Wicked
Gregory Maguire
"Wicked became a musical several years ago and it gained a lot of popularity, so that's how I first heard of the book. I read it because the whole concept is it's another side of The Wizard of Oz, and I can't even tell you how many times I've seen The Wizard of Oz. I've seen it so many times.
Wicked is a fantasy book, and I do enjoy reading fantasy. It is about the other side of Wizard of Oz, so to speak, the history of Oz; it's mainly about the person we know as the Wicked Witch of the West and how she is born in Munchkinland, she's born green, she's got teeth, she's a scary little being. Kind of skips ahead to her life in like a high school boarding school and the friends she makes and her life there; and it kind of gets into the politics of Oz and who the Wizard is, and he really just kind of took over Oz and became like a dictator. It's really about what life would be day-to-day in Oz, and how it's a real civilization. It's obviously a fantasy, but Gregory McGuire has really written it to be like a real civilization.
I like most fantasy books. I like that this book gave us -- or at least gave me -- sympathy for her. It didn't just paint her as the witch as the Wizard of Oz did. It told her side of the story, how most of what is portrayed in Wizard of Oz is her being like this bad, evil being is really just the things that happenstance in her life. I have not gotten a chance to see Wicked. I don't know if it's coming back to the area; I would like to see it, but so far I've just read the book twice. Really enjoyed it. I think Wicked may be catered maybe more towards a younger audience -- maybe not, actually. The Wizard of Oz has been around for years and years and years, so I think anybody who can suspend disbelief and enjoys anything that's fantasy and has taken any interest in The Wizard of Oz could really pick this book and get a kick out of it. Out of five stars, I'd say it's five."
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