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Return to a darker Oz with Gregory Maguire. In A Lion Among Men, the third volume in Maguire's acclaimed, New York Times bestselling series The Wicked Years, a fuller, more complex Cowardly Lion is brought to life and gets to tell his remarkable tale. It is a story of oppression and fear in a world gone mad with war fever—of Munchkins, Wizards, and Wicked Witches—and especially of a gentle soul and determined survivor who is truly A Lion Among Men..
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The final book of Gregory Maguire's trilogy loses none of the magic and bite of Wicked and flows more easily than Son of a Witch, perhaps because it doesn't get lost in the dungeons of Emerald City as that one did. Maguire's prose is itself often magical. We see starry nights as amazing as Van Gogh's, hear music from oak string trees, and see characters morfing as in an Anime film or even a cartoon. The amazing assortment of characters continue: dwarfs, Munchkins, Animals, animals, winged women, but, with no Elphaba, no green ones.
The satires on society and politics continue, and, to them, is added religion. He makes an interesting--and clever case for the impossibility of their being music in heaven, centered on the fact that music is show more time-based and heaven is not. (If I understood him, or rather the character who said it, correctly.)
There is one brilliantly erotic scene between Animals of different species. The paragraphs on food are mouthwatering, although one can hardly reproduce the meals this side of Oz.
It's strange that I loved these books as, even as a child, I never read fairy tales, or the Oz books. I did read reality based kids' series like The Bobbsey Twins, Heidi, and all of Louisa May Alcott. I also read all the adult novels in my parents' library since I was blessedly unattended most of the time.
The only book I did read that treated animals as people was a curiosity in my parents' library called, Lightfoot the Leaping Goat, which, along with Heidi and the Alcott books, I read and reread at least fifty times each. I can't explain that aberration. Nor can I explain the aberration of The Wicked Years. I don't like fantasy. Nor do I like science fiction. Do you ever wonder why you like the books you do? It's not only their artistic worth, although Maguire's prose is very fine, very vivid, wickedly satiric, but never with a bludgeon. show less
The satires on society and politics continue, and, to them, is added religion. He makes an interesting--and clever case for the impossibility of their being music in heaven, centered on the fact that music is show more time-based and heaven is not. (If I understood him, or rather the character who said it, correctly.)
There is one brilliantly erotic scene between Animals of different species. The paragraphs on food are mouthwatering, although one can hardly reproduce the meals this side of Oz.
It's strange that I loved these books as, even as a child, I never read fairy tales, or the Oz books. I did read reality based kids' series like The Bobbsey Twins, Heidi, and all of Louisa May Alcott. I also read all the adult novels in my parents' library since I was blessedly unattended most of the time.
The only book I did read that treated animals as people was a curiosity in my parents' library called, Lightfoot the Leaping Goat, which, along with Heidi and the Alcott books, I read and reread at least fifty times each. I can't explain that aberration. Nor can I explain the aberration of The Wicked Years. I don't like fantasy. Nor do I like science fiction. Do you ever wonder why you like the books you do? It's not only their artistic worth, although Maguire's prose is very fine, very vivid, wickedly satiric, but never with a bludgeon. show less
This time it is Brrr's turn, or should I say the Cowardly Lion. Brrr is another ambiguous character, he thinks of himself as good, but his cowardice and complicity has further reaching effects than he would care to admit.
Part of his tale is his trying to find his family, he doesn't remember how he came to be living alone in the forest. We also read of his meeting and time with Dorothy.
I wasn't as enthused at this as with the previous 2, but probably more because I wanted to tell Brrr to grow a pair, rather than the writing.
Part of his tale is his trying to find his family, he doesn't remember how he came to be living alone in the forest. We also read of his meeting and time with Dorothy.
I wasn't as enthused at this as with the previous 2, but probably more because I wanted to tell Brrr to grow a pair, rather than the writing.
I'll say this upfront: I think Gregory Maguire is a genius. I get completely carried away when I read his re-take on classic fairy tales.
A Lion Among Men is his third look at Oz (following Wicked, and Son of a Witch). This story looks at the life of Brrr, the cowardly lion and draws a deep and rich profile of this Animal who struggles to make his way in life.
