Wicked
The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
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4.0 • 912 Ratings
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- $16.99
Publisher 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.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
When we first went over the rainbow in L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, we heard the story from a simple Kansas farm girl’s perspective. Gregory Maguire’s delightful Wicked gives us the real dirt on what happened. Elphaba Thropp, later unfairly dubbed the Wicked Witch of the West, is a real piece of work, but you’d be prickly, too, if you grew up with green skin, deathly allergic to water, and having everyone calling you horrible names. Far from a stock one-dimensional villain motivated by mindless evil, Elphaba’s pushed to extreme measures by her rough childhood and Oz’s sociopolitical turmoil. Maguire compassionately fleshes out Baum’s source material with echoes of Catholic theology, ancient Greek theatre, and Dickensian literature, making Elphie’s triumphs and tragedies hit way harder. Politically charged and emotionally resonant, Wicked demonstrates that there is often more to a story than you first hear.
Customer Reviews
Not like the play, but not a bad thing
Incredible 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.
Great book but no map!
Buyers beware! The e-book is without the maps! I contacted Apple and they confirmed it. If that's important to you then hold off buying.
My Absolute Favorite Book
I've re-read Wicked once a year since I first got it about 12 years ago. Every time, I discover another layer of meaning depending on my frame of mind. The first time through, it was just a fun new twist on my favorite story. Now I pick up on layers about racism, religious tension, true friendship, and on and on...
I've read at least a hundred other books since the first time I read this one, and still nothing compares.