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Wicked

The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

By Gregory Maguire

(67)

| School & Library Binding | 9780613621694

Book Description

Following the traditions of Gabriel GarcÍa Marqu,z, John Gardner and J.R.R. Tolkien, Wicked is a richly woven tale that takes us to the other, darker side of the rainbow as novelist Gregory Maguire chronicles the Wicked Witch of the West's odyssey through the complex world of Oz -- wContinue

Following the traditions of Gabriel GarcÍa Marqu,z, John Gardner and J.R.R. Tolkien, Wicked is a richly woven tale that takes us to the other, darker side of the rainbow as novelist Gregory Maguire chronicles the Wicked Witch of the West's odyssey through the complex world of Oz -- where people call you wicked if you tell the truth.

Years before Dorothy and her dog crash-land, another little girl makes her presence known in Oz. This girl, Elphaba, is born with emerald-green skin -- no easy burden in a land as mean and poor as Oz, where superstition and magic are not strong enough to explain or to overcome the natural disasters of flood and famine. But Elphaba is smart, and by the time she enters the university in Shiz, she becomes a member of a charmed circle of Oz' most promising young citizens.

Elphaba's Oz is no utopia. The Wizard's secret police are everywhere. Animals -- those creatures with voices, souls and minds -- are threatened with exile. Young Elphaba, green and wild and misunderstood, is determined to protect the Animals -- even it means combating the mysterious Wizard, even if it means risking her single chance at romance. Even wiser in guilt and sorrow, she can find herself grateful when the world declares her a witch. And she can even make herself glad for that young girl from Kansas.

In Wicked, Gregory Maguire has taken the largely unknown world of Oz and populated it with the power of his own imagination. Fast-paced, fantastically real and supremely entertaining, this is a novel of vision and re-vision. Oz never will be the same again.

13 Reviews

  • 3 people find this helpful

    The story started out well enough, but I quickly grew bored with it. The writing is unengaging and rather bland throughout. And for some reason, the author seems to think the reader wants to know when any character decides to take a piss. Literally. I'm sure there's some symbolism there I didn't car ... (continue)

    The story started out well enough, but I quickly grew bored with it. The writing is unengaging and rather bland throughout. And for some reason, the author seems to think the reader wants to know when any character decides to take a piss. Literally. I'm sure there's some symbolism there I didn't care to figure out.

    The last part of the book was better than the rest (following as it did hundreds of pages of boring political and religious machinations and thinly veiled allegories on civil rights) but by the time I reached those final 100 pages I was reading not to find out what happened, but just to get through the thing.

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    ― Cuzzin Todd said on Feb 3, 2008 about the Paperback edition | 1 feedback

  • 2 people find this helpful

    It was fun to listen to this talke from a different perspective. So what really happened??? :) This might be a fun book to read for an adult book club. At times I thought it was a little drawn out.

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    ― SheReads said on Mar 6, 2007 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • 1 person find this helpful

    Really clever retelling of a classic story. Maguire clearly has a great mind, and it was put to good use here. The Wicked Witch as you've never seen her before. Looking forward to seeing where the series goes after this.

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    ― Jaemi K said on Jan 20, 2009 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • "So far, so great." - Demi Lovato
    It's.. okay. :D I love the musical more though, to tell you all the truth.

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    ― Spotted said on Sep 23, 2009 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • Not So Wicked Witch

    A destined, sad and failure character from the "Wizard of Oz." A story is told in the point of view of this sad witch. Everyone has his/her own story that centered around himself/herself. Maybe every vicious bad guy can be sympathized by their own account.

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    ― artie said on Jan 8, 2009 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • Wicked Waste

    Just finished. Took me awhile. Too much hype on this book. The story was okay but not a page-turner. I did at least finish the book but will wait before reading anymore Maguire books. Maybe I should have read The Wizard of Oz first.

    Is this helpful?

    ― Bibliophile said on Oct 13, 2008 about the Paperback edition | 2 feedbacks

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ISBN Edition List Sale Seller
9780613621694 School & Library Binding $24.60 $24.60 Amazon US
£13.82 -- Amazon UK
¥2865.00 -- Amazon JP
Other editions →
+ 1 copy tradable: 1 in USA →

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