I am determined to find the brilliance in Wicked so I've decided that sometimes, going to the root of the problem will bring clarity and perspective. I read this when I was very young and don't remember it. I really think I won't be able to understand Wicked until I re-read the original tale. So here goes...Review 4/3/15Read a book that was made into a movieI think everyone has seen the movie or the musical or both, so unless you've been living under a rock or in an apocalyptic shelter for the past hundred years, there really aren't any spoilers to this story. And if you are my friend there is a good chance that you know already that I read this book because I wanted to get the correct backstory before I went any further with Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. You see, I had read this book long ago as a child, and though a few things stuck out to me, most of the book got lost in the movie translation, which you know, tends to happen with a film and musical that is as popular as this one. Therefore, I wanted to figure out if the book I was reading was based on the original L. Frank Baum tale, or on the movie version, because I couldn't figure it out. And after some research, I found out a lot of interesting factoids about the original tales. They were extremely political in nature, and dealt very much with good ole Teddy Roosevelt. In fact, Dorothy and Theodore are backwards names of each other. (Say both out loud...come on, you know you want to. It will blow your mind once you hear it.) It also should be noted that the Broadway musical was written and produced only a year after the book was published, and the 1939 film was based on the musical, so it can be said that the musical drifted away from the book more so than the film (although the ruby slippers were an invention of Hollywood, not Broadway). Now that I have read the original tale, there are several myths that both the movie/musical and Gregory Maguire novel have circulated, and ones I am going to (graciously) clear up for you. You can thank me later.Here is a cover of the original published book, just because it is so purdy.Ok, here goes:Myth #1 (the most obvious and the one everyone pretty much knows): Dorothy's slippers are ruby redThough Dorothy does get the slippers from the Wicked Witch of the East when her house falls on her, and they do contain magical powers, the slippers in the book are silver, not ruby. This was actually an invention of Hollywood for the film, and adaptations of the musical followed suit afterwards.Myth #2: The Wicked Witch of the West is greenNope, nope, and nope. Absolutely NO MENTION WHATSOEVER to the Wicked Witch of the West having green skin. This was clearly an invention of Hollywood as well, and one that Gregory Maguire used to form much of Elphaba around. Too bad, it has no basis in literature.Myth #3: The Witch of the West and the Witch of the East are sistersAnother big fat nope. No mention at all of this. All that is said is there are four witches. One in the north, south, east, and west. North and South are good. East and West are wicked. Not sisters. It doesn't even seem clear that they know each other either. There goes another big plot point of Maguire's to a Hollywood invention. And we don't even see the Witch of the West until 60% into the book. She's not upset about the house "falling on her sister" or the fact that Dorothy stole the shoes. She only wants the shoes herself because of their power. So the most famous little speech that everyone knows it made up too:Or, you know, something like that. Myth #4: The Flying Monkeys are the Witch's evil henchmenNo, the witch just so happens to be in possession of a magical golden cap that lets the wearer call on the assistance of the flying monkeys three times. (Kind of the like the magic lamp in Aladdin). She uses her third wish to have the monkeys kill Dorothy and her friends. After that, they have no allegiance to her. In fact, the flying monkeys serve both Dorothy and Glinda in the book as well. Myth #5: The Wicked Witch stalks DorothyNah. She's just pissed that they came to her kingdom, invited. Just like any ol' garden variety wicked witch. She doesn't poison the poppies, and she doesn't ride around on a broomstick asking to "Surrender Dorothy" at the Emerald City. In fact, I don't even think she owns a broomstick, or flies around on it.There are more myths, but honestly, these 5 are the bigger ones. Even though this story is very very different from the movie, I actually enjoyed the movie better, maybe because I grew up loving it, or maybe because I found it had more depth and interesting plotline, and the movie elevated the story higher than just a fable or simple folktale, which is what this book seems to be. But I still love the characters, and the element of fantasy than Baum creates effortlessly. It is a quick little read, and fun. And, if I were at all knowledgeable about the political climate of 1900s America, and the political satire that is contained within, I think that would be a pretty awesome added level of fun too. I will eventually read all 15 books in this series because I do wish to learn more, and I also think that more of their stories are brought into Wicked which will further explain Maguire's odd sense of world-building.So, now I'm headed back to the little green girl and her odd little troupe of friends.
