
Now, you might be saying to yourself that it is still 2010 and I just said that I bought a book. Alas, it is April and I have caved in a little. In fact, I have bought several books with my own money, not with gift cards or Christmas money. At Fred Meyer’s the other day there was a 3-for-2 sale on books, and I bought another Odd Thomas book, a trashy science fiction book and a calorie guide. While we might argue that the calorie guide falls under the category of a health item, it will help me control my calories which should help me eat better, a constant goal, the Koontz and science fiction books were not only not necessities, but were pretty far down on the list of books I wanted to read. If we consider the science fiction book as the free one, and the calorie book as a necessity, then I really only bought one unneeded book.
But then I was so disappointed for having spent money on such pedestrian reading material, I had to console myself by buying four good books at Gulliver’s. When I say “good” I simply mean these books were in the Literature Section and not the Fiction Section, although I think that Gulliver’s chooses which books to put in which section simply by the bindings. The books were used, which is more than I can say for the 12 books I bought with Christmas money at Powell’s back in February, and they were high on my reading list: Camus “The Plague”, Maguire “Wicked,” Fergus “One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd,” and Gerrold “The Martian Child.” I was careful not to buy a book I already owned---which is one reason I put the ban on book purchases---and they are all books I have thought about buying in the past.
I found “Wicked” engaging. I usually read one Faulkner short story and the analysis of it by Volpe each night before I read anything else, but I actually put off Faulkner for a few nights to finish “Wicked.” It didn’t help that I was trying to read “Red Leaves,” one of Faulkner’s longest short stories, and while not difficult to read, is difficult to understand. I finished it this morning, and found out from Volpe that I had missed the point altogether!
Although “Wicked” was fun to read, I was expecting it to be more like the Tuesday Next novels, and so had to come around to not expecting so much literary humor. There were funny bits, and it was interesting to read a possible back story to the classic Oz characters. I have read some Baum, and while Maguire was being faithful to the movie, I couldn’t remember if he had included elements of the book that were not like the movie. Of course, now I want to reread Baum. “Wicked” is a story of an entire life, from conception to possible afterlife, and the big questions are the nature of good v. evil, religion v. paganism, and humans v. Animals. I wish I understood more about the political history of the Twentieth Century, because the brief reviews on the back cover of the book said that it was a satire of certain political events. The image of Hitler is clear, and I think I saw elements of protests again the war in Viet Nam, and exploitation of the oil fields on the North Slope in Alaska. But, you know, sometimes you can take a story and make it anything you want.
The Wicked Witch of the West is humanized in this novel, with relationships with many more humans than we ever dreamed. I found the story about Elphaba, the given name of the witch, strong enough to stand on its own and was a little disappointed in how that life was merged with the events we know from the movie. This is another one of those books that I felt did a good job of developing characters and relationships, and telling the stories of characters lives, but there seemed to be a big difference in that writing and how the ending was brought together. I will never write a novel, but I can see that the ending and closure have to be the hardest parts.
I see that Maguire has written other books, about the lion, about stepsisters, and one called “Son of a Witch.” I don’t see myself reading these, but if I was in need of a book to listen to, they might be a possibility. I find the offerings on Audible.com somewhat limited and struggle to find audible books that are more than just fluff. On the other hand, I am willing to listen to things I wouldn’t read. Who knows.
I've always wanted to read this book as well, however have heard negative comments just like your sister's. Would you say it was worth reading?
ReplyDeleteHey, Macy. "Wicked" is not the light-hearted book that I think a lot of people wanted it to be. OZ is a magical place that we all grew up with, but "Wicked" is about darker than the OZ we know. The wizard's regime is destroying the land, treating sentient creatures like the Jews in Germany, and squashing any rebellious group. The book is really a commentary on politics in the guise of a prequel to the "Wizard of Oz." I'm glad I read it so that I would know what it was like (and I am now curious to see the musical), but it is not a book I would recommend.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious to hear about "Little Bee" when you get done.