City Travel Guides
Home Page > Go back a page
Books : Wicked (Wicked Years 1)
Rating: 
- Something wicked this way comes
Occasionally there are those ideas that seem so blindingly obvious, so clever but clear that you just wish you had thought of them first. And so it is with Gregory Maguire’s work. Take a familiar, well loved tale or folk story, and turn it on its head. Postmodernism comes hurtling against the Brother’s Grimm in a truly startling smash. Wicked is the sugary sweet tale of the Wizard of Oz told from the perspective of the Wicked Witch of the West.
Rather than the insufferably precocious and wide-eyed Dorothy we get to enjoy the life story of Elphaba, and Maguire weaves an impressive narrative to fill in the gaps in the original tale. Why did the wicked witch want the shoes Dorothy had stolen so much? Why was she green? And why do they have to sing? Maguire answers (nearly) all these questions in a book that is far more than a take off of the original. It is an entirely independent world, forged out of the idea of Oz but seen through very different eyes.
And so we have the witch’s birth, the explanation of her struggles through university, and the complex socio-political order of Oz. The strife with the Emerald City, the oppression of the Animals (those beasts who possessed personality and speech), and the true nature of Munchkinlanders is all laid bare. And most importantly a deep and moving story of the witch’s own transformation is told. She loves, and loses. She has deep political concerns, and is betrayed. By the end of the book we are unsurprised by her bitterness, and her untimely demise at the hands of Dorothy is a moment of sadness rather than the joyous victory of ‘good over evil’.
Essentially the novel is a very well written story, and should provoke interest from anyone who has read the original or seen the movie. But in many ways it is a more fundamentally important work. Without been unnecessarily pseudo-intellectual it really makes you think about the nature of good and evil, and really focuses on the idea that the history is written by the victor. By extrapolating these ideas into the fantasy world of Oz, Maguire has more freedom to present these sobering ideas. So we start to empathise with the Witch, who in the movie is the ultimate hate figure, the embodiment of evil. We start to dislike Dorothy, and despise the Wizard for his tyranny. When both sides of the story are told, when the mirror is held up to Oz society, it becomes clear that there is more to the tale than you would have thought.
But don’t get bogged down in this nonsense. Enjoy what is fundamentally a crackingly well told story, that takes an adults’ delight at shattering a childhood myth. The only thing I wonder is when Tim Burton will get the movie rights ...
Rating:
- I can't put this down!
I had been told about this book but it had been undersold. What I have discovered is a book that is immediately enthralling. A story that obviously comes from a man with a very vivid imagination. It is almost believable! Not one for the children though. I will be purchasing more of the authors books.
Rating: - Definately worth a read
I first found out about this book because I became interested in the musical adaptation and I loved that so much I decided to order the book. To start with I wasn't that impressed but I am so glad that I stuck with it. Although it's setting is familar to people who know the Oz stories (or at least have seen the film), this is Oz with a twist and this adds to the enjoymnent because things are not at all what you expect. Although you know what the ending is going to be, how the author takes you there and gets you to consider what is evil and whether someone is born evil is fasinating, and as i got closer to the end of the book I couldn't put it down. I will definately be purchasing other books by this author
Rating: - Wicked? The Witch Strikes Back
Occasionally there are those ideas that seem so blindingly obvious, so clever but clear that you just wish you had thought of them first. And so it is with Gregory Maguire’s work. Take a familiar, well loved tale or folk story, and turn it on its head. Postmodernism comes hurtling against the Brother’s Grimm in a truly startling smash. Wicked is the sugary sweet tale of the Wizard of Oz told from the perspective of the Wicked Witch of the West.
Rather than the insufferably precocious and wide-eyed Dorothy we get to enjoy the life story of Elphaba, and Maguire weaves an impressive narrative to fill in the gaps in the original tale. Why did the wicked witch want the shoes Dorothy had stolen so much? Why was she green? And why do they have to sing? Maguire answers (nearly) all these questions in a book that is far more than a take off of the original. It is an entirely independent world, forged out of the idea of Oz but seen through very different eyes.
