Wicked: THe Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire (1996, Paperback, Reprint)

In Wicked, volume one of The Wicked Years, Maguire has added upon the world created by Frank L. Baum in the original The Wizard of Oz, so well that it becomes a universe of its own. Wicked takes the stereotypical evil witch and transforms her into something more: Elphaba Thropp, green-skinned, cynical, misunderstood, yet ambitious girl, who is always underestimated by her peers and overshadowed by her beautiful, popular best friend Glinda and zealot sister Nessarose. Yet Maguire's vivid writing makes the characters even more complex- Elphaba is still not the 'tragic, misunderstood hero' that readers first expect her to be. Elphaba DOES become the evil, wicked witch, after a fashion. But in this story, Maguire questions the very meaning of evil and its role in the world. The characters are lovable, memorable, and above all, behave eerily human.

I bought this book because of all the buzz surrounding it, (broadway play etc) Plus it was Halloween and my book club thought it would be fitting for this time of year. Boy were we surprised!It was much darker and seedier than we expected, and several people found it really hard to get into. I loved the whole "concept" of what formed what we have come to know as the "Wicked Witch of the West" and her sister as well, the Witch of the East, however I found many of the situations uncomfortable to read, especially those which were sexual in nature. I think the sex between the actual human beings was described beautifully,and was generally tasteful but the other depictions involving elaborate marionettes and live animals were vile and not even necessary to the plot of the story. They are the definition of "gratuitous" at it's height. If you are a person who has certain moral ideals on pornography and beastiality, or these things cause you to struggle with your own purity, I would advise you to avoid this book. Things I really enjoyed were the college days, and the story revolving around the "ruby slippers", as well as the main character's love for animals and Animals (yes there is a difference in this book) I found that entire plot to be fascinating, very well thought out and carried throughout the end of the book. The relationship between the main character and her father, sister and nanny is as complex and dysfunctional as any real relationship.I admired the author's honesty in this line of thought. I think the social, political and religious themes were interesting, but a little hard to follow at first. It was almost halfway through the book before I had a clear grasp on what was what, as just when I thought I had it figured out, another element was added to these themes. Overall, I enjoyed the book, it was captivating enough for me to be able to push past the disturbing parts for the sake of the rest of the story. A good read if you have time to concentrate. Not a "leisure" read.

I was taken by complete surprise at how awesome this book is! We have all, of course, come to love the classic tale of The Wizard of Oz as written by L. Frank Baum (which actually was a a series of volumes), and portrayed by MGM with Judy Garland as Dorothy, et al, but, were you to read WICKED, you will never view the movie in the same way again!

The story is clearly written from the perspective of "The Wicked Witch of the West", who is given the name of Elphaba. It starts just prior to her birth, and continues through to her demise by Dorothy's accidental tossing of water on her ("I'm melting...."). Who would have thought that the Witch attended college (or, was it really more like a "Finishing School"?), or, that Glinda and she had been classmates and thereby had a long history with one another? I don't want to give away the whole book, so that's about all I will say with regards to the story line.

Maguire has a sequel to this story, called SON OF A WITCH, which takes up the storyline from the perspective of Elphaba's apparent illigitimate son, Liir. If it is even half as delicious as this one, it would be great! I can't wait to read that one, too!

Enjoy!

Wicked is, put simply, not what you think it is when you first pick it up. Those who loved L. Frank Baum's OZ and poured through the books in the Oz series will be disappointed in Maguire's vision of the fantastical land. Maguire's OZ is far harsher than Baum's pastoral fantasy; the Wizard is a cruel despot; there are religions based on pure pleasure and others on fanatical self-denial, and the acts of the so-called faithful are demonstrated to be more for show than for faith; entire groups of intelligent beings are derided for where they're from or treated as inhuman when it suits the needs of others. Maguire's Wicked reads more as a satire or a political commentary detailing what he sees as the ills of the world than as a revisiting of the tale of the Wicked Witch of the West. While one does see that individuals can be branded as Wicked when they are simply misunderstood, unknown, or in opposition to the current regime, this doesn't provide the delicious delving into the origins of evil that you may have been led to believe. An interesting story reversing most of the Oz tales, it is nonetheless dry in places and not for the faint-of-heart. DEFINITELY NOT A CHILDREN'S BOOK - this one's for mature audiences only, folks.

this is a awsomely fun and sometimes altogether frightful look at the life and times of the missunderstood, mistreated an incredibly awkward green skined wicked witch of the west, her sister (witch of the east), her father, mother, nanny and her friends including bog and a boarding school friend named sait Galenda (northern witch). this story is a biography of sorts for a fictional caracter and takes you on a jurney from her munchkinland childhood, too boarding school, to the emerald city, to the vinkus and finally to her death by the hand of the evil wizard of Oz with the help of the dim wited dorthey Gail and her lion, tin man and scarcrow friends!!! You'll soon find out that wicked is just a state of mind and evil is in the eye of the beholder. This book reminds us of the importance of never beleaving untile you've heard both sides of testory and judged for yourself!!!!