Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

Rating:
Summary: Don't know HOW I feel about this book...
Review: I just finished "Wicked" for the second time. On one hand, the book was extremely entertaining and interesting. I very much enjoyed it. But... I was left with so many questions! Who was Yakle? What was the significance of the Clock of the Time Dragon? Who was the dwarf? What was Madam Morrible really up to? Why wasn't the scarecrow explained? Why did Elphaba become so evil in the end (throwing Nanny down the stairs)?
I read the book twice (about a year apart) because I DID really like it, but also to see if I had missed anything. I enjoyed the actual READING of it, but I'm left feeling frustrated.

Rating:
Summary: Terrible
Review: The author tries to mix a 1920's story with post 70's morality. The book is filled with boredom, fornication, and outright adultery. The story just barely fallows L. Frank Baum's novel and bits of Garland's movie by keeping some of the names and radically twisting events mentioned in the book and movie. The novel portrays that the Wicked Witch of the West's true name is Elphaba. She was the unwanted, bastard child of an adulterous mother and was born with severe birth defects--she possesses green skin, had fangs for baby teeth, and has a strong allergic reaction to water. She is an outcast in her community and has few friends. One of them turns out to be the good witch of the north. She has a sister who was born, presumably by moral standards, without any arms. The sister is the favorite of both parents. Her father gives her a pair of ruby slippers. The Wizard of Oz is portrayed as some sort of tyrannical dictator who no one likes at all. The "Yellow Brick Road" is said to be some sort of government-run construction project.
If you buy this book get as an example of a wonderful idea terribly perverted.

Rating:
Summary: A Wicked Awesome Tale ...
Review: For diehard Oz, Dorothy or Toto fans, this book may not be something you'd enjoy. As stated in the "Reader's Group Guide" at the end of the book, Gregory Maguire has turned the story we all know on its head. It was definitely interesting, and I had a continuous urge to finish the story as soon as possible. Regardless of how much I liked it, it was definitely NOT what I expected.

Maguire tells this story from the viewpoint of Elphaba, who in mid-life becomes widely known as the Wicked Witch of the West. She was born in the eastern part of Oz, which we all know as Munchkinland. Her parents were a preacher father, and heiress mother. From the first, her green skin and ferocious attitude caused all around her to react with utter shock and often times, fear. The story follows Elphaba through her early childhood, mainly focusing on her parents and their interaction with the culture and politics of Oz at the time. It then follows her to school in northen Oz, where she becomes a radical based on several experiences there. Interestingly, her roommate is Galinda, who later becomes Glinda, Good Witch of the North. Later, you will read of the experiences which lead to the creation of a home (of sorts) in the West. Ultimately, the novel finishes with the events we all know: the final confrontation with Dorothy.

This is not, in my humble opinion, a children's book. Rather, this would really be an excellent book for a course in politics, human rights and equality, or religion. Major issues such as social inequality, discrimination, religion, and governmental control or tyranny are all discussed both openly and behind the scenes. As well, the "Reader's Group Guide" provides a series of questions at the end, which would lend well to discussions of these and other topics.

Having said this, I did enjoy the novel. I alternated between laughter, frustration, and even some anger. All indications that I'm either very strange or this book is very interesting. Hopefully, others will agree that the latter is true.

Rating:
Summary: Enthralling... I devoured it, yet didn't want it to end.
Review: I am amazed at the depth of this novel. The lands, people and politics were described in such detail. I fell in love with Elphaba, Fabala, Fay, her lover, and her cause. I knew the ending from the classic fairy tale but denied that it could actually happen to someone as "good" as the wicked witch of the west. It will change the way you view that old classic... It will just change you.

I LOVED this book!

Rating:
Summary: Rare
Review: This truly is one of those rare books that will keep you dreaming of the characters. I fell in love with the wicked witch of the west.

Rating:
Summary: wicked the life and times of the wicked witch of the wesr
Review: I READ BOTH GOOD AND BAD ABOUT THIS BOOK I BROUGHT THE BOOK
AND I THOUGHT ABOUT SEEING IF MY BOOK CLUB WOULD LIKE TO READ
IT.IF ANY OTHER BOOK CLUB READ THIS BOOK, PLEASE WRITE
AND LET ME KNOW IF IT A GOOD BOOK TO DISCUSS,I DID LOVE THE
COVER,I PUT A FIVE DOWN BECAUSE I HOPE I WILL ENJOY IT

Rating:
Summary: Boring!!
Review: I could not believe how boring this book was! It was nothing like I thought it would've been. The storyline is very dull, I didn't make much sense out of it, and I thought about throwing it in the dumpster! I am really glad I did not buy this book, luckily i borrowed it from a friend!
You can't imagine how disappointed I was with this book! I thought it would be the coolest thing to find out about Thee Wicked Witch of the West! But it was boring, and I thought most of it didn't revolve around her anyway. The book could've been made so much better.... why wasn't it?

