Wicked [Paperback]

 

 

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Have you ever read a popular book and wondered why it was so popular? That's exactly how I felt as I worked my way through WICKED. Actually, that's not entirely true. I know why it's a New York Times Bestseller. Part of it has to do with the reason I picked the book up in the first place. I expected a light, fairy tale-like story. It's based on a children's book. There's a Broadway musical about it. Sounds like it should be fun, right? Uh, not quite. I get the feeling, though, that a lot of people thought as I did and bought WICKED looking for an easy-to-read lead-up to THE WIZARD OF OZ. I wonder how many of them finished reading the book when they figured out the truth?

Although to be fair, WICKED doubtless also owes some of its popularity to the fact that it's a well-written, literary novel that can be appreciated by well-read, literary-type people. Unfortunately, I'm really not one of those. Giving me a piece of deep, meaningful literature is like giving a copy of Hemingway's THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA to a manatee. In other words, I was disappointed. My disappointment was partly in the book for not fulfilling my expectations, and partly in myself for not being able to appreciate a quality literary effort.

In case you've been living in a hollowed out tree for the last couple of years and haven't heard about the play, WICKED is the story of the Wicked Witch of the West and how she became the Wicked Witch of the West. The book delves far deeper into the witch's life and times than any musical could in only two hours, however. In the book version of WICKED, readers are introduced to the witch, whose real name is Elphaba, when she is first born. She's green and has dangerous, pointy teeth. Needless to say, she's not too popular with the other children. Even her parents aren't too sure about her.

As the story progresses, we see Elphaba at college. She falls in with a number of fellow students, some of whom are more and others less accepting of the strange green girl. It's not just her skin color that's different, though. Elphaba thinks and acts differently than other people. And she has this aversion to water.... Well, we all know how that turns out for her.

The book is an interesting departure from the Oz books, including such details as why the Cowardly Lion is able to talk, and the fact that everyone in Oz thought Dorothy's dog, Toto, was the most irritating thing to ever draw breath. I wish, however, that I could have liked some of the characters. No one was particularly likeable, as far as I was concerned. Even Elphaba, who readers should have had some sympathy for, seemed odd to me, and I never understood her motivation for anything she did. In other words, I could have gotten over the fact that she was green, but it really bothered me that she didn't act normal. Also, a word of warning: Even though these are essentially fairy tale characters, this book treats them like adults, complete with sex, swearing, and the occasional murder. Younger readers should steer clear, and older readers should be aware of what's in store here.

In general, I recommend this book for OLDER readers who are huge fans of the Oz books or the Wicked play and want to go deeper. According to my husband, who is capable of appreciating fine literature, it also has literary merit. But for those of us who want to keep our memories of the Oz stories as sweet as the old Judy Garland film was, those readers might want to be careful around WICKED.

Reviewed by: K. Osborn Sullivan

This is a gorgeous novel. The writing is beautiful, every scene dances off the paper and paints itself like a magnificent oil portrait in your mind. The characters are three-dimensional, gripping and endlessly interesting. Elphaba (Maguire's name for L. Frank Baum's "The Wicked Witch of the West" is probably my favourite female protagonist of all time. She is fiercely intelligent, strong willed, and passionate, but these very traits make her unsure of what is the best path in life, hesitant, and she gains a cold and harsh façade as a result. The world of Oz itself has never seemed to fleshed out or tangible and critical fans of fantasy novels and world-building will have little to complain about.

WICKED is a prequel to, and inversion of, L. Frank Baum's children's classic THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ (1900) but it is also a complex observation of society, politics, religion, humanity, and the nature of "good" and "evil." The characters are beautiful and you can't help but fall a little bit in love with them, the dialogue is perfect, and the language haunting. This is going to be a classic.

Due to recommendation, and a love of the musical, I decided to purchase this book. I hated the old Wizard of Oz movie, and I was excited about the storyline changing the nature of the witch.

