Having read this at 15 and coming back into it 20 years later, changed how I saw the story. I also think that the medium in which I consumed it effected my appreciation for the book. I do wish Gregory Maguire had used more chapter breaks, (I probably said the same thing at my younger age) but it worked for him. Having come back to a tale many years after reading the first time, filled in a lot of the gaps, that I seam to have forgotten, or simply misplaced. And if you are expecting, the musical, you can toss that idea out. This book is filled with political intrigue, religious affliction and themes of Subsigation, oppressionand cruelty. Could there have been more action and dialog, sure. Are there drawn out parts that could have been shortened, absolutely, but for the story to work we needed some of that.