Customer Reviews

Wicked Musical Tie-In Edition: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

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3 star:		(49)
2 star:		(40)
1 star:		(39)

 

 

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

I picked this up at a used bookstore b/c I had heard so many things about it and I thought the idea of telling a story from the "bad guys" P.O.V. would be really interesting. I also got Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister but I haven't read it yet.

This book tells the story of the Elphaba (aka the wicked witch of the west) from her birth all the way to her meeting with Dorothy that ends her life. Throughout the book are many interesting tidbits, when the wizard arrives, the meeting of Galinda/Glinda the "good witch", where the ruby slippers came from, more about Elphaba's sister Nessarose who will be the witch crushed by Dorothy's house. Lot's of interesting stuff.

Unfortunatly the bad thing about this book is it's tendancy to go off topic and perhaps a bit too into detail about certain characters/events that really aren't that interesting. Plus there is a lot of politics and the idea of power throughout the story and it's hard to ever really see who is the good and who is the bad.

I still think the book is worth reading though, but I didn't find it to be a can't put it down sort of novel. Definetely worth it if you have the time and interest to read an odd book.

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.

Wicked: The life and times of the wicked witch. There simply aren't enough words on this earth to describe how truly wonderful this book was. When I bought it from the bookstore, the woman working there nearly fell to her knees praising the thing, so I figured I'd give it a go.

I loved the Wizard of Oz. It was, beyond doubt, my favourite childhood chapter book. But Wicked takes a whole new spin on Oz and it's inhabitants. The witch, whom I used to have nightmares about, is now one of my most favourite characters. She's an unconventional heroin that you learn to love and understand. Her life is sad and confusing and it leads her to the point of no return

To compare it to The Wizard of Oz is impossible. First of all, it isn't a children's book. It is a very grown up, dark and deep novel that only adults and older teens can appreciate. It's closer to Giorgio Kostantinos's--The Quest-- Than to our favorite childhood movie.

I cried at the end, I cried for Elphie, I cried for that witch that kept me up until 3am when I was 10. --.Thanks Barbara

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.

What an exciting concept! The backstory of the Wicked Witch of the West. It takes a really inept writer, however, to squander such gold on a tirelessly unappealing novel. Instead of fleshing out the narrative of one of literature's all-time greatest villains, Macguire bogs down his plot with inconsequential details. Sixty pages into the Elphaba story, Macguire apparently grows weary of his main character and inserts uninteresting, lackluster characters and plotlines. Had he focused on his main character instead and trimmed the useless fat (including plastic characters like Boq), he could have created a fantasy novel for all time. What he has produced instead is a book with more power to induce sleep than Oz's poppy fields. Sadly, this idea fell into the hands of a writer lacking the imaginative vitality to pull it off. But who really cares? He's published AND his book is now the inspiration of a new Broadway play. Bad writing apparently does pay off in the end.

Picked this up thinking this book would be more about Dorthy, the yellow brick road etc. Not at all what I expected. Too wordy, too boring with silly detail about things that have nothing to do with OZ. I made myself read it. I have also bought the whole set and now I'm sitting here wondering if I should give it away. Not my cup of tea. Not a page turner that's for sure.

I was very intrigued by this book and then very disapointed. I think it was a great idea to explore the life and times of the wicked witch. It was a great idea but I found the characters fell flat. It was a disapointing and painful read.

Maguire's writing is stunning. I find myself re-reading countless passages and phrases over and over again for the sheer beauty of the imagery and clever use of metaphor. Of course, the story is wonderfully entertaining as well! There are a few (very few) places in the middle where the politically based storyline becomes more heavy than charming, but on the whole, the fact that the book makes one actually think is in fact pleasurable and not tedious at all. For those who have the chance to see the new broadway musical based on this wonderful book, be sure to read the book first. Otherwise much of the wonderful complexities of the story will be lost in the singing.

Amazing, awe-inspiring, creative, and most of all, what an imagination! Great book! Highly recommended from this reader!

I picked this up a while ago and was intrigued with the illustrations and the concept. Who would of thought? A book about the Wicked Witch of the West??!! I began reading, although the beginning was a bit slow, I finished the book in record time! Who would of thought the fear of water could be so tumultuous? Or one could sew wings onto monkeys? Or Animals could talk (or teach!!)? Or Galinda (the "good" witch) and Elphaba (the "wicked" witch) could ever be friends?

What an imagination! I followed up the book by reading a few of the Oz books (just to check the "facts"), and Maguire was right on. A bit of politics, a love story, an imaginary world, and the life of a "witch"...who could resist? Read this book!