Wicked : the life and times of the wicked witch of the West : a novel (edition 1995)

This book, while interesting, was a kind of difficult read. It was very complicated and convoluted, and even a bit disturbing. I was keen to read it after seeing Wicked, the musical. The musical is much better than the book. ( )

I selected this book after seeing the musical Wicked! My mistake. This was a long drawn out story based on the background characters from the Wizard of Oz and how they came to be who they are especially the Wicked Witch of the East. Her name is Elphaba is this tale. The story is over political and very dry. It goes on for too long and I didn't enjoy it at all. What's more amazing to me is that the author agreed to the musical that so far from his story, it shouldn't even share the same name. The only thing that is the same, are the character names. I would suggest don't bother. ( )

It was just "ok".
I had a hard time getting into it and didn't like it nearly as well as the Cinderella and Snow White retellings.
Good that I read it though and will probably try the sequels later.
Read in 2006. ( )

If you haven't read this book, but want to, I'll say that I quite liked it once I got past the first section (60-ish pages). I was wavering between 3-4 stars, but I just couldn't bring myself to bump it up. I enjoyed it enough that I will likely read the second book. (I doubt I will ever read this again, however.)

I did not like it as well as The Looking Glass Wars, an adaptation of Alice in Wonderland.

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This review contains spoilers. I repeat, there are going to be spoilers if you read any further. I will not be held responsible. So, if you haven't read it yet or seen the play and you don't want to know what happens then DO NOT read further!
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Okay, so, I liked this book (probably 3 1/2 stars worth), but I did not love this book and here's why:

First, the beginning was REALLY slow. Yeah, I get it, the framework had to be set for the "I'm this way because I had a crappy childhood." thing. But, it was still a bit of a slog for me to get through that first 60 odd pages. The middle bit was very good. The end felt a little rushed.

Second, what was with the gratuitous sex? I get that her mother had to be a little active for the storyline, but he seemed to take it all that step further just for shock value. For example, I didn't really need to know that Nanny washed the spooge stains out of Melina's sheets in the stream. No, not really. Not a mental picture I needed in my mind. Or, that whole bit with the Philosopher's Club? What was that all about? That had NOTHING to do with the story in my opinion. Well, other than the fact that Tibbett never recovered from being rogered by a Tiger and eventually died in Elphie's care which left a trail for her to be found. But, Tibbett could have had any old wasting sickness, people... It was just a little much for me.

Lastly, I felt that there were some pretty big questions the author never really bothered to resolve. Like, who was Madame Morrible anyway? What was she really about? Was Yackle trying to help Elphaba or harm her? Friend or foe? There were others, but I feel that those could carry on to the second book. MM was such a big part of the book though and as far as I understood, nothing ever really came around to being explained with regard to her. I was a bit disappointed in that.

I have to say, on the positive side that I was totally attached to Elphaba. The second section where they are in Shiz was my favorite bit. I totally would have befriended Elphie and played little tricks and pranks on Galinda to take her down a peg. As a kid, of course, I adored Glinda. As I got older I thought she was a bit silly in that particular get up. Reading the story I could see where it occurred to him to take the character in the direction he did, clever.

I still liked The Looking Glass Wars better, but it was a good adaptation and I did like it. ( )

Ugh, this book was SOOO BORING!! It was a chore to read this thing. I had to take 10 pages at a time, and even that was too much. Elphaba had such potential to be an amazing character - what a disappointment. She did have a few great moments of dry humor, and I could identify with her occasionally, but I could just never understand what she was all about or even how exactly she turned into the person everyone came to view as a witch. This is one of those rare cases where the "movie" (musical, actually) is better (in this case, WAY better) than the book. The only reason I gave this book 2 stars was because I thought the whole Animal rights thing was really interesting, but even that seemed to be covered better in the musical. *sigh*
Maybe most of what this book was about is just over my head or something. I just wish there would have been more heart in this story to accompany all the allegorical stuff. ( )

Book club choice...

