Wicked; The Life and Time of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
This book is, as the title suggests, about the Wicked Witch of the West from the movie: The Wizard of Oz. If you've seen the movie, you know how the story goes, but only from Dorothy's perspective. Gregory Maguire tells much more than the tale of Dorothy's adventure in Oz. In fact, what took up that entire movie is only a sliver of this book. A few pages after the map of the Land of Oz, the story begins with the birth of a green-skinned little girl named Elphaba. The reader is witness to her childhood, her school years, her love affair, and everything that follows. She not only knows, but befriends Glenda the Good Witch while they are roommates in college. The shaky political climate provides for a major cause Elphaba fights for when she finishes college--Animal rights. That's Animal and not animal, as the two are different in Oz. There are a number of complex and interesting characters to meet who never made it into the movie. The Land of Oz is magical and vivid in Wicked. There is a completeness to it that the movie could never hope to come to close to. Elphaba is an intensely smart woman, constantly questioning the very nature and notions of good and evil. The only disappointment in the book is that you know she has to die at the hands of Dorothy after you've read through her entire life and come to understand and like her. Wicked was one of those books I found incredibly hard to put down. If I hadn't needed to work during the week I first picked it up, I probably would have finished it the first day. There is social commentary galore, but even if you're not up on that type of thing, the story in and of itself is a brilliant companion to the movie that will never let you view the Wicked Witch of the West the same way again.
Added: Monday, June 21, 2004 Reviewer: daria_4 Score: Related Link: More Info and an Excerpt Hits: 1064
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