy this might feel cloying, but in a children’s fairytale retelling it’s just perfection.

Because that is, obviously, what

Ella Enchanted is: a retelling of Cinderella, and a very successful one. It’s a short novel (appropriate for the age of its audience) and incredibly fast-paced, but also delves into some complicated themes and manages to land a few emotional punches. Levine perfectly walks the line of keeping enough of the classic story to feel cozy and familiar while injecting enough of her own twists and embellishments to feel fresh and interesting. In fact, in many ways, it’s an

anti-fairytale: our heroine gets rescued but also does some rescuing of her own, she is far from perfect, and the central message is that blind obedience isn’t a virtue at all.

It’s all brought to life by Levine’s wonderful writing style. She paints vivid pictures—especially with anything related to food—and injects the story with plenty of humor. Every character feels real, especially Ella, who is a brand of heroine (stubborn, impulsive, spunky, bright, clumsy) who could have easily fallen into the cliche of being a stereotypical “strong female character” but instead is grounded and given depth through her moments of vulnerability and flawed personality.

All told, I’m not sure why I was so drawn to this as a child. Maybe I liked the subverted expectations of a fairytale retelling. Maybe I loved the wide variety of creatures that Ella meets, or the adventures she has. Maybe I wanted to

be Ella, so much bolder and braver (and saucier) than I ever was. Maybe all of the above, or some other reason entirely. Regardless of

why, I have many fond memories of reading

Ella Enchanted as a child, and was delighted to find that this little book lived up to my memories as an adult.

Some favorite passages:

Instead of making me docile, Lucinda’s curse made a rebel of me. Or perhaps I was that way naturally.

When I was almost fifteen, Mother and I caught cold. Mandy dosed us with her curing soup, made with carrots, leeks, celery, and hair from a unicorn’s tail. It was delicious, but we both hated to see those long yellow-white hairs floating around the vegetables.

Everyone called it losing Mother, but she wasn’t lost. She was gone, and no matter where I went—another town, another country, Fairyland, or Gnome Caverns—I wouldn’t find her.

The birds embroidered into the coverlet on my bed were safe in their world of cross-stitched leaves.

Do you know anyway? Even though she never told you?”

“Know what?”

“Who my fairy godmother is.”

“If she’d wanted you to know, your mother would have told you.”

“She was going to. She promised. Please tell, Mandy.”

“I am.”

“You are not telling. Who is it?”

“Me. Your fairy godmother is me. Here, taste the carrot soup. It’s for dinner. How is it?”

In spite of the hour, I went up to my room and donned my nightgown. Then I moved my dolls, Flora and Rosamunde, into bed and climbed in. They had stopped sleeping with me years before, but tonight I needed special comfort.

My favorite exhibits were the talking birds and the exotic animals. Except for the hydra in her swamp and the baby dragon, the exotics—the unicorn, the herd of centaurs, and the gryphon family—lived on an island meadow surrounded by an extension of the castle moat. The dragon was kept in an iron cage. He was beautiful in his tiny ferocity and seemed happiest when flaming, his ruby eyes gleaming evilly.

Char watched while I said farewell to each bird. “

.iqkwo pwach brzzay ufedjeE” That was Gnomic for “Until we dig again.” “

ahthOOn SSyng!” Ogrese for “Much eating!” “

Aiiiee ooo (howl) bek aaau!” Abdegi for “I miss you already!” “

Porr ol pess waddo.” Elfian for “Walk in the shade.”

The book got heavier as I handed it over. Her eyes widened as she read. “You enjoy this? ‘The Life Cycle of the Centaur Tick’?” She turned pages. “‘Gnomish Silver Mining in Hazardous Terrain’?”

“Isn’t it interesting?” I said, my panic subsiding. “You can read for a while. If we’re going to be friends, we should have the same interests.”

Her dark hair was plaited into many braids that were gathered and woven into a knot high on her head. Her skin was the color of cinnamon with a tint of raspberry in her cheeks (I couldn’t help thinking of food).

Their supper was more drink than meal. The appetizer was lemon parsnip soup, followed by turtle barley soup (the main course), succeeded by a soup of chopped raw green vegetables (the salad course). Dessert was a fruit soup. It was all delicious, even though my jaw wished for something to chew on.

The night was clear. My ceiling was sky and an eyelash of a moon.

But my favorite was a stirrup cup molded in the shape of a wolf’s head and shoulders, with the head lifted and the mouth pulled into an O for a long howl. The ridges in the pottery for his fur were so fine that each hair was defined. I felt the tension in his shoulders where the cup ended, and I imagined the rest of him, sitting, but erect, with excitement running through him from his big paws to the end of his plumy tail. I loved his howl, which I could both hear and feel: long and plaintive, woebegone and heartsore, filled with yearning for what used to be and for what would never come again.

“Writing Mistress was the only one who taught anything worth knowing,” I concluded, “although it is helpful to know the proper way to behave, so one can decide whether or not to be proper.”

“

ahthOOn SSyng!” I said. “That’s farewell.”

“It sounds evil.”

“It is,” I answered, and we parted.

I filled my plate (a saucer as big as a platter) with a slice of potato, three foot-long string beans, and a balloon-sized cheese puff.

My first order in my new state. I was delighted to obey. I rushed off. I knew I was happy only because I’d been ordered to be, but the happiness was absolute. I still understood why I had always hated Lucinda’s gift. But I was glad nonetheless. I imagined future commands, awful ones, ones that would kill me, and I glowed at the idea of obeying them. For the first time since Mother had died, I was free of fear. I would embrace whatever happened. I felt as light as a cloud.

The Ayorthaians think before they speak, and often conclude, after lengthy meditation, that nothing need be said. The loudest beings in an Ayorthaian council are the flies. The occasional bee that finds its way in is deafening.

I suppose I’m confessing another fault: pride. I don’t want him to know that I love if my affections are not returned.

“But you can come back, can’t you?”

“I suppose. But it won’t be the same. You can never go back to a moment when you were happy.”

For a moment I rested inside myself, safe, secure, certain, gaining strength. In that moment I found a power beyond any I’d had before, a will and a determination I would never have needed if not for Lucinda, a fortitude I hadn’t been able to find for a lesser cause. And I found my voice. “No,” I shouted. “I won’t marry you. I won’t do it. No one can force me!”

I had been able to break the curse myself. I’d had to have reason enough, love enough to do it, to find the will and the strength.

Now it was over. Ended forever. I was made anew. Ella. Just Ella. Not Ella, the slave. Not a scullery maid. Not Lela. Not Eleanor. Ella. Myself unto myself. One. Me.

Decisions were a delight after the curse. I loved having the power to say yes or no, and refusing anything was a special pleasure. My contrariness kept Char laughing, and his goodness kept me in love. And so, with laughter and love, we lived happily ever after.

A very refreshing spin on the classic Cinderella tale. Very comical and enjoyable read, I recommend it to anyone with an adventurous heart, and a love of wit.

Romance

I loved this story. Ella Enchanted was an easy read that kept me turning pages. This tale takes a look at the fairy tale through a whole new angle, and it is well worth your time to read it!