Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

I have always been a huge fan of The Wizard of Oz. This is not the book I thought it was going to be. I'm 150 pages in and I can hardly stand to go on. Nothing is happening! I think it is easily the most pretentious book I've ever read. I will probably only finish it because I paid money for it, but really, where was the editor in this? The 150 pages i've read so far could have been cut down by at least 70. I appreciate setting a tone, but there is such a thing as going to far.

I really would NOT recomend this book!

"Wicked" by Gregory Maguire is a book about the life of the Wicked Witch of the West from L.F. Baum's book "The Wizard of Oz". Both books are political satyrs and use interesting storylines to convoy their message, but that's where their similarities end. Gregory Maguire conveys a 'just because we think someone is evil doesn't mean that they are' type of message, while also introducing a curropt government run by the Wizard of Oz. I personally enjoyed the book quite alot and I recommend it to anyone whos looking for a good political book to read.

The one thing I didn't like about it was that the author didn't seem to bring Elphaba's love of animals and the books 'Animals' to the main storyline as much as it should have. This would have really allowed the reader to connect with Elphaba more.

What I really enjoyed about the book is that its concept was to make us think about how we can label something as evil before we know anything about it. This was a really interesting idea that I enjoyed to read about.

Overall I really enjoyed Wicked and I believe that many people should try to read this book if they have the chance. 9/10

This is his best book! This book has everything.

Everyone has seen the Wizard of Oz. Well, if not, then you have heard of the infamous Wicked Witch of the West from somewhere, and that's where this brilliant novel comes into play. The story is about a little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who is shunned by society and was practically forced to become such a strong person so she can defy all limits, with not only people, but gravity itself. Gregory Maguire has created a truly superfluous image of Oz-where Animals are pushed downwards in society because they are not quite human externally, the Wizard is a devious man who shouldn't have been given such a high place in Oz's government, and Evil is present in ways you never thought possible. A truly fantastic book, it is heartwarming and heartbreaking not at the same time, but at random intervals, weaving in and out of characters throughout the entire novel. A fantasic read. I give this novel, and Gregory Maguire, one completely opened umbrelly, as opposed to a quarter opened, half opened, of three quarter opened umbrella.