Dorothy, (from Kansas, where ever that is), lives with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry, on the flat, American prairie, the harsh Sun beating down, from the gray sky, making everything turn gray ... the gray grass, house, clothes and especially the people, animals, are probably gray too, might seem the least likely place that she visits, that is real. No trees, brooks, beautiful birds singing or anything colorful around the poor farm. But our adventures begin when a tornado lifts unlucky Dorothy and her dog Toto, and only friend, while inside their small, one room house, up into the swirling, whistling, ominous, black sky, scared Aunt Em, in the cellar ( a dark hole in the ground, under the floor), hiding and Uncle Henry outside taking care of the frightened farm animals. The little girl is all alone with her dog, as the strong winds of the storm takes her higher and higher, always going above and further from Dorothy's loved ones, who is the blood relative, isn't stated . After countless hours pass, she falls asleep on her bed. Awakening by a loud noise, the house crashing down on the ground, the next day, terrifying Dorothy ... opening slowly the door, she is stunned, everything is beautiful, the brilliant colors, green grass, a lovely stream, gorgeous flowers, trees with delicious fruit hanging on their branches, birds sweetly singing, everywhere her eyes can see, blue skies. But strange, small people are timidly coming towards Dorothy,(they think is a horrible witch), she feels uneasy, looking fully grown and about the little girl's size, Munchkins, they welcome her to this wonderland. And thanking the girl for their freedom and killing the wicked Witch of the East, whose body lies underneath the house. The pretty Witch of the North, (and is good also, unheard of), news spreads quickly in the Land of Oz, gives Dorothy the magical silver shoes of the dead sorceress. The farm girl wants to get back home to Kansas, asks directions, nobody knows, but all tell Dorothy to follow the yellow brick road, to the Emerald City, where the Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz, presumably lives and rules. Trouble is, people never see the terrible wizard, but he is the only one who can help Dorothy get back home. On the long journey, the young girl and Toto, meets the brainless failure, the Scarecrow, stuck on a pole, the Tin Woodman, rusting outside in a forest ( tin doesn't rust), the Cowardly Lion, attacking the group on the road, and afterwards crying, all join Dorothy on her quest, for a brain, a heart and courage ( the joke of this story is, that every traveler already has them, even Dorothy's wish, can be easily achieved). Ditches have to be jumped, wild animals fought, rivers crossed, ugly flying monkeys, bees, poisonous blue, red, yellow, white and purple, flowers, thick, gloomy forests, weird people some unfriendly, and not made of flesh,( the evil, dreadful, Witch of the West, in her , impenetrable, dismal castle, but that is later), must be overcome, to reach the fabulous Emerald City. They have a secret weapon, Toto is not afraid of anything ... he can look behind the curtain.
Do You like book The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz (1995)?
I thought it interesting that in the foreword Baum says he didn't want this to be violent like the fairytales of the past... and yet, a little girl transports to a strange land, kills the first person she meets, and teams up with three strangers to kill again. They also kill various creatures on their path of destruction.Perhaps we could savor all the violence but have a much more abridged version with the following:
—Katie
I had not only watched the well known Wizard of Oz movie with Judy Garland first, but I'd also read the Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, as well as seen the Broadway musical of Wicked, before getting a chance to read this classic. Well, that's not entirely true, when I was young, my grandfather had started to read the book to me and my brother, but unfortunately we never finished it before my brother and I grew too old to be patient while someone read to us. At any rate, watching the movie, and reading the other perspective, and seeing the Broadway adaption of that other perspective colored my view on the book when I finally did read it.While I am used to Hollywood just bending and rewriting everything to suit their needs first before even considering to be respectful of the story, I really was absolutely amazed by how different the story was compared to the movie. It also amazed me, and gave me a new respect for Gregory Maguire as I saw how many things he did in his book to not only nod to the original book, but respect the twist Hollywood gave it when they did their treatment.This book is a good choice to read to children when they're starting to learn how to sit still for longer periods of time, or if a grandparent or relative wants a book they can read a chapter at a time to a child when they see them. When they get older, it's also interesting to start showing them how Hollywood changes things when making movies, and even changed, it can still be a well respected classic.
—Amy
This is a book I read as a child, even before I saw the musical, and enjoyed a lot. However, my memory of it was overshadowed by the film. So it was a good experience to read it again as an adult.The book is worth reading, not least because it differs in some major ways from the film adaptation. The biggest difference is that the whole dream sequence scenario, in which people from Kansas are transmogrified into figures of fantasy, is entirely absent. Dorothy wears Silver Shoes, not Ruby Slippers. And so on and so forth.Baum says in the preface that he has tried to offer a modernized fairy tale: "[...] for the time has come for a series of newer "wonder tales" in which the stereotyped genie, dwarf and fairy are eliminated, together with all the horrible and blood-curdling incidents devised by their authors to point a fearsome moral to each tale. Modern education includes morality; therefore the modern child seeks only entertainment in its wonder tales and gladly dispenses with all disagreeable incident."[Baum, L. Frank (Lyman Frank) (2012-05-16). The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (p. 4). Kindle Edition.] While it's true that the story does not "point a moral," (at least not obviously), it fails at sanitizing away the "horrible and blood-curdling incidents." For example, the Winged Monkeys maul Dorothy's companions badly at one point. The Woodman tells a horrific back-story not included in the film, in which he undergoes unheard-of torture at the hands of the Wicked Witch of the East. The Lion faces some gruesome opponents, one of which is rather Tolkienesque in its monstrosity.But there are charming episodes, comic touches and witty turns of phrase which give this children's classic an old-fashioned appeal, in spite of what Baum says about being modern.
—Richard
