Wicked - Gregory Maguire

[poppyshake]

I must read this, as soon as the library get's a copy in, it's coming home with me

[chesilbeach]

Mine's on order at the library as well! It's says "On its way" but it's been like that all week and still no sign

[Kylie]

So how is everyone going with Wicked? I know there are lots of us reading it at the moment.

 

I'm up to part 5. I really like Elphaba and I notice things are starting to tie in with The Wizard of Oz. I like the occasional subtle reference to characters from the original book. I can't quite reconcile Elphaba with the Wicked Witch of the West from L Frank Baum's book and the Hollywood movie though.

 

I'm enjoying some parts more than others. I found it a little difficult to get into at the beginning but once Elphaba started college it really started picking up.

[AbielleRose]

I think in a way you need to think of Elphaba as a completely seperate soul from The Wicked Witch from the Baum books. Here, she is the heroine and the reader tends to form an emotional, empathetic bond with her as opposed to seeing her as the cold, mysterious villian in The Wizard of Oz.

 

I much prefer her character in Wicked not so much because we simply get to know her better, but because if you step away from the magic and fantasy of the novel and you strip away all of the 'impossibility' of the book itself you see a girl who is just like many individuals in our world today, people who are judged prematurely because of how they look or because they don't fit in with ideal society and who's life choices are influenced because of that. In so many ways Elphaba as a beautiful character who has really captured a part of my heart.

 

After finishing I will definitely be reading the rest of the series

Edited May 16, 2010 by CaliLily

[Kylie]

Beautifully said Abby! And I agree with it all. I really try not to think of Elphaba as the Wicked Witch of the West, and it's kind of easy because they are such very different characters.

[AbielleRose]

Thanks They really are so different that its hard to reconcile the fact that they are, in fact, the same witch. It really isn't until

Dorothy comes in that the reader can finally take Elphaba from Wicked and The Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz and combine them into one single character. The way Maguire writes Elphaba during that part is absolutely perfect.

 

 

I would be really interested to know what either Frank L. Baum himself or Baum enthusiasts would think about this adaptation. Obvously a character such as this will be reinvented time and time again in various works but Wicked almost feels like the 'original' leaving The Wizard of Oz as the 'spin off', IMO. THAT is quite a feat.

[Kylie]

I'm always quite wary when an author takes someone else's well-loved book and characters and writes another story about them, but Maguire has done it really well.

 

I don't usually try to predict a book's ending or plot happenings, but I had a moment last night where I think I figured out how it will end (well, we all know how it ends but I mean in the way it plays out). I'm anxious to see if I'm right, and if I am, it will be a very satisfying end.

 

I've been feeling quite sorry for Elphaba. She seems to think her life is a waste.

[AbielleRose]

Ooh, I'm anxious to see if you're right too! Out of curiosity, would you put it in spoiler tags or PM me? *is too curious for own good*

 

Do you plan on reading the other books in the series?

[Kylie]

Yes, I definitely plan on reading the others. I have the third one but need to buy the second book.

 

I'll PM you. Wicked is a re-read for you isn't it?

[AbielleRose]

K, sounds good. Yes, it is.

[Kylie]

Well, I was wrong with my theory, but the ending was great nevertheless. I really felt sorry for Elphaba and her lot in life. I can't wait to see the stage show now.

[DanC_84]

Well, I was wrong with my theory, but the ending was great nevertheless. I really felt sorry for Elphaba and her lot in life. I can't wait to see the stage show now.

 

Is it still in Sydney Kylie?

[Kylie]

Yes, but I'm not sure for how much longer, so I better get a move on! Has it been to Brissy yet?

[DanC_84]

Yes, but I'm not sure for how much longer, so I better get a move on! Has it been to Brissy yet?

 

LOL, it won't come here. We only get the mega-shows, the level of demand for Wicked up here would not be enough to sustain the cost of the show, no way it comes here. We only get Phantom and the like really.

 

I've been to Melbourne a couple of times to see it though, and I saw it in London a couple of years back, so I don't really mind.