So the second time around my opinion remains the same. The author writes all of this (what I feel is unnecessary) description, but then stops short of actually completing his point. THEN it just gets boring after Fiyero dies. I mean, all that time in the Vinkus is just bland. Even despite the almost hitting on a point then shying away, I still like the beginning. But once I get to part 4 it's hard for me to keep going. ( )

Great remix of a story I grew up with. ( )

Just Dreadful. ( )

It was okay, but not as brilliant as people assured me it was. I've tried to read the sequel, but I get nowhere with it. ( )

The Musical is better. Not often is the popular medium version of a book better, but this time it was. The musical better weaves some of the details of the novel throughout the whole story (eg the Galinda/Glinda name change) and makes a good long story wondefully succinct.

And the soundtrack to the musical is excellent!

But still a good book. ( )

The idea of telling the back story to "The Wizard of Oz" through the eyes of the Wicked Witch of the West seems fascinating, but frankly, I got bored as Maguire worked it out in practice. One problem may be that he didn't fully realize his alternative take on the mythic world created by Frank Baum, I'm not sure. I am sure that I had to push myself to read to the end. ( )

This was so cool. Honestly, not a big Oz fan here, so I picked this up with some trepidation. It came so highly recommended that I chanced it, however.

I am so glad I did.

Beautiful use of characterization, superb descriptive ability and a fantastic talent for not only engaging the reader, but engaging their sympathies.

Read it. Trust me, it's awesome. ( )

Revisionist backstory to The Wizard of Oz; a study of the three religions of OZ (pagan, cannonized, and scientific) and how they all had a hand in creating Elphaba. Maquire is essentially a pessimist, I think, but his story transcends that to enchant and challenge. ( )

I was really looking forward to reading this, but I was so disappointed. This is as dull as dishwater. ( )

the life of the Wicked Witch of the West, pre-Dorothy; whole new perspective on the Wizard

Not really my cup of tea... ( )

Wow. Only someone really messed up could read this and think 'i could make a Broadway musical out of this, one that schoolchildren will come to see and sing along.' Because of the musical I was expecting something much lighter.

This examines the beginning and motivations of the purportedly evil Wicked Witch of the West. The politics, prejudices, social and economic divides of the time are presented as a backdrop. Combined with the description of her family, it's one big explanation of why she turned out the way she did.

You want to sympathize with the main character, naturally, but she does some incomprehensible things. Lots of her actions appear to be awful, as from the viewpoint of The Wizard of Oz, but understandable if the "why" is known. I guess the lesson of this very loooong book is that you never can know someone's full story, why they react in certain ways. A call to compassion and understanding for your fellow man? If so, this is an extremely convoluted way to ask for it. ( )

I was not a big fan of this book and really wanted to like it. It was however a bit to political for me. The characters were not as flushed out as I would have liked and the story drug a bit.

Author Website: http://www.gregorymaguire.com/

Can't remember if I read this in high school or college...I liked it better than the Ugly Stepsister one, which I tried to read in high school (the friend whose copy it was took it back before I finished, and I didn't much care). Long, dense, and detailed, but certainly imaginative.

Very slow-going at first, but once you get into it, it captures you. If you can battle through, it's a worthwhile read. ( )

i had trouble getting into this at first, but once you get halfway through it flies ( )

This was definitely not what I expected. I thought the concept was good. In the beginning chapters I was really into the book, then it turned political, Wizard of Oz political. That's when I started to lose interest. After the middle chapters I lost the desire to even pick up the book. It took me awhile to finish and I was glad when it was over. Over all the story was not bad, but I wished it wasn't so heavy on the politics. ( )

A truly awesome book - Maguire's "Wicked" is the stunning prequel to "The Wizard of Oz" and after finishing the book, there is no doubt regarding the legitimacy of the hype surrounding it. Although somewhat confusing (as most science fiction epics are), the background to Oz provided by Maguire is compelling and fascinating, much the same as the author himself. Definitely wanting to read the sequel, "Son of a Witch" soon! ( )

The book is sooo much better than the musical! I really got into this one ... but when I saw the musical I was trying to keep from grimacing. ( )

I can't even be bothered to review this book. It is so disjointed and inconsistent (with unnecessary sex). Good idea with no concept of "plot". ( )