More than just a retelling, more than parody, or fractured fairy tale, Maguire’s Wicked is a thoughtful look into the nature of evil, and the workings of society. As only subtle satire can, it takes a step back and examines the way we think and operate. And it makes us feel very deeply for the Wicked Witch of the West… and very differently about Dorothy, though her part in the tale is much smaller than we’re accustomed to.

It’s worth visiting (or revisiting) the L. Frank Baum books before embarking on this one, as it takes as much from them as from the movies.

I really liked this book, i can’t explain how, but it impacted my life. I loved this book… i didn’t care much for the ending though. It changed my opinion of the movie. I don’t really care for the Wizard or Dorothy much anymore. My favorite character was Elphaba. But yea… i really liked it. Its the first book i’ve read and kept reading it in a couple years.

Because of an ill-timed arriving library hold, I have had only a few days to read this before it’s due at the library. I can’t renew it because of pending holds, not that I would have the time to read this with NNWM coming up. I’ll try again after the first of the year, perhaps with the musical version instead.

First let me say that I really enjoyed this book. It was fun and witty, and interesting. It was more philosophical and political than I expected, but there was also plenty of plot. It was thoroughly enjoyable.

I must also say that it wasn’t quite what I expected. I’ve seen the musical, and I expected a longer, more detailed version of that story. I remember reasoning from the musical, such as how Elphaba and Galinda became friends, and the role Fiyero played between them, and Elphaba’s beef with the Wizard, and how the scarecrow, tin man, and cowardly lion fit in. It all made sense, but it was all different from the book. The musical is as if they took the barest bones of the book, the idea that the Wizard is actually the bad guy, and Elphaba was trying to effect social change in Oz, and applied it, and a few other things, but really it’s very different. Different good, but different.

I’m not going to go into detail here (to avoid spoilers), but I was disappointed with the ending. I wanted things to work out differently for many of the characters, and I didn’t like the open endedness that left room for the sequel. Basically, the book started out great, and went downhill from there. But it was good.