And so we have the witch’s birth, the explanation of her struggles through university, and the complex socio-political order of Oz. The strife with the Emerald City, the oppression of the Animals (those beasts who possessed personality and speech), and the true nature of Munchkinlanders is all laid bare. And most importantly a deep and moving story of the witch’s own transformation is told. She loves, and loses. She has deep political concerns, and is betrayed. By the end of the book we are unsurprised by her bitterness, and her untimely demise at the hands of Dorothy is a moment of sadness rather than the joyous victory of ‘good over evil’.
Essentially the novel is a very well written story, and should provoke interest from anyone who has read the original or seen the movie. But in many ways it is a more fundamentally important work. Without been unnecessarily pseudo-intellectual it really makes you think about the nature of good and evil, and really focuses on the idea that the history is written by the victor. By extrapolating these ideas into the fantasy world of Oz, Maguire has more freedom to present these sobering ideas. So we start to empathise with the Witch, who in the movie is the ultimate hate figure, the embodiment of evil. We start to dislike Dorothy, and despise the Wizard for his tyranny. When both sides of the story are told, when the mirror is held up to Oz society, it becomes clear that there is more to the tale than you would have thought.
But don’t get bogged down in this nonsense. Enjoy what is fundamentally a crackingly well told story, that takes an adults’ delight at shattering a childhood myth. The only thing I wonder is when Tim Burton will get the movie rights ...
Rating: - Another World
I absolutely loved this book. It is the first time I have read anything by this author (it was bought for me as a gift) so I had no pre-conceptions of what to expect when I started reading it. I literally could not put it down - It is very atmospheric, the story drives along at a fast pace and I loved the way the characters developed. It is such a clever and well thought out book - the way it takes threads from the Wizard of Oz and gives explanations from a totally different perspective. I wouldn't say it gives you some deeper psychological understanding of wickedness or anything as profound as that and it may be true, as a previous reviewer has commented, that it leaves some elements of the plot unexplained, but it is so incredibly imaginative and so beautifully written that I could forgive it anything. Pure escapism - Bliss!
- Something wicked this way comesOccasionally there are those ideas that seem so blindingly obvious, so clever but clear that you just wish you had thought of them first. And so it is with Gregory Maguire’s work. Take a familiar, well loved tale or folk story, and turn it on its head. Postmodernism comes hurtling against the Brother’s Grimm in a truly startling smash. Wicked is the sugary sweet tale of the Wizard of Oz told from the perspective of the Wicked Witch of the West.
Rather than the insufferably precocious and wide-eyed Dorothy we get to enjoy the life story of Elphaba, and Maguire weaves an impressive narrative to fill in the gaps in the original tale. Why did the wicked witch want the shoes Dorothy had stolen so much? Why was she green? And why do they have to sing? Maguire answers (nearly) all these questions in a book that is far more than a take off of the original. It is an entirely independent world, forged out of the idea of Oz but seen through very different eyes.
And so we have the witch’s birth, the explanation of her struggles through university, and the complex socio-political order of Oz. The strife with the Emerald City, the oppression of the Animals (those beasts who possessed personality and speech), and the true nature of Munchkinlanders is all laid bare. And most importantly a deep and moving story of the witch’s own transformation is told. She loves, and loses. She has deep political concerns, and is betrayed. By the end of the book we are unsurprised by her bitterness, and her untimely demise at the hands of Dorothy is a moment of sadness rather than the joyous victory of ‘good over evil’.
Essentially the novel is a very well written story, and should provoke interest from anyone who has read the original or seen the movie. But in many ways it is a more fundamentally important work. Without been unnecessarily pseudo-intellectual it really makes you think about the nature of good and evil, and really focuses on the idea that the history is written by the victor. By extrapolating these ideas into the fantasy world of Oz, Maguire has more freedom to present these sobering ideas. So we start to empathise with the Witch, who in the movie is the ultimate hate figure, the embodiment of evil. We start to dislike Dorothy, and despise the Wizard for his tyranny. When both sides of the story are told, when the mirror is held up to Oz society, it becomes clear that there is more to the tale than you would have thought.
