Matchless, a Christmas Story by Gregory Maguire consists of about the same number of words as this review. Which is to say it's very short. Sweet too.
Maguire is well known for his novels based on classic tales from the past. Novels like Wicked, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, Mirror Mirror, and A Lion Among Men. Now with Matchless, he has produced a work perfect for reading by the fire on a cold winter night--preferably near Christmas Eve.
Maguire's Inspiration for Matchless
Gregory Maguire has done well with his interpretations and expansions on classic works such as The Wizard of Oz and Cinderella. Of all the subjects on which Maguire could have focused his formidable powers, why did he choose a short Danish fairytale with a depressing ending?
According to the author's afterword: "In selecting this tale for revisiting – reillumination, perhaps – I hope to honor the original by finding a way to return to the story a sense of the transcendent apprehended by many nineteenth-century readers, children and adults alike."
Another reason might be that he was commissioned by National Public Radio (NPR) to come up with a Christmas story to be read on the air. Matchless was meant to be read aloud. In fact, it premiered read aloud by the author on (NPR). It does seem well tailored to that form of presentation.
A Christmas Story in Four Parts
On an island so far north that it snowed from September to April, a boy named Frederik kept himself warm by keeping a secret.
Thus begins Maguire's tale. As hinted at in this beginning, Andersen's unfortunate vendor of "sulfer sticks" (svovlstikkerne) does not figure prominently. It is just as well, although she does make an appearance that is crucial to the story.
The story maintains some of the atmosphere of Hans Christan Andersen's original, which he produced in 1843. Matchless definitely has a fairytale quality. The book is small and there are ample illustrations (by the author) to provide some visual queues that are not available to a listener experiencing the story as read on the radio.
If there is one word that comes to most reader's minds after finishing Andersen's "The Little Match Girl" it must be "sad." It wouldn't do if Matchless ended up sad too, and it doesn't. Enough said on that without giving away too much.
Too bad this tiny volume has a price that is not much different from a full sized novel. That doesn't seem right. Perhaps it indicates that the major cost of publishing a book is not in the printing and paper, but in marketing and the overhead of running a publishing company.
References
Maguire, Gegory; Matchless, a Christmas Story; New York, NY: William Morrow, 2009.
Philip McIntosh - The author holds a B.Sc. in Botany and Chemistry and an M.A in Biology and he has thirty + years of experience in science and industry.
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