The story involves Brrr, now working for the Emerald City "police", trying to find information about the location of the grimmerie, Elphaba's book of magic. Like the previous two books, Oz is on the cusp of war, with the Munchkins having separated, and disagreements on who should rule both Munchinkinland and Loyal Oz. Against this political back drop, we listen as Brrr speaks with show more the oracle Yackle and learn of their lives.
While Wicked became a musical, this book would be more suited as a stage play. It's less about action and more introspective.
I loved it....bring me another one, soon.
(p.s. For those who like this kind of book, my favourite of Mr. Maguire's books is Mirror, Mirror, based on Snow White.) show less
A Lion Among Men is his third look at Oz (following Wicked, and Son of a Witch). This story looks at the life of Brrr, the cowardly lion and draws a deep and rich profile of this Animal who struggles to make his way in life.
The story involves Brrr, now working for the Emerald City "police", trying to find information about the location of the grimmerie, Elphaba's book of magic. Like the previous two books, Oz is on the cusp of war, with the Munchkins having separated, and disagreements on who should rule both Munchinkinland and Loyal Oz. Against this political back drop, we listen as Brrr speaks with show more the oracle Yackle and learn of their lives.
While Wicked became a musical, this book would be more suited as a stage play. It's less about action and more introspective.
I loved it....bring me another one, soon.
(p.s. For those who like this kind of book, my favourite of Mr. Maguire's books is Mirror, Mirror, based on Snow White.) show less
Brr, the Cowardly Lion, finds himself trading stories and reminiscences with an old maunt who may hold the key to the Thropp family's destiny.
This is, in many ways, a story about stories; a story about memory and its impact on the present; a story about the connections between people and the need to view each person as an individual, above all else. Brrr, like Elphaba before him, is more than his public persona. Maguire takes us inside his story and lets us see what really went down.
It's beautifully done. My favourite thing about all Maguire's books is the way he takes these flat, stock characters and situations and gives them substance. Brrr isn't perfect. He is rather a coward. But Maguire takes us inside his cowardice and shows us show more what makes him tick. We come to see that it's not a clear-cut case; Brr is a person, (er, Lion), with the same complex motivations and fears that drive us all. He's a product of his past: his forcible removal from his mother, his awkward socialization, his life under the Wizard's anti-Animal regime. Maguire does a brilliant job of showing us why Brrr is the way he is. Like Elphaba and Liir, he's not an entirely likeable character; he messes up, often with disastrous results. But at the end of the day, it's hard not to feel for him.
Oz itself continues to expand beneath Maguire's pen. (Or keyboard, as the case may be). Brrr finally gives us a first-hand look at what Animals go through. We see how they integrate - or fail to integrate - into society, how they were pushed out, what options were open to them in the wake of the Wizard's departure. It's fascinating stuff.
And we get some answers, at long last! Maguire excels at finding and illuminating the connections between his characters, their situations, and the state of the nation, and he uses these connections to drive the story forward. He shows us everything we might need to know and lets us piece it all together for ourselves. The answers found here are more in the line of confirmations, really; many readers will already have guessed portions of the outcome, but it can be nice to hear someone actually come out and say what you already know. And like all the best confirmations, these ones raise a whole host of new questions.
I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoyed the first two books. I wish I'd bought it instead of borrowing it from the library. I realized, midway through, that I've never purchased a new copy of any of Maguire's books. He's given me so many hours of reading enjoyment over the past five years that he most definitely deserves some of my royalties. You can bet I'll be buying the next book, which can't come out quickly enough.
(Rating reduced from 4.5 stars to 3 after my second reading, twelve years later. Early 2021 Me didn’t respond to the same things as Late 2008 Me.) show less
This is, in many ways, a story about stories; a story about memory and its impact on the present; a story about the connections between people and the need to view each person as an individual, above all else. Brrr, like Elphaba before him, is more than his public persona. Maguire takes us inside his story and lets us see what really went down.
It's beautifully done. My favourite thing about all Maguire's books is the way he takes these flat, stock characters and situations and gives them substance. Brrr isn't perfect. He is rather a coward. But Maguire takes us inside his cowardice and shows us show more what makes him tick. We come to see that it's not a clear-cut case; Brr is a person, (er, Lion), with the same complex motivations and fears that drive us all. He's a product of his past: his forcible removal from his mother, his awkward socialization, his life under the Wizard's anti-Animal regime. Maguire does a brilliant job of showing us why Brrr is the way he is. Like Elphaba and Liir, he's not an entirely likeable character; he messes up, often with disastrous results. But at the end of the day, it's hard not to feel for him.
