Wicked
By Gregory Maguire
- Release Date: 2009-10-13
- Genre: Fiction & Literature
Description
When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious Witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked?
Gregory Maguire has created a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again.
Reviews
Not like the play, but not a bad thing
4By wonderkick11Incredible to think someone could read this and then make the play so happy and funny. Full of optimism if this is the original text. This book is very dark. Very adult themes and big ideas and philosophical talkings that are hard to understand. I think this book was written to talk about social problems but under the disguise of a fairy tale. It’s not the play. Not really at all, but I liked this read all together. I liked seeing a different side to a story we all know. But definitely not for the light of heart.Uhhhh….
1By Deeamyia01Not for me personally.Good voice
5By Miracle467Loved his voice he did a great job. Good book!Dark and gripping
3By sashasss96I’ve never read anything quite like this. I loved reading Boq and Glinda’s POV and the additional background on Oz was fascinating. There are some interesting elements in the world-building (for example, there’s heavy religious tension). Elphaba is a phenomenal protagonist and Glinda is a thousand times more vivid on the page. The meat of the story is its COMPLEX political themes — corruption, classism, colorism, marginalization, etc. It’s highly dense and intellectual. At times the text does feel bloated with tangents and extraneous detail, and I really slogged through the third quarter. MANY descriptions made me cringe. Overall, I found it deep, dark and gripping. And icky. Very icky. I couldn’t put it down but I’m not keen to pick it up again.Had trouble keeping it open
2By faghollowXDI, like many others, fell under the guise that this would have some direct connection to either the 1939 film, which was only somewhat referenced, or that it would hold some closeness to the Broadway adaptation. Perhaps I should have done a bit more research. The part of the play in the book is maybe 13% of the book and that’s if you skipped the “vulgarities and less family friendly parts”. As an adult I imagine with a card or Apple account it’s a bit childish to be so squeamish, but there are for sure some parts that make me think something should have mentioned some of the somewhat disturbing parts before sealing the deal and finalizing the purchase. Regardless, I was nearly incapable of keeping super strong interest and thumbing non-stop. To say the least the plot was thickened for some form of backstory but it was boring for the most part. I certainly couldn’t put into a plot diagram where the exposition ends, the rising actions start, and certainly not where the climax is, although the whole book felt like a conflict… of whether to put it down permanently. Maybe I just overlooked but it also lost my attention for three months of picking up and putting down. I know I am pleased I didn’t get the whole series because it’s not often crossed my mind to DNFInteresting read
4By GwylliamI wasn’t really sure of this book at first but it sucked me and kept me flicking the pages from right to left for a week. It’s different and worth a read.This came before the musical!
5By Bokwa DionFor all the reviews saying that it was not like to musical or they read/listened to it, because they love the musical. Please note that this book came long before the musical was created. The themes in the book, deal with sexuality, rape, xenophobia, and at times is very political. This is not a companion piece to the musical. The musical is similar in a lot of aspects however, some of the more graphic contact has been removed and edited for a more family-friendly audience. For that matter, it is not even a companion piece to the movie because it takes place prior to the events in the movie. Go into it with an open mind and heart and you’ll enjoy the ride!Amazing
5By Donut dude!Do not go into reading this expecting it to be like the musical. It is completely different. But it is absolutely fantastic. It deals with sexuality, good versus evil, individualism, politics and everything else under the sun in a powerful way. Maguire’s writing style is so unique and addictive. Probably not for everyone though: definitely not light reading. I would 100% recommend at least sampling this book though, it’s one of my new favorites!!Disappointing
1By Broadwayj7I was so looking forward to reading the back story. Unfortunately, it is nothing like the stage musical at all. The verbiage is very difficult to understand and the story often times doesn’t make much sense. I was looking forward to reading a series, but I’m gonna have to spare myself the trouble of trying to get through another McGuire novel.From the 1939 movie to this...
1By topher6262I bought this book because I wanted to know what all the hubbub was with the stage play; which I have yet to experience. Otherwise, I am coming from the love of the 1939 movie, ‘The Wizard Of Oz’. If the author was trying to create something new, that much was a success. But, taking characters we all have known since the 1939 movie and giving them altogether different characteristics and sidling up to any parallels to well known actions or activities and acting like an alternate reality has occurred without warning the reader to expect, and, changing those well known outcomes - it’s hard to accept. This book is full of descriptive sexual exploits and the gamut of spectrum dealing with politics. The Wizard is described as a tyrant who wants and needs to proliferate his reach. There are new characters that seem to be more at the frontlines than one would expect. Elphaba, The Wicked Witch of the West, was so far removed from the movie screen character; more demure than anything, even if she (sparsely) shows anger. She is hardly seen as the boisterous evil witch of the screen. She takes on the role of victim more than all other character traits. Be prepared to look up a plethora of words and sit through so much rambling. Honestly, hard as it was, I finished the first book hoping to find some spell or magic to say that something would cause the books characters to be whisked backwards in time, at some point to start again, so the story would have to realign with the activities of the movie. Instead, it was a doubling down to conclude in its own right; which was very disappointing overall. In the end, this book gives me no interest in continuing with the rest of the series. Again, this is coming from one who has only known of the movie version of the story to base this review on.Wicked
5By Moosie55I could not put it down! I could feel all the emotion felt. Made my heart pound. Cried. Loved the wicked witch. Only wish Fierro and Elphaba were together in the end. I saw the WICKED play this year for the first time. Bought the musical show album. I listen driving to work daily. I always loved the Wizard of Oz growing up since 1960. Thank you for the books . Cannot wait to start on SON OF A WITCH...love it
5By minecraft mini mani love wicked the musical and i like this book a little bit worse than wicked the musicalDidn't live up to the hype
3By kittenringThis book is not at all what I expected from growing to love the play. The characters all meet a very unhappy end. I like something happy to look forward to in a novel and this book didn't provide that for me. The language in which Maguire writes can be hard to follow at times. The story was definitely very inventive and had a lot going on, but it was too political for my taste. I wouldn't really recommend this book. It was alright, not great and not horrible, if that makes sense.AMAZING
5By Hdjfkkfienanshem0398765I thought it was the best book everMy new favorite book
5By Smosher98This book is amazing! I'll never be able to watch "Wizard of Oz" the same way again.Wicked: interesting, but not meant for young children
4By HolabachoWicked shows the interesting point of elphaba(AKA the wicked witch of the west ) and maguires view on oz. I enjoyed this book, but didn't think it was 5 star worthy, because of some unneeded sexual content and strong language.It was ok
3By TheyLovinTheCruuuzI honestly hated how hard it was for me to get the whole picture. The language was annoying. I used the dictionary a lot during reading this. I ended up using the spark notes to understand everything. Idk... To each is own.Maps??
2By snitroWhy can't we get the book which has the maps? Which is the other cover... Please make it available ... That would be great!Omg
5By Gio creditThis is the most amazing book before you see wicked the musical helps you understand it read it love it