Rating:
Summary: I really wanted to love this one
Review: The premise for this book was so intriguing that I'd expected an in-depth exploration of how Elphaba became "wicked." Instead, I found it tedious and boring - the sort of book where one keeps turning pages waiting for the interesting parts to appear.

I could not help but wonder if the author was having the "last laugh" on the reader. Though no ideas were developed in any depth, the teasers, which sparked the hope of real treatment later, seemed just brief mentions of one political issue or another. We do not know what Elphaba's purpose was in being a Sister (or if the Sisters, indeed, were witches) - what this "unionist" religion of which her father was minister was - nor even why, at birth, her appearance was so "demonic" and bizarre. I was longing for fewer references to the Animals!

Scenes and settings disappear shortly after their introduction, and supporting characters have no real development. Curiously, barely anyone in this book (other than Elphaba herself!) seems anything but wicked and scheming - yet, since the reader does not know their motives (they appear only in brief vignettes where Elphaba becomes disappointed in them), Oz becomes, not just a normally "fallen" world, but a dark and evil spot, where all bizarre species of creatures dwell. One never knows why Elphaba keeps insisting she is totally different from others, or why she is sure she has no soul.

I am sure other readers will think that I merely do not have the sophistication to grasp the deeper points, but it seemed odd that, as a doctor of humanities with certainly some exposure to history, literature, and imaginative thought, if I kept wondering "what is the point?," I cannot be alone.

I did read this book avidly, because I kept hoping it would live up to its premise. It does not flesh out the Wicked Witch of the West, because it leaves the reader with unexplained, endless questions raised.

Rating:
Summary: Great setup, but missteps in final chapter derail the book
Review: I think everyone in my book group wanted to say that they liked the book. It was entertaining, interesting and engaging. We all knew how the story would end, but enjoyed reading how Ephalba (the Wicked Witch) gets to her confrontation with Dorothy in a different way than one would expect. Ephalba goes through many transformations, from outcast to sister to student to animal rights activist to the convent and potential motherhood, all the while questioning her humanity and soul. We see glimpses of her life in seven year intervals up to her final battle with Dorothy.

While the book introduces many fascinating events and topics that link it to the Wizard of Oz, ultimately it unravels in the final chapter and leaves the reader with too many unanswered questions. The Cowardly Lion is explained by creating a world where some Animals can speak, but are having their rights taken away day by day. Treating these sentient animals as second-class citizens gives Ephalba her main motivation to create trouble. Yet this plot line goes nowhere in the final chapter. We are led to believe that the social unrest surrounding the treatment of Animals will figure prominently in the final act, but it does not. Glinda's role, the ruby slippers, the flying monkeys and Ephalba's "evil", erratic behavior are also explained away using contrivances that derail the story. Maguire uses an interesting plot device to explain the scarecrow (he is a totem created by the townspeople), yet he drops this potentially powerful symbol as the climax resolves. I would still recommend this book to others because the setup is so interesting, but it could have been much more.

Rating:
Summary: Wicked is exactly that!
Review: This book was very excellent. I am an Oz fan, and it took me about 50 pages to get out of that mind set that every Oz fantasy puts you in. That simplistic, everything is wonderful, no one ever dies mind set. Once I did that, I found myself thouroughly pulled into the tale. It is explained in terms of realism, as if these things really happened, and gives explanations as to why they happened. Why is the witch the way she is, why is the wizard like he is, etc. It is done in a very excellent way. This is by no means at all a childs book, as it tends to be graphic at times, and I do not reccomend it for any child. Murder in the land of OZ?...Can it be? It can when people can die in Oz, just like in the real world. My only problem with this book, is that I found the end to come quickly. The last few years of the witches life came too quickly, and I wanted more explained, but alas, we don't always get what we want. I recommend this book to anyone that wants to wonder why the witch is wicked?...or is she wicked at all?