Oz itself continues to expand beneath Maguire's pen. (Or keyboard, as the case may be). Brrr finally gives us a first-hand look at what Animals go through. We see how they integrate - or fail to integrate - into society, how they were pushed out, what options were open to them in the wake of the Wizard's departure. It's fascinating stuff.
And we get some answers, at long last! Maguire excels at finding and illuminating the connections between his characters, their situations, and the state of the nation, and he uses these connections to drive the story forward. He shows us everything we might need to know and lets us piece it all together for ourselves. The answers found here are more in the line of confirmations, really; many readers will already have guessed portions of the outcome, but it can be nice to hear someone actually come out and say what you already know. And like all the best confirmations, these ones raise a whole host of new questions.
I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoyed the first two books. I wish I'd bought it instead of borrowing it from the library. I realized, midway through, that I've never purchased a new copy of any of Maguire's books. He's given me so many hours of reading enjoyment over the past five years that he most definitely deserves some of my royalties. You can bet I'll be buying the next book, which can't come out quickly enough.
(Rating reduced from 4.5 stars to 3 after my second reading, twelve years later. Early 2021 Me didn’t respond to the same things as Late 2008 Me.) show less
He hadn't yet had enough experience with humans to know that the thing they hold dearest to their hearts, the last thing they relinquish when all else is fading, is the consoling belief in the inferiority of others.
Ah...the poor Cowardly Lion (AKA Brrr). He never really had a chance: snatched from his parents as a tiny cub (as seen in Wicked, then thrust back into the forest by well-intentioned Shiz University students too young to really fend for himself. But what happened between then and the arrival of Dorothy? And (ignoring Mr. Baum's sequels) what happened to him after Dorothy's departure? Most of this third novel concerns his story and that of old Yackle, a creation of Mr. Maguire, who keeps showing up in this series, framed show more within their conversation after Brrr is sent (by whom????) to find Yackle and investigate what she knows about Elphaba and her son, Liir.
Nothing really happens until the last 50 pages or so. It's all character development, but fails to make me actually care about the characters. Some ends are tied up (or at least reintroduced), but none of it felt satisfying. I'm hoping that something actually happens in the final book. show less
Ah...the poor Cowardly Lion (AKA Brrr). He never really had a chance: snatched from his parents as a tiny cub (as seen in Wicked, then thrust back into the forest by well-intentioned Shiz University students too young to really fend for himself. But what happened between then and the arrival of Dorothy? And (ignoring Mr. Baum's sequels) what happened to him after Dorothy's departure? Most of this third novel concerns his story and that of old Yackle, a creation of Mr. Maguire, who keeps showing up in this series, framed show more within their conversation after Brrr is sent (by whom????) to find Yackle and investigate what she knows about Elphaba and her son, Liir.
Nothing really happens until the last 50 pages or so. It's all character development, but fails to make me actually care about the characters. Some ends are tied up (or at least reintroduced), but none of it felt satisfying. I'm hoping that something actually happens in the final book. show less
“The time came for her to die, and she would not die; so perhaps she might waste away, they thought, and she did waste, but not away…”—A Lion Among Men”
Some stories tell of great adventures with heroes that sweep in and save the damsel in distress. Some stories tell of frightening mysteries that keep you guessing until the very end. And some stories tell of great romances that transcend time and space. “A Lion Among Men” by Gregory Maguire is none of these.
Instead, “A Lion Among Men” is essentially the memoirs of Brrr the Cowardly Lion. Dispatched by the Emerald City, he is set a task: to find the Grimmerie, the famed source of Elphaba’s powers, which was last seen in her possession. This assignment soon leads him to show more a crazy old woman who’s dubbed herself Yackle. It’s said that she had once been an Oracle and that she also may have had a connection at one time to Elphaba. But what Brr does find when he finally tracks Yackle down is not some high and mighty Oracle, but an old, decrepit, blind, cranky rotting corpse of a woman. Even though Yackle is barely clinging to life like bad Saran-Wrap, she just can’t seem to die. In fact, she’s been trying to walk through death’s door for over a year, but to no avail. Finally locating her, Brr becomes one step closer to completing his assignment for the Emerald City.