The book has its good points, but there's several qualms I have with the way Maguire composed this tome:

' First and foremost is the fact that he seems way too interested in meaningless details, and less interested in an engaging plot. I found it very frustrating that he would end a section just as things were getting interesting, and then the next section would start years later without answering the questions that arose from the previous section.

' The witch seemed seldom engaging. I realize that much of this was to show her lack of people skills due to her being outcast from society; but, given that she was supposed to be the misunderstood victim of the story, there needed to be something more there that would make the reader feel sorrow and pity (or, in fact, any emotion whatsoever) toward Elphaba.

' The language and gratuitous sex were completely unnecessary. I am aware that some who read this review will see that I'm from Utah and will simply write my comment off. I have no problem with sex and laguage in a story when it necessary to telling the story. That just wasn't the case here. Some of the sex, particularly between Elphaba and her lover, were essential to keeping a connection with the reader, and showing a tender side to Elphaba. This was great, but devoting a whole chapter to secondary characters going to a sex-club did nothing to move the story, but rather it slowed down the pace of the story. Again, this was a mudane detail that Maguire focused on, when the paper could've been better used in answering some of the questions that he posed when he left another huge story gap.

' Finally, some of the characters who would idealy remain a huge part of the story disappear halfway through the book. Maguire created an endearing Glinda, and then she vanished briefly, and when she returned she was different. Maguire obvioulsy has talent to create such an engaging character to begin with, but why didn't he finish the story he started to tell?

Overall, it's not a bad book. I recommend reading it, but I too fall into the category of those who think that the musical is a better rendition of the story. Some reviewers have mentioned their frustration that so many people are comparing the musical to the book, but in my defense, I wouldn't have read the book had it not been for the musical; and I especially wouldn't have liked the book as much as I did were it not for the musical.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it.
Truly an amazing feat of the imagination. The world Maguire creates is so realistic and fantastical at the same time, it makes the creatures live on forever in your mind. Read more

Published 7 months ago by Neal Dalzell

5.0 out of 5 stars Lyrically Written and Thought Provoking
Wicked is the kind of novel that you keep coming back to, as you can always find a passage that you initially overlooked or that you originally didn't recognize the significance... Read more

Published 17 months ago by Aman Rajwani

5.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing Adult Fairy Tale
Although the novel was derived from the classic fairy tale The Wizard of the Oz, the story in Wicked is nothing like it; The Wicked actually turns the original story completely... Read more

Published 20 months ago by Claire Fang

5.0 out of 5 stars An Absolutely Wonderful Read!!
I really enjoyed this book. Gregory Maguire gives you a new perspective on the familiar tale of "The Wizard of Oz". Read more

Published on April 4 2010 by Digger

1.0 out of 5 stars No where near worth the hype!
I've never tried harder to get through a book because I was sure it would get better, it doesn't. A dull disjointed story, uninspired characters, and little plot or anything to... Read more

Published on Sep 7 2009 by Jeff Hansen

4.0 out of 5 stars Deffently a worth while read
I had heard several different views on this book. So I decided to giver a shot. I like it. Pre knowing the ending is a little bit of a disappointment, but on the same note, the... Read more

Published on July 4 2008 by Stephanie Martin

5.0 out of 5 stars Wicked is wicked!
Loved it, loved it, loved it! Elphaba is a heroine of our times. A classic novel ... read it, you won't regret it. :)

Published on Mar 13 2008 by Samantha

4.0 out of 5 stars Definitely Not in Kansas
I had some trouble getting in to this book at first because I grew up reading the Baum OZ books and had grown accustomed to his point of view. Read more

Published on Jan 8 2008 by N. Blackmore

5.0 out of 5 stars Astonishing
An amazingly insightful novel. Maguire teaches us that black isn't as black and white isn't as white as first appearances seem

Published on Oct 22 2007 by R. Corson

4.0 out of 5 stars It's not easy being green...
Wicked was the first book in our newly formed book club, and between us, people either hated it or loved it. Read more

Published on July 31 2007 by maya j

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