Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire begins decades before Dorothy falls into the scene, with the birth of a strangely green baby girl who has unusually sharp teeth. We follow Elphaba as she grows up, attends university, and falls into the political turmoil behind the scenes at the Emerald City.
Maguire paints a detailed background of the realistic politics that shape Oz into the country it is when Dorothy arrives. The Wicked Witch of the West may be a tortured soul, but for different reasons than you had previously thought. The book is perfectly understandable even if you have never seen the movie or read the original book, but several parts are much funnier if you have. The end of the story can drag on if you are not interested in introspective psychological monologues, but flipping past a few pages of internal commentary can speed the story along.
Literary Quality: 8/10
Enjoyment: 8/10
One Comment
I agree,
the internal dialoque was unnecessary and irksome. However, i also felt much of the middle part of the book (when Elphaba is at Shiz and in the Vinkus (especially the Vinkus section)) the plot advanced too slowly. Maguire could have replaced the, say, 200 pages in the middle and replaced them with 10 concise ones. However, i am sure there are those who prefer the detailled description of Oz’s political, social and cultural climates.
I must give credit to the author for the creative concept of “Wicked”. Marketing it as a prequel to the timeless classic “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” and adapting it to an adult audience were ingenious on Maguire’s behalf. The audience that grew up with Baum’s classic were bound to appreciate it. Furthermore, the novel deals with adult themes such as adultery, political and religious radicalism, and discrimination. Maguire has tried to reinvent this classic to suit adult audiences as oppose to more youthful ones.
Despite the deceptive sales pitch, “Wicked” is an ordinary novel in need of a solid plot.
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