That said, I have now just summed up more or less the entire plot of this “A Lion Among Men,” which as you can see only took 132 words, 9 lines and one paragraph. The other three hundred and eight pages of the book, less one paragraph, were unfortunately about as exciting as what the quote above described. The book would just not die, even though it was way past its time. So maybe it would waste away leaving behind a good story. Ultimately, it did waste away, just not into a good story.
The rest of “A Lion Among Men”, a supposed accounting of the Cowardly Lion’s life, consisted of Brrr (not the most creative of names and Maguire doesn’t even give a great explanation for it) wandering through the woods trying to find Yackle, or some goal along those lines. Now for anyone who has ever read a book that was comprised of the main characters walking endlessly through the woods, you know it can be a potential disaster, or even worse, an exercise in extreme boredom. Well, “A Lion Among Men” was no different than every other novel that has crashed and burned at the roots of the boredom tree. A tree that the characters, I wish, had tripped over, for it would have been more exciting than what was going on in the plot line. (Note to authors: characters walking through the woods for the entirety of the story is fictional suicide. So spare all your devoted readers and think of something with a pulse!)
Aside from the wandering-in-the-woods syndrome “A Lion Among Men” seems to suffer from, it’s also plagued with a myriad of other issues. What little plot line there is in the novel is entwined with a sickening amount of flourish, producing garish prose that says nothing at all. Any part of the story that could be deciphered was often buried in painful dialogue that accomplished absolutely nothing and was incomprehensible to those of us who live in the real world and not Munchkinland.
“A Lion Among Men” can’t even claim to have the same vulgar and appalling nature that ran rampant through Maguire’s other two books in the series, “Wicked” and “Son of a Witch.” It was immensely disappointing that the novel didn’t even have these less than kosher aspects to possibly enliven it. At least the inclusion of these adult qualities may have provided a reprieve to a storyline that ended up being less exciting than even watching paint dry.
Last word:
“A Lion Among Men” is reputed to be the story of Brrr the Cowardly Lion’s life. So based on the novel then, Brr must have lived an incredibly mind-numbing and dull life. By the time I finished trudging my way through this snooze-fest, I could not find any redeeming qualities to the novel. If only I could get those hours of my life back… show less
Some stories tell of great adventures with heroes that sweep in and save the damsel in distress. Some stories tell of frightening mysteries that keep you guessing until the very end. And some stories tell of great romances that transcend time and space. “A Lion Among Men” by Gregory Maguire is none of these.
Instead, “A Lion Among Men” is essentially the memoirs of Brrr the Cowardly Lion. Dispatched by the Emerald City, he is set a task: to find the Grimmerie, the famed source of Elphaba’s powers, which was last seen in her possession. This assignment soon leads him to show more a crazy old woman who’s dubbed herself Yackle. It’s said that she had once been an Oracle and that she also may have had a connection at one time to Elphaba. But what Brr does find when he finally tracks Yackle down is not some high and mighty Oracle, but an old, decrepit, blind, cranky rotting corpse of a woman. Even though Yackle is barely clinging to life like bad Saran-Wrap, she just can’t seem to die. In fact, she’s been trying to walk through death’s door for over a year, but to no avail. Finally locating her, Brr becomes one step closer to completing his assignment for the Emerald City.
That said, I have now just summed up more or less the entire plot of this “A Lion Among Men,” which as you can see only took 132 words, 9 lines and one paragraph. The other three hundred and eight pages of the book, less one paragraph, were unfortunately about as exciting as what the quote above described. The book would just not die, even though it was way past its time. So maybe it would waste away leaving behind a good story. Ultimately, it did waste away, just not into a good story.
The rest of “A Lion Among Men”, a supposed accounting of the Cowardly Lion’s life, consisted of Brrr (not the most creative of names and Maguire doesn’t even give a great explanation for it) wandering through the woods trying to find Yackle, or some goal along those lines. Now for anyone who has ever read a book that was comprised of the main characters walking endlessly through the woods, you know it can be a potential disaster, or even worse, an exercise in extreme boredom. Well, “A Lion Among Men” was no different than every other novel that has crashed and burned at the roots of the boredom tree. A tree that the characters, I wish, had tripped over, for it would have been more exciting than what was going on in the plot line. (Note to authors: characters walking through the woods for the entirety of the story is fictional suicide. So spare all your devoted readers and think of something with a pulse!)
