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Summary: What is the True Nature of Evil?
Review: By far one of the best and wonderfully written books I have ever read. It takes place from the birth of Elphaba (the wicked witch of the west) all the way to her death by Dorothy. It shows a completely different side of Elphaba and understand that she was just vastly misunderstood, all the way to her sad and unfortunate ending. We also meet Glinda who starts out as a selfish stuck up brat, her turns into a more loving and caring person after who encounters with Elphaba and the death of a teacher and back into a ditzy woman who is still nice, except she sort of betrays Elphaba at the end by giving Dorothy the only thing Elphaba would have left of her family...the ruby slippers. And we also meet Nessarose, the religious nut who becomes the wicked with of the east. I can't stress enough how well written and enthralling this read is. I was sad at the witch's death and the end of the book. I NEED TO READ IT AGAIN! I would rank it right up there with the original OZ.
Rating: 
Summary: Gets better.
Review: While at first I had a hard time getting into this book eventually the means satisfy the end. You end up feeling incredible empathy for Elphaba and somewhat annoyed by the undeserving ending she received. You also grow to love Maguires' writing style and I am definetely interested in reading his other books now.
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Summary: Book Review
Review: "Ill get you my pretty! And your little dog too!" Whenever an adult here in the United States hears this particular phrase, nostalgia takes over. Remembering the old days when once a year The Wizard of Oz would air on TV and all the family members would gather around the television set ready for an adventure with Dorothy to the Land of Oz. Children were fascinated by the conflicts and struggle between the "innocent" Dorothy and the evil green-skinned witch.
Just recently, a new book, Wicked, by Gregory Maguire was released and has given readers such as a I a whole new perspective on The Wizard of Oz.
We often times think we know who and what is evil and sometimes why. Maguire meddles with "why" more than the whom and what, really testing our ideas of stereotypes and fixed ideas we all have. The Wicked Witch of the West seems hardly the same girl, Elphaba. You see, the wicked witch has a name. Just by reading the first couple of pages, a cornucopia of questions tumble through my head. How is the Wicked Witch of the West from the East? How is Galinda (later Glinda) the Good of the North also from the East? Where's Dorothy? Maguire doesn't even bring Dorothy into the picture till nearly the end of the story; and he doesn't paint her kindly when she's introduced into the novel.
Wicked is the untold story of Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and her unfortunate skin. Elphaba wasn't born evil, just green. After all, she had a mother and a father. And like most families, they had their secrets. The moment she arrived into the world, her parents were horrified at the site of their baby just because she was a lovely shade of chartreuse. Elphaba eventually grows into a young woman and attends college where she meets her new roommate, Galinda. They both felt the moment they laid eyes on each other they would be loathing one another till their school days were done. After all, Galinda was a high maintenance Ms. Popular and Elphaba was well, green. But after due consideration, they grow to like each other and become best friends. Elphaba excelled in politics and became a freedom fighter and was involved in the underground resistance movement to ring social rights to the thinking Animals.
But life for Elphaba soon took a drastic turn for her. Her best friend Galinda stabs her in the back by taking the ruby slippers (which belonged to Elphaba's sister) and suffering the loss of her one true love. Since Elphaba couldn't save her love, she decides no good deed goes unpunished and becomes wicked.
Wicked creates a great fantasy world of Oz to get lost in. That's the one place where I was lost. There was so much detail it was a little hard to follow the story line at times. But over this entire book was a definite page-turner. We learn the Elphaba's life is great sorrow, and now when watching The Wizard of Oz, it makes you think. It gives you a look at an American classic from a different angle. Wicked is a book I definitely recommend for some older audiences since it's very complicated to understand and comprehend. But all I have to say is a lot happened before Dorothy dropped in.
Rating:
Summary: 5 stars from me!!
Review: I was glued to this book from the moment I picked it up until the last word on the last page. Definitely give this book a shot. You don't even need to be a diehard Wizard of Oz fan to love this story. If you love a really gripping and completely unique plot, and a detailed read, you will love Wicked. (I would not recommend this for "skimmers.") The setting in Oz is one of the most unique I have ever come across in literature... and you will just love Elphaba. She will stick in your mind for a long time after you are finished reading. I read this book just before seeing the inspired broadway musical and, although they are entirely different, they compliment each other very nicely. Wicked is simply a one-of-a-kind novel and I highly recommend it. 5 stars from me!
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Summary: Excellent story.
Review: Fabulous read -- couldn't put it down. Combines magical realism with political commentary and surprisingly good character development.
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Summary: Amazing book!
Review: I loved this book. I bought it after reading reviews that were so so and was scared of what I was getting. WOW it was worth it!!! You'll never hear the story of Oz again the same way!
