Fairy tale retelling, interesting reading and silly at times, but like the other Maguire book I've read before--Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister--I found it to be a bit slow and draggy in spots, and my attention wandered. Definitely not as good as all the hype had me hoping for. Still, I found the speculation as to the origins of Glinda and Elphaba--and her dead sister and the ruby (actually silver) slippers from L. Frank Baum's tale quite interesting and amusing, as were the political machinations that got the Wizard where was when Dorothy came on the scene a few years later. Maguire certainly has an imagination! I’d like to see the Broadway production of this, though--I bet that would be something!

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire begins decades before Dorothy falls into the scene, with the birth of a strangely green baby girl who has unusually sharp teeth. We follow Elphaba as she grows up, attends university, and falls into the political turmoil behind the scenes at the Emerald City. Maguire paints a detailed background of the realistic politics that shape Oz into the country it is when Dorothy arrives. The Wicked Witch of the West may be a tortured soul, but for different reasons than you had previously thought. The book is perfectly understandable even if you have never seen the movie or read the original book, but several parts are much funnier if you have. The end of the story can drag on if you are not interested in introspective psychological monologues, but flipping past a few pages of internal commentary can speed the story along.

Literary Quality: 8/10

Enjoyment: 8/10

Not at all like the musical. If this is why you want to read the book you will be disappointed.

This book was awful! Boring, boring, boring! AND HORRID!

This book is great. Be prepared that it will not follow your idea of "Oz" with respect to the movie. There are definate "religious" and political undertones. However it will capture your imagination and you won't be able to put it down.

Impossible for anyone who hasn't read the book to believe that they'd be able to suspend disbelief enough to accept the Wicked Witch of the West as the "good guy." My son-in-law nearly disowned me when I tried to describe the book to him.

Still, this book can and does make you believe it!

You'll never look at Oz the same way after reading this book. But don't worry, Judy Garland singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" will still sound good to you if it does now.

A good, if rather long, read concerning the Wicked Witch of the West's side of the story. Dragged a bit here and there, but worth taking the time and reading.

Really a great book, and a lot darker than you're probably expecting.

A fascinating look from another perspective of the characters from The Wizard of Oz. A little difficult to get into the language (some words that were supposedly 'common' but were never really explained) but other than that, really enjoyable.

A good book. Story drags on in some places.

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loved it

This book definitely sucked - while you come to care for the "wicked witch" she still makes incredibly stupid choices and doesn't stand up for the people in her life... by the end I was just hoping everyone would die and I wouldn't have to think about them anymore.

Hard to follow sometimes but i enjoyed.

What an interesting story. I wish I could think up stuff like this. I really enjoyed the book though would have preferred a different ending.

enjoyable read.

Beautiful writing and great story on many levels...

absolutely fascinating; absolutely riveting -- the Wizard of Oz had it all wrong!

very good story, a version of Oz from the so called bad gal.

Excellent novel ~ the story of Oz as told by the Wicked Which of the West. If you have seen the play, you will still be captivated by the ending...

Great for the Wizard of Oz lovers, the author's style definitely shines here. A fabulous tale, very imaginative.

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