But don’t get bogged down in this nonsense. Enjoy what is fundamentally a crackingly well told story, that takes an adults’ delight at shattering a childhood myth. The only thing I wonder is when Tim Burton will get the movie rights ...
Rating:
- I can't put this down!I had been told about this book but it had been undersold. What I have discovered is a book that is immediately enthralling. A story that obviously comes from a man with a very vivid imagination. It is almost believable! Not one for the children though. I will be purchasing more of the authors books.
Rating:
- Definately worth a readI first found out about this book because I became interested in the musical adaptation and I loved that so much I decided to order the book. To start with I wasn't that impressed but I am so glad that I stuck with it. Although it's setting is familar to people who know the Oz stories (or at least have seen the film), this is Oz with a twist and this adds to the enjoymnent because things are not at all what you expect. Although you know what the ending is going to be, how the author takes you there and gets you to consider what is evil and whether someone is born evil is fasinating, and as i got closer to the end of the book I couldn't put it down. I will definately be purchasing other books by this author
Rating:
- Wicked? The Witch Strikes BackOccasionally there are those ideas that seem so blindingly obvious, so clever but clear that you just wish you had thought of them first. And so it is with Gregory Maguire’s work. Take a familiar, well loved tale or folk story, and turn it on its head. Postmodernism comes hurtling against the Brother’s Grimm in a truly startling smash. Wicked is the sugary sweet tale of the Wizard of Oz told from the perspective of the Wicked Witch of the West.
Rather than the insufferably precocious and wide-eyed Dorothy we get to enjoy the life story of Elphaba, and Maguire weaves an impressive narrative to fill in the gaps in the original tale. Why did the wicked witch want the shoes Dorothy had stolen so much? Why was she green? And why do they have to sing? Maguire answers (nearly) all these questions in a book that is far more than a take off of the original. It is an entirely independent world, forged out of the idea of Oz but seen through very different eyes.
And so we have the witch’s birth, the explanation of her struggles through university, and the complex socio-political order of Oz. The strife with the Emerald City, the oppression of the Animals (those beasts who possessed personality and speech), and the true nature of Munchkinlanders is all laid bare. And most importantly a deep and moving story of the witch’s own transformation is told. She loves, and loses. She has deep political concerns, and is betrayed. By the end of the book we are unsurprised by her bitterness, and her untimely demise at the hands of Dorothy is a moment of sadness rather than the joyous victory of ‘good over evil’.
Essentially the novel is a very well written story, and should provoke interest from anyone who has read the original or seen the movie. But in many ways it is a more fundamentally important work. Without been unnecessarily pseudo-intellectual it really makes you think about the nature of good and evil, and really focuses on the idea that the history is written by the victor. By extrapolating these ideas into the fantasy world of Oz, Maguire has more freedom to present these sobering ideas. So we start to empathise with the Witch, who in the movie is the ultimate hate figure, the embodiment of evil. We start to dislike Dorothy, and despise the Wizard for his tyranny. When both sides of the story are told, when the mirror is held up to Oz society, it becomes clear that there is more to the tale than you would have thought.
But don’t get bogged down in this nonsense. Enjoy what is fundamentally a crackingly well told story, that takes an adults’ delight at shattering a childhood myth. The only thing I wonder is when Tim Burton will get the movie rights ...
Rating:
- Another WorldI absolutely loved this book. It is the first time I have read anything by this author (it was bought for me as a gift) so I had no pre-conceptions of what to expect when I started reading it. I literally could not put it down - It is very atmospheric, the story drives along at a fast pace and I loved the way the characters developed. It is such a clever and well thought out book - the way it takes threads from the Wizard of Oz and gives explanations from a totally different perspective. I wouldn't say it gives you some deeper psychological understanding of wickedness or anything as profound as that and it may be true, as a previous reviewer has commented, that it leaves some elements of the plot unexplained, but it is so incredibly imaginative and so beautifully written that I could forgive it anything. Pure escapism - Bliss!