Aside from the wandering-in-the-woods syndrome “A Lion Among Men” seems to suffer from, it’s also plagued with a myriad of other issues. What little plot line there is in the novel is entwined with a sickening amount of flourish, producing garish prose that says nothing at all. Any part of the story that could be deciphered was often buried in painful dialogue that accomplished absolutely nothing and was incomprehensible to those of us who live in the real world and not Munchkinland.
“A Lion Among Men” can’t even claim to have the same vulgar and appalling nature that ran rampant through Maguire’s other two books in the series, “Wicked” and “Son of a Witch.” It was immensely disappointing that the novel didn’t even have these less than kosher aspects to possibly enliven it. At least the inclusion of these adult qualities may have provided a reprieve to a storyline that ended up being less exciting than even watching paint dry.
Last word:
“A Lion Among Men” is reputed to be the story of Brrr the Cowardly Lion’s life. So based on the novel then, Brr must have lived an incredibly mind-numbing and dull life. By the time I finished trudging my way through this snooze-fest, I could not find any redeeming qualities to the novel. If only I could get those hours of my life back… show less
This is the third in the Wicked Years series and follows the lives of Brrr, the Cowardly Lion, and Yackle, a mysterious crone lurking in the shadows, emerging only to nudge events into the line of fate in the previous books. I liked this one much more than Son of a Witch. The Lion offers Maguire more of an opportunity to explore the socio-political world he has created; the Animal rights stuff was some of the most interesting in Wicked, and is explored in more detail here. I especially liked, however, (and was completely surprised by) getting to know Yackle more. If asked ahead of time, I would have thought knowing more about her would kind of ruin her effect, based as it is on her mysteriousness. That Maguire can give us her entire show more story and just make her more of a mystery is impressive and demonstrates his excellent story-telling. It's not the best book I've every read, but any faith I lost in Maguire based on Son of a Witch has been definitely regained, and then some. show less
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Author Information
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Gregory Maguire was born June 9, 1954 in Albany, New York. He received a B.A. from the State University of New York at Albany and a Ph.D. in English and American literature from Tufts University. He is a founder and co-director of Children's Literature New England, Incorporated, a non-profit educational charity established in 1987. He writes for show more both adults and children. His first book, The Lighting Time, was published in 1978. His adult works include Wicked, Confessions of and Ugly Stepsister, Lost, Mirror Mirror, Son of a Witch, and A Lion Among Men. The Broadway play Wicked is based on his book of the same title. His children's books include the picture book Crabby Cratchitt, the novel The Good Liar, and the Hamlet Chronicles series. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Canonical title
- A Lion Among Men
- Original title
- A Lion Among Men
- Original publication date
- 2008-10-14
- People/Characters
- Cantle Osqa'ami; Mother Yackle; Madame Morrible; Elphaba Thropp; Liir Thropp; Mr. Boss (show all 25); Nor Tigelaar; Grimalkin the Cat; Jemmsy; Brrr; Tenniken; Cubbins; Queen Ursaless; Traum; Muhlama H'aekeem; Chief Uyodor H'aekeem; Dorothy Gale; Nick Chopper; Wizard of Oz; Mister Mikko; Professor Lenx; Melena Thropp; Nessarose Thropp; Cattery Spunge; Fiyero Tigelaar
- Important places
- Oz; Shiz, Gillikin Country; Emerald City; Munchkinland
- Epigraph
- The moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves as well. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all... (show all) manner of unforeseen accidents, meetings, and material assistance that no one could have dreamed would come their way. Whatever you can do or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.
- Goethe, by attribution
A statement about luck is a statement about the mind, not about the world. . . . We find what seems to have been the lucky break or the big mistake, and so we thank our lucky stars that we took the road less traveled or curse... (show all) the fates that sent that little wavelet that flipped us on our backs. With hindsight, we seem to see that everything preceding the pivotal point was leading up to it, tending toward it, and that everything following it grew from it.
To any observer outside the lucky one himself, however, luck is simply chance. Chance is neutral.
- Eric Kraft, "I Consider My Luck,"
from Brothers and Beasts:
An Anthology of Men on Fairy Tales - Dedication
- For Maurice Sendak
King of all wild things - First words
- The time came for her to die, and she would not die, so perhaps she might waste away, they thought, and she did waste, but not away; and the time came for her to receive final absolution, so they set candles upon her clavicle... (show all), but this she would not allow.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)But the clouds suggested this only to themselves, while he kept his head down, bent to his task.
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