Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (Harper Fiction)
by Gregory Maguire
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Book Summary Information
Author: Gregory MaguireEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Published: 2007-10-01
ISBN: 0061350966
Number of pages: 560
Publisher: Harper
Book Reviews of Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (Harper Fiction)
Book Review: Eh...
Summary: 2 Stars
I consider myself to be fairly literate. I've got a great vocabulary, but reading this was too much like WORK. It reminded me of reading Beowulf in High School: getting to the end of the page and wondering, "what in the world did I just read?".
On the one hand, Maguire does an incredible job of creating an entirely unique world, complete with a topographical map and different cultures. Not to mention sentient Animals, a college town and "society". This was the book's main salvation for me.
On the other hand, the language was tough-going even for a word-geek like me. I couldn't glean enough meaning sometimes to even keep the action going forward. There were holes in the plot and loose ends that never got tied up (maybe he was saving them for the sequal?). I never could get at what Elphaba was actually trying to accomplish throughout the text. Was the main theme that she was actually a huge failure? How satisfying is that, that the author makes you really care about a character and she ends up perishing without realizing ANY of her goals. That the Wizard ends up leaving in the end seems to be only coincidental. And the whole "what is evil" dialogue doesn't GO anywhere.
I don't know - I just didn't get it. I'm glad I read it...just in case I go to see the play....but I don't think I'll be reading him in the future.
Summary of Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (Harper Fiction)
When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil?
Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to be the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.
Packed with e-book extras, including the original classic, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum, and the Reader's Group Guide. When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only one side of the story. Meet Elphaba -- a smart, prickly, little green-skinned girl who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil. When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil? Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to be the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.
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