Product 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? And what is the true nature of evil?

Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to be the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3764 in Books
• Published on: 1996-11-06
• Released on: 1996-09-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 406 pages

From Publishers Weekly
With a husky voice and a gentle, dramatic manner that will call to mind the image of a patient grandfather reading to an excited gaggle of children, McDonough leisurely narrates this fantastical tale of good and evil, of choice and responsibility. In Maguire's Oz, Elphaba, better known as the Wicked Witch of the West, is not wicked; nor is she a formally schooled witch. Instead, she's an insecure, unfortunately green Munchkinlander who's willing to take radical steps to unseat the tyrannical Wizard of Oz. Using an appropriately brusque voice for the always blunt Elphaba, McDonough relates her tumultuous childhood (spent with an alcoholic mother and a minister father) and eye-opening school years (when she befriends her roommate, Glinda). McDonough's pacing remains frustratingly slow even after the plot picks up, and Elphaba's protracted ruminations on the nature of evil will have some listeners longing for an abridgement. Still, McDonough's excellent portrayals of Elphaba's outspoken, gravel-voiced nanny, Glinda's snobbish friends and the wide-eyed, soft-spoken Dorothy make this excursion to Oz worthwhile.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal
YA?Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West, has gotten a bum rap. Her mother is embarrassed and repulsed by her bright-green baby with shark's teeth and an aversion to water. At college, the coed experiences disapproval and rejection by her roommate, Glinda, a silly girl interested only in clothes, money, and popularity. Elphaba is a serious and inquisitive student. When she learns that the Wizard of Oz is politically corrupt and causing economic ruin, Elphaba finds a sense of purpose to her life?to stop him and to restore harmony and prosperity to the land. A Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, Scarecrow, and an unknown species called a "Dorothy" appear in very small roles... The story presents Elphaba in a sympathetic and empathetic manner-readers will want her to triumph! The conclusion, however, is the same as L. Frank Baum's. The book has both idealism and cynicism in its discussion of social, religious, educational, and political issues present in Oz, and, more pointedly, present in our day and time. The idealism is whimsical and engaging; the cynicism is biting. Sometimes the earthy language seems appropriate and adds to the sense of place; sometimes the four-letter words and sexual explicitness distract from the charm of the tale. The multiple threads to the plot proceed unevenly, so that the pace of the story jumps rather than moves steadily forward. Wicked is not an easy rereading of The Wizard of Oz. It is for good readers who like satire, and love exceedingly imaginative and clever fantasy.?Judy Sokoll, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

--USA Today
"An outstanding work of imagination."

Customer Reviews

Much Darker than Musical
I first saw Wicked, the musical. Since I loved the musical, I was hungry for more & ordered the book. Now that I am reading the book, the musical seems almost like a spoof comparatively. The book is much, much darker-but it's great. I can't put it down at times. I am glad, however, to have seen the musical first. Because I know if I just hang in there, the happy ending is coming in the story.

Droll & Amusing
While this book was fun to read, it is also a serious attempt into describing the definition of evil versus good. It is also a look into how rumors take hold and just how much a rumor is a rumor and what is the truth? People take different viewpoints on one another and this book shows that.

I am not sure what I expected when I read this book. I have read one other of his book in its entirety and another one that I put down because it was too crude for my liking. This book is much better than those two and definitely had me thinking. I love Wizard of Oz the movie and the book ... but this is such a refreshing change of pace that I enjoyed this book too.

Let's start with Elphaba's skin color. It's green and even her own mother didn't want to nurse her. Elphaba grew up as an intellectual. She disappeared from main society when she decided to take up a cause of saving the Animals (the talking ones, that is) and fell in love with one of her former classmates. Then there's Nessarose, her sister, who is the Witch of the East. Beautiful and beloved of her family, Elphaba had to take care of Nessa until she escaped to the university at Shiz. The comparison between the sisters is simple. One is considered to be ulgy but is the brains. The other one is beautiful but considered to be dim. Now who is the more dangerous woman? Definitely not Elphaba. Elphaba danced more in the shadows trying to avoid controversy. Nessa ruled the Munchkins and is the one that chopped off the Tin Man's arm and set the lovesick carpenter on the road to becoming a man of tin.

This is just a sampling of what went on in this book. It is a story of a woman who legend has made her into a terrible person, when in reality she wasn't. Dorothy wasn't even trying to kill her, just helping to clean Elphaba up. Yet, Maquire showed what could have been and is a different version of Baum's Wizard of Oz. He has managed to tie in the political climes of the 90s into this book and I had to keep looking at the copyright as some of his theories are still timeless that it's true even today.

I have not seen the musical and would love to. While this book is recommended that I read for a book club ... I am glad that I finally had a chance to. It is much better than I expected and definitely kept me on my toes. I love books that make me think.

9/2/08

interesting premise, weak execution
You can read "Wicked", as I did, with little awareness of the musical. Of course this is a clever idea, and we often find the evil or bad people much more interesting, George Lucas' bungling of Darth Vader notwithstanding. Elphaba is the center of attention, naturally, but only occasionally is actually interesting. An opportunity for true development of her character and a mission was lost.

Elphaba, never really "wicked", never really develops. She has her moments, inspired about animal rights and mildly fighting the Wizard's tyranny. I read the theme about the dysfunctional Oz and the suppression of rights and all that as a creative idea, and not as a parallel to America or anything else. Trying to compare Oz to modern times isn't that interesting and, if Maguire really meant to do that, he did a lame job. His story and writing were not nearly sophisticated enough, and he had no plot that developed the theme well enough.

I wouldn't exactly call the book dull. For one thing, I kept wondering when the development into the "wicked witch" would occur and when Dorothy would appear. Why so long in the Vinkus west - is something going to happen? How exactly was he going to hook into the movie's events? It's getting rather late, don't you think? Finally, Dorothy drops in, the action picks up temporarily, and then the novels sputters to its end.

I can see why the musical is apparently different. The novel clearly needed to be adapted for the stage, as it's too dark as is.