[Kylie]

That's a shame. I thought it was supposed to be pretty big so if doesn't come to you then you must be really hard done by! Now I understand why they talk about so many interstate visitors going to Melbourne and Sydney to see it. I always wondered why people didn't just wait until shows came to them. Suddenly I appreciate living in such a big city a little more...

[frankie]

This book was a very peculiar one for me. At the beginning I really struggled to get into the story, part II of the book was a lot better and I was sucked in to the story. At some point, much later on, I kind of lost the meaning of the book, I couldn't understand where the book was going, why the book was written in the first place (and what it had to do with Baum's novel, I wish I'd re-read the book before reading Wicked). At the end of it I was just so eager to finish the novel.

 

I guess I'd thought that the Witch that is mentioned in the Baum novel would be introduced earlier on, now she wasn't there until the very end. I mean sure it was nice to read how she'd turned into what she was but to me it was difficult to fit all the pieces together.

[chesilbeach]

Hmmm ... I've got this on order at the library, but I have to admit, I've never seen the film (too scared of witches when I was a kid and haven't completely got over that yet ) and I've never read the original book either - is this going to be a problem for reading Wicked?

[BookJumper]

I've never read Baum's book, had only a vague recollection of the film left over from my infancy and I think that if anything, this state of affairs enhanced my appreciation of Wicked - I wasn't comparing it to anything, and so could enjoy it on its own terms. As far as I can tell it's impeccably researched and should make a lot of sense read hot on the heels of Baum's work, so I think both methods can work well Chesil .

 

Frankie, I think the problem you may have had is that the novel is only a part of a much grander vision (the Wicked Years series); I read Son of a Witch straight after finishing Wicked and the smallest things in Wicked are expanded in SOAW until you suddenly understand their significance. SOAW doesn't explain everything either, but then that's what A Lion Among Men is for, surely I would heartily recommend SOAW, by the way, I loved it even more than its predecessor.

[chesilbeach]

Thanks, BJ. I was starting to get a bit worried that I wouldn't get it, but you've convinced me that it's worth giving it a go.

[frankie]

Frankie, I think the problem you may have had is that the novel is only a part of a much grander vision (the Wicked Years series); I read Son of a Witch straight after finishing Wicked and the smallest things in Wicked are expanded in SOAW until you suddenly understand their significance. SOAW doesn't explain everything either, but then that's what A Lion Among Men is for, surely I would heartily recommend SOAW, by the way, I loved it even more than its predecessor.

 

I was reading reviews of Wicked on goodreads.com and one person had actually listed all the stuff that Maguire didn't explain in the novel (e.g.

why didn't Elphaba tolerate water etc.

) and it left me thinking that I have a lot of unanswered questions about the novel but then again, I can't figure if I'm interested enough to learn about all that stuff. I have too many amazing novels waiting for me.... Thank you, anyway, for your input, now I don't feel so bad about not exactly loving the book

[Kylie]

Did anyone know there is a fourth book coming out in the series? I was just looking up Maguire's books at the BD and found Untitled Wicked 4 available for pre-order (released on 2 September).

[BookJumper]

Oooh I'll see whether W's will preorder it for me; I really must get a move on and acquire a copy of A Lion Among Men, then, if at all possible in pretty hardback with yellow end-pages *curses self for not parting with the mere

[Kylie]

Ooh, I didn't know it came with yellow edges! My copy is just a large format paperback. So does Son of a Witch come in a pretty edition with colourful edges too?

 

Oh, and I bought tickets to Wicked last night! I can't remember the date now but it's at least a few weeks away, maybe a month.

[BookJumper]

All of Maguire's first edition hardbacks have pretty coloured end-pages, alas both of my Wicked Years 1 & 2 are horrid cartoony ones but I do want the entire series in hardback rather badly I am also ogling the B&N leather omnibus of W/SOAW, it has to be admitted.

 

Yay for Wicked tikkies you have fun!

[AbielleRose]

All of Maguire's first edition hardbacks have pretty coloured end-pages, alas both of my Wicked Years 1 & 2 are horrid cartoony ones but I do want the entire series in hardback rather badly I am also ogling the B&N leather omnibus of W/SOAW, it has to be admitted.

 

I own this as well Couldn't resist a few months back...it was shiny.