Rinkitink in Oz [Mass Market Paperback]

It is obvious reading this book that Baum was growing frustrated with how his Oz books had so greatly overshadowed his other works, and in fact, this would have been a better title without the Oz connection at the end. Instead of allowing his heroes to complete their adventure on their own, Baum turned to the already-tired deus ex machina of the Oz books; Glinda's magic book and Ozma's magic picture. Like in several books before, this allowed the more familiar Oz characters to take note when the heroes of the book were in danger, convieniently wait until 200 or so pages had passed, and then swoop in to save the day.

I bought this book out of a desire to read the entire Oz series, but frankly, I preferred the book before Oz became an issue. I sympathize with Baum's frustration. It's a shame that he felt the need to express it with a weak ending that hurt a good book.

Rinkitink is the fat, lazy, and irresponsible king of the small kingdom of Rinkitink which lies on the shore of Baum's imaginary Nonestic Ocean. He is too lazy to walk any great distance and keeps a surly saddled goat named Bilbil near him always to provide him with transportation. His redeeming qualities are his jovial nature, his great love of life, and his ability to burst into spontaneous laughter or song. The story of the book mainly takes place on islands in the Nonestic Ocean and begins when Rinkitink, tired of the responsibilities of ruling, sneaks away without telling anyone where he is going. He visits Pingaree where Prince Inga is a quiet boy who spends much of his time reading books in a tree.

Pingaree is a rich kingdom and is attacked by marauders soon after Rinkitink arrives. They loot and sack the island taking all the islanders back to their own islands of Regos and Coregos as slaves. Prince Inga, Rinkitink, and Bilbil are overlooked and left stranded on Pingaree. How can a lazy overweight king, a shy boy, and a surly goat rescue the Pingareeans? This is the drama of Rinkitink in Oz.

The characters are among the best developed in any of Baum's work. The plot is tight and exciting. Danger and force are confronted with a charming grace that marks Baum's best works. Also, this is my favorite Oz book to read aloud. Rinkitink's joviality, laughter and songs are great for recitation.

The title of the book may be a bit misleading because Oz is not even mentioned until the last five chapters of this 24 chapter book. According to the Afterword by Peter Glassman, Rinkitink was originally written in 1905, 11 years before it was published. Other commitments and illness prevented Baum from writing a book in 1916. So he took the unpublished Rinkitink and reworked the ending to bring Dorothy and the Wizard, as well as a brief visit to Oz, into the plot. Although this sudden shift is the weakest part of the book, loyal Oz fans will not mind once Ozma throws one of her famous banquets for Rinkitink and Inga. This is also a good book for readers not familiar with the Oz series since it stands on its own more than most of the other books in the series.