Book: Wicked by Gregory Maguire

Date Read: March 19 to June 2, 2021

Rating: 4 (of 5) stars

I chose Wicked as a match for the challenge to read a book by an author I have never read—in this case, an author I own more than one unread book from. I added this one to my shelves around the time that the musical was really taking off. Being a long time fan of the Wizard of Oz film, I was really intrigued by the idea behind the story. Eventually I was able to see the musical, which appeased my curiosity for a bit, and then a less-than-favorable review from a friend had me moving it down the list of upcoming books. This was also right around the time I started college and began accumulating books much faster than I could read them. Somehow, I ended up with the full series on my shelves before ever opening the first book. Seems odd when I consider that my friend’s dislike delayed reading, but did not discourage me from buying the remaining books. The logic of a book hoarder, I suppose.

Despite the span of time it took my to get through this one, I actually quite enjoyed it. It was not exactly what I was expecting it to be, and I will start by saying that the musical was definitely inspired by this story, not truly based upon it. Honestly, I thought this was fitting—the translation from the source text to musical felt similar to that of the original Wizard of Oz story to film. The story itself feels a little flat, with character development skirted a bit in favor of actionable moments. This is morphed a bit, and livened up with music, to create a much more engaging experience. That’s not to say, of course, that lovers of the musical will not enjoy the novel, only that the experience is different. The origin of the Wicked Witch is still there, with Elphaba largely presented as misunderstood, although a bit less sympathetic than in the musical.

I enjoyed that the author used aspects of both the original story and imagery from the film in developing Elphaba’s back-story. Fans of the original Oz stories likely know that the primary tale contains many aspects of political allegory. Keeping true to its origin, this in definitely a tale of politics, much more overtly than Baum’s first Oz tale. Elphaba in essence is a political rebel and refugee; this leads her story to be darker and more adult than other Oz iterations. There are themes and commentaries around politics and religion, good and evil. Although consistently intriguing, it could get dense at times and was certainly not a quick or easy read. In the end, I felt that the effort was worth it. The reader gets a good picture of what can lead a person to be considered wicked—Elphaba has a troubled life, resulting some erratic and desperate behavior which is easily framed by those who feel threatened by her. Even her final interaction with Dorothy seems to be based in a major misinterpretation of motives from multiple ends.

Minka’s Thoughts: “All those familiars, and not one cat. It’s a shame. 2 paws.”