| Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West |  | Author: Gregory Maguire
Creator: Douglas Smith
Publisher: Turtleback Books Distributed by Demco Media
Category: Book
This item is no longer available
Avg. Customer Rating:  1512 reviews
Media: Turtleback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 409
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6 x 1.5
ISBN: 060631184X
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780606311847
ASIN: 060631184X
Publication Date: August 30, 2004
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Product Description
Following the traditions of Gabriel GarcIa Marqu,z, John Gardner and J.R.R. Tolkien, Wicked is a richly woven tale that takes us to the other, darker side of the rainbow as novelist Gregory Maguire chronicles the Wicked Witch of the West's odyssey through the complex world of Oz -- where people call you wicked if you tell the truth. Years before Dorothy and her dog crash-land, another little girl makes her presence known in Oz. This girl, Elphaba, is born with emerald-green skin -- no easy burden in a land as mean and poor as Oz, where superstition and magic are not strong enough to explain or to overcome the natural disasters of flood and famine. But Elphaba is smart, and by the time she enters the university in Shiz, she becomes a member of a charmed circle of Oz' most promising young citizens. Elphaba's Oz is no utopia. The Wizard's secret police are everywhere. Animals -- those creatures with voices, souls and minds -- are threatened with exile. Young Elphaba, green and wild and misunderstood, is determined to protect the Animals -- even it means combating the mysterious Wizard, even if it means risking her single chance at romance. Even wiser in guilt and sorrow, she can find herself grateful when the world declares her a witch. And she can even make herself glad for that young girl from Kansas. In Wicked, Gregory Maguire has taken the largely unknown world of Oz and populated it with the power of his own imagination. Fast-paced, fantastically real and supremely entertaining, this is a novel of vision and re-vision. Oz never will be the same again.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1507 more reviews...
 Dashed Hopes October 12, 2008
As a preface, I'm a huge fantasy fan, a lover of the Wizard of Oz movie, and I absolutely LOVED the play Wicked--I couldn't get enough. I thought that the play was clever, important, heart-wrenching and really well-done. I knew the book was different but I thought that if anything, it would be deeper and more introspective.
Well, I agree with many of the more negative reviews, sadly, that this book was fairly painful to get through. The first part is that it's just not that clever. Unlike the play where are are some smart concepts that tie this to the book/movie (examples suppressed due to their spoiler nature), I just felt like this had nothing to do with the Wizard of Oz except for the names of characters. It is also such a scattered book--every time we start down a storyline, it seems to end abruptly and without good closure. We don't get to know anyone too well either.
In sum, there were a few ideas that teased me along to complete the book, but there was no real payoff...
I'm going to see the play again and try to forget this book!
 Are People born wicked, or do they have wickedness thrust upon them? October 12, 2008
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (Harper Fiction)
I first heard about Wicked due to the wildly popular show. I became a Wicked fan because of the amazing soundtrack, but had no idea that originally it was a book, until I bought a $10 paperback edition in Albuquerque. And let me say, I was blown away by it, reading it the moment I got home and not stopping until half-past midnight. Being a fan of the original Oz books and the 1939 film, I enjoyed reading the book immensely. But do note this: the book is written for ADULTS, the reason why being there is sex, politics and many mature themes that are in the book which wouldn't be appropriate for younger children. So parents, wait until your kids are much older than they are now to let them read this book.
In this book, you'll meet dozens of new characters like Frex, the religious Unionist minister and his rather boozy wife Melena who are the parents of the Witch, Nanny, Melena's no-nonsense caretaker (later her children's), Turtle Heart, the gentle Quadling glassblower, Madame Morrible, the terrible Headmistress of Shiz University, as well as Fiyero the Winkie prince and many others.
But you'll also meet characters that have been given new life, such as the Wizard himself whose origins are revealed, the Tin Man who is a victim of domestic violence, Nessarose the no-armed religious zealot who becomes the Wicked Witch of the East, and Galinda, a rather snooty girl at first, who switches her name to "Glinda" and becomes the sorceress we know as Glinda the Good.
And of course, Elphaba, who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West, and who is possibly one of the best literary characters of this day and age in my personal opinion.
The book does go into detail, and sometimes you'll have to re-read a certain part so the certain part you're reading right now makes sense.
One of my personal favorite things about the book was the relationship between Glinda and Elphaba. In the "college years" part, they are paired off as roomates and don't even bother to talk to each other until one rainy night when they actually have a conversation. After that, they begin to get friendly with each other, but it doesn't really come to its zenith until Glinda's nanny becomes ill and a favorite teacher of Elphaba's is killed. There we see that the two really become best friends, which makes their parting in the Emerald City so sad. They do see each other again at Nessarose's funeral when Elphaba is now the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda has become Glinda the Good, but they have a little fight, and there is one section in the book that shows the result of their fight: they see each other after the funeral on a path as the Witch leaves, but don't acknowledge each other until they pass and Glinda finally cries out "Oh Elphie"; said person stops but doesn't turn to her, and according to the book, "they never saw each other again." That to me was the most heartbreaking part of the book, as well as the end in which Dorothy triumphs and kills the Witch.
So if you're wondering what all the fuss is about Wicked and what the musical is based off of, or are a fan of Oz and want to see a different take on it, or just want a good read, then this is the book for you!
I also recommend Son of A Witch, which is Wicked's sequel, and A Lion Among Men, the next book in the cycle coming out this October.
 Love it or hate it?? October 2, 2008
I know that some people really enjoyed the book, but I was not a fan. I can honestly say that I never hated a book until I read this one. It was incredibly slow, had a lot of GRAPHIC and equally DISTURBING content, and there was no resolution. I agree with an earlier review that I felt absolutely no connection to the characters, and didn't care what happened to them. I didn't know if I was supposed to feel sorry for Elphaba, or if he meant for me to hate her, but at the end, I just hated everyone in the book. No endearing qualities for anyone in Oz, apparently.
My new favorite October 2, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I love, love, LOVED this book. It was so much more dark and twisty than I had expected, as I'm familiar with the musical version (nothing alike) and I was so pleasantly surprised. I had anticipated this book to be somewhat juvenile, but it really surpassed my expectations -- it was incredibly adult (I know I felt myself blushing a few times on the subway, shielding it from my fellow passengers!) By the end of the book I felt very familiar with the world of Oz, as though I was right there with them. Maguires descriptions made me feel so much like I was a part of the action, and really got me involved in the story. I will admit that this story is not for everyone, KNOW what you're getting yourself into, it is not a Frank Baum tale!
 Is evil born or made? October 2, 2008
This books touches on politics, religion, adolescence, childhood, death, and many other facets of life. However, these are sometimes too brief and undeveloped. It was a good read in that is was different and unique. The author may have tried to make it too many things to too many people. Definetly a creative and unpredictable perspective on a story most of us know. Just wish it wouldn't have left off with so many unanswered questions, it seemed a bit rushed at the end. This was far from an unworthy read, it just could have been better.
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