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Summary: Read the Book and SKIP THE SHOW
Review: An earlier reviewer thought the book was slow, and only worth reading as a preview of the Broadway show. That reviewer even wrote "The show takes the very best parts of the book and runs with it. But reading Wicked was painful. No doubt about that. " Well actually, there's lots of doubt about that! I'm a musical theatre geek, and despite excellent sets, costumes and talent -- the Broadway show was dreadful. Really dreadful. I know the Tony nominating committee disagrees, but the show was absolute drivel! The adapters took a wonderful, complex novel (read it, read it!) and mousified it. They changed major plot points . . . like the ending. Do yourself a favor. Read this excellently written book. Be sure to buy a copy with the OLD pink and beige cover and not the new cover that glorifies the green and white poster from the multimillion dollar monstrosity. I hope Gregory Maguire got paid lots of money for the Broadway sell out, and uses it to write more good books.
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Summary: A brilliant novel
Review: This novel was an absolute delight throughout. Its writing was witty, poignant, insightful and hilarious at times. A novel for the ages. Maguire uses the backdrop of The Wizard of OZ to masterfully create a new world that satirizes our own and kept me enthralled throughout. It is a story of good and evil, religion and politics and a lesson in looking at the other point of view. The protagonist, Elphaba, is a rich and complex character whom you grow to relate to despite any differences that everyone will have compared to her - I think that is a key point of this novel. I am utterly appalled at the criticisms seen here. Did they read the same book? Please completely forget about comparisons to the musical or the movie - they are entirely different things. For those of you disappointed that the book didn't contain the characters you wanted, you need to remember that the author wrote it the way he did for his reasons. This book is not about the Wizard of Oz. If you choose to read this only because you like the other versions, forget about reading it. If you love literature and the art of making the language sing and punch, you will love this book. You'll laugh out loud as well. Enjoy.
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Summary: For anyone who as enjoyed the Wizard of Oz & hated Wicked
Review: I don't know how many people have read Wicked with simply having either read "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" or have simply seen the Judy Garland movie, but coming from someone who has read most of the OZ books (yes, there are over 40 of them, L. Frank Baum's work as well as those by several others) this fits well as an OZ story. The original books were meant for children, and I loved them as a child. I have been re-reading them, and simply love Macguire's perspective on OZ. People have criticized his take on the lands we loved as children. Point of note: the author was not writing a book for children (Someone needs to tell Borders to take this off of their children's featured shelves.) In order to show how Elphaba becomes the Wicked Witch of the West that we all know and loathe, he had to show where she came from. This includes the status of her family, including her mother's infidelity, the political status in OZ at the time (definitely interesting when viewed over the difference between and Animal and an animal (you'll have to read the book to get a clarification on this one)), Elphaba's broken friendships and broken heart. This is well crafted (and for the person who says that the "urine" part of the story could have been left out, remember, many of our own legends and myths are based around the bodily fluids and sexual organs of the Gods. (Read Norse mythology and the creation of Slepnir, Native American myths about Coyote, and Egyptian myths as well.) The story has underlying themes about the nature of evil, the concepts of friendship and friendships broken, sibling rivalry, love, lust, religion, and the price to be paid for sin. It covers poltics, religion, semantics, and enriches the world we grew up with as children. The only thing I can see that perhaps could even be a downside to the novel is that I read it too quickly. Another hundred pages or so would have been greatly enjoyed. All in all, this is an excellent OZ book for adults. Not something I would reccommend for young children, but a work that will certainly become a literary masterpice.
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Summary: The Yellow Brick Road to Depression
Review: Knowing nothing about "Wicked," I read it several thinks ago, thinking it would be interesting, charming, imaginative, etc. The cover caught my attention; I guess I had forgotten what a downer it is! Then, a few years ago, I read there was going to be a musical version of this mess. I don't know why we don't have a musical version of "Silas Marner," George Eliot's classic chloroform in print, to quote Mark Twain, which was inflicted on high school students for years. There's no telling how many kids were turned against literature because of "Silas," which I hated as a teen and despised as an adult. Yes, I reread it, thinking maybe I had misjudged it when I was 15. It was worse the second time around. So, I'm rereading "Wicked," thinking maybe it would be better, given another chance. (Also, one of my colleagues said she saw the musical recently and loved it. From what I've read, the musical is great. I'm wondering to what extent it follows the novel, or is it simply "loosely based"?) Guess
what? It's worse than I remember. I dozed off at least twice today reading it. Maybe I'm missing some hidden allegorical meaning, but I don't think so. Maybe some people are saying it's deep, etc., because they think it's supposed to be--"The Emperor's New Clothes." Will I finish rereading it? Indeed I will because I have a personal policy: I don't like to begin a book and not finish it.
However, I've been feeling a little low lately. Could "Wicked" have something to do with this? This novel truly lives up (or down) to its name.
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