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A review by streetwrites
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
3.0
Character (3/5)
Plot & Pacing (2/5)
Setting & Surroundings (3/5)
Dialogue & Diction (3/5)
Craft & Voice (3/5)
Reading Experience (3/5)
Final Rating:
2.8/5
Comments:
This was not the book I thought I was going to get. In fact, I struggle to really call this a novel in the spiritual sense. It could more accurately be described as a series of vignettes, which fade out at precisely the most frustrating moments. What we get from Maguire is mostly a tome of philosophy. To his credit, that really plays into the notion of The Wizard of Oz as a morality play, rather than a serious tale that should be interpreted literally. To that end, it must have been difficulty to come up with a backstory that really dovetailed with the original work in a way that made sense. Obviously, the central question of this work is “Is evil born or made?” and Maguire is very clear about the answer being the latter. Unfortunately, he leans heavily into making this tale a work of literary genius and not heavily enough into genre conventions that would have made it infinitely more entertaining. To that end, the music that derives its life from this book, is far superior as a storytelling spectacle and elevates this book in almost every conceivable way (including a more hopeful ending).
Plot & Pacing (2/5)
Setting & Surroundings (3/5)
Dialogue & Diction (3/5)
Craft & Voice (3/5)
Reading Experience (3/5)
Final Rating:
2.8/5
Comments:
This was not the book I thought I was going to get. In fact, I struggle to really call this a novel in the spiritual sense. It could more accurately be described as a series of vignettes, which fade out at precisely the most frustrating moments. What we get from Maguire is mostly a tome of philosophy. To his credit, that really plays into the notion of The Wizard of Oz as a morality play, rather than a serious tale that should be interpreted literally. To that end, it must have been difficulty to come up with a backstory that really dovetailed with the original work in a way that made sense. Obviously, the central question of this work is “Is evil born or made?” and Maguire is very clear about the answer being the latter. Unfortunately, he leans heavily into making this tale a work of literary genius and not heavily enough into genre conventions that would have made it infinitely more entertaining. To that end, the music that derives its life from this book, is far superior as a storytelling spectacle and elevates this book in almost every conceivable way (including a more hopeful ending).