The life of a porn addicted housewife.
Monday, November 07, 2005
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West - A Review
I just finished reading Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire.
Having missed all of the previous hype over the book, I went in to it thinking it would be a cute little story, but boy was I wrong. I will never be able to watch “The Wizard of Oz” the same way again!
Maguire has given complete life to Elphaba, The Wicked Witch of the West. In TWOO, the witch is seen as an evil monster, yet we now find that the opposite is true. I don’t want to go into too much detail because I don’t want to spoil the book for those who haven’t read it yet. I will just list some key words:
Resistance
Underground
Animals (not animals, but Animals)
These will all make sense to you after you read the story.
Maguire has also opened up the world of Oz to us. Munchkinland, Gillikin, Quadling Country, and The Emerald City among other places. The details he gives of each area of Oz helps us to understand the world of the characters much better.
Animal rights play a big part of the story of Elphaba’s life, as does her love for her secret boyfriend.
So you think the Wizard is a kindly old man huh? Think again!
Galinda (Glinda) is another story, there is more depth there than we realized.
Nessarose, Elphaba’s sister and the Wicked Witch of the East is a real treat. Beautiful and religious, her story plays out wonderfully.
It’s a shame that L. Frank Baum did not get to read this. I think he would have loved it.
The prologue opens with Elphaba stalking Dorothy, the Tin Man, The Scarecrow, and The Lion. Chapter one then begins with the birth of Elphaba, a strange experience to say the least. We follow her through her childhood and into school (The Shiz) where she begins her lifelong fight for Animal Rights. We learn the effect the death of her sister had on her. Is Liir really her son? Why does she want the ruby slippers so badly? What does Yackle know? The story completes at her death at the hands of Dorothy. How did it happen, and why?
By all means, if you have not read this book, do so in the future! You will not be disappointed!
I have just started “Son of a Witch” the second half of the Oz saga. I will let you know how it plays out. After that I intend to read Maguire’s other books “Mirror, Mirror” and “Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister.” Where on earth did this guy get his imagination?
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Having missed all of the previous hype over the book, I went in to it thinking it would be a cute little story, but boy was I wrong. I will never be able to watch “The Wizard of Oz” the same way again!
Maguire has given complete life to Elphaba, The Wicked Witch of the West. In TWOO, the witch is seen as an evil monster, yet we now find that the opposite is true. I don’t want to go into too much detail because I don’t want to spoil the book for those who haven’t read it yet. I will just list some key words:
Resistance
Underground
Animals (not animals, but Animals)
These will all make sense to you after you read the story.
Maguire has also opened up the world of Oz to us. Munchkinland, Gillikin, Quadling Country, and The Emerald City among other places. The details he gives of each area of Oz helps us to understand the world of the characters much better.
Animal rights play a big part of the story of Elphaba’s life, as does her love for her secret boyfriend.
So you think the Wizard is a kindly old man huh? Think again!
Galinda (Glinda) is another story, there is more depth there than we realized.
Nessarose, Elphaba’s sister and the Wicked Witch of the East is a real treat. Beautiful and religious, her story plays out wonderfully.
It’s a shame that L. Frank Baum did not get to read this. I think he would have loved it.
The prologue opens with Elphaba stalking Dorothy, the Tin Man, The Scarecrow, and The Lion. Chapter one then begins with the birth of Elphaba, a strange experience to say the least. We follow her through her childhood and into school (The Shiz) where she begins her lifelong fight for Animal Rights. We learn the effect the death of her sister had on her. Is Liir really her son? Why does she want the ruby slippers so badly? What does Yackle know? The story completes at her death at the hands of Dorothy. How did it happen, and why?
By all means, if you have not read this book, do so in the future! You will not be disappointed!
I have just started “Son of a Witch” the second half of the Oz saga. I will let you know how it plays out. After that I intend to read Maguire’s other books “Mirror, Mirror” and “Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister.” Where on earth did this guy get his imagination?
