"Matchless" by Gregory Maguire is a beautiful retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Match Girl". Maguire masterfully intertwines the story of the match girl with young Frederik's yearnings, creating a thought-provoking narrative that suggests transcendence and the continuity of spirit. This book is perfect for readers looking for a heartwarming tale that offers a fresh perspective on a classic story.

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Every year, NPR asks a writer to compose an original story with a Christmas theme. In 2008, Gregory Maguire reinvented the Hans Christian Andersen classic "The Little Match Girl" for a new time and new audiences. When it was first translated from Danish and published in England in the mid-nineteenth century, audiences likely interpreted the Little Match Girl′s dying visions of lights and a grandmother in heaven as metaphors of religious salvation. Maguire′s new piece, entitled "Matchless," reilluminates Andersen′s classic, using his storytelling magic to rekindle Andersen′s original intentions, and to suggest transcendence, the permanence of spirit, and the continuity that links the living and the dead.

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