What a fascinating book. I had expected Wicked to be a lot less adult than it wound up being, but this was a good thing. The themes it presents and discusses turned out to be a lot deeper than those I had expected to find. In a lot of ways, the plight of Elphaba is a akin to the plight of many adults of the world as it exists today --- plagued not by mistakes, but by things that just didn't really work out the way they were supposed to. I felt myself drawn very very strongly toward Elphaba; she struggles with life in a way that seems surprisingly close to my own struggles. Who knew that I could identify with the Wicked Witch of the West!
One of the book's great strengths is also one of its downfalls, though... The myths of Oz are woven in excellently at the beginning of the book, but by the end, when the confrontation with Dorothy is finally happening, events feel forced and false. This is because Maguire is much more constrained in his presentation at the end, where he has to follow Baum's sequence of events with much more precision, and the rationale for the Witch's actions are really stretched to the breaking point.
Very enjoyable, and definitely worth reading. Not for elementary school kids, though! 4/5 stars.
One of the book's great strengths is also one of its downfalls, though... The myths of Oz are woven in excellently at the beginning of the book, but by the end, when the confrontation with Dorothy is finally happening, events feel forced and false. This is because Maguire is much more constrained in his presentation at the end, where he has to follow Baum's sequence of events with much more precision, and the rationale for the Witch's actions are really stretched to the breaking point.
Very enjoyable, and definitely worth reading. Not for elementary school kids, though! 4/5 stars.
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