W I C K E D
The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
a novel by Gregory Maguire
c. 1995, HarperCollins Publishers This novel presents a disturbing and provocative view of Oz from the Wicked Witch of the West's perspective. Finally deemed worthy of a name, readers follow the life of Elphaba as she grows from a neglected infant to a much misunderstood woman murdered by a cold mercenary from Kansas. Author Gregory Maguire paints a bleak, cynical picture of Oz filled with secret police, racism, oppression, sadism and more. This isn't the fairy tale from your childhood... Overall the book is thought provoking and extremely rich in language and imagery. It's a treat to read. The exploration of morality is compelling and the conflict between good versus evil is reduced almost to a debate between semantics. In some ways it's possible to compare Wicked to Lolita in the way the evil of the central character is humanized. Not so much bound together by a story, the book explores a darker side of Oz by outlining its history. Expect the book to offer a wealth of ideas and images rather than a page-turning plot. In many ways, the novel is poetic in nature. I enjoyed it thoroughly and recommend it. Oz is less enjoyable now that I am an adult and the debate Maguire raises in Wicked is more compelling, in some ways, than the black-and-white morally clear world Baum painted for my childhood. -- Scott Love
ISBN 0-06-039144-8
September, 1997
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