In a nutshell, Gregory Maguire's book is the reason we have copyright law. While the writing is vivid, the book reeks of political opportunism and thematic banter that all but spoils the fun of the original L. Frank Baum story and the classic 1939 film. The takes on the Wicked Witch of the West, Glinda, and Oz are just plain weird and take way too many brazen liberties, that just don't mesh with the original story. I picked up the book in the hopes of watching the Broadway musical - I think I might just go take my chances with Sam Raimi's Oz the Great & Powerful instead, or better yet, just go back and enjoy the old 1939 film.

As far as fairy tales are concerned, adults recall them to be simple moral stories of how things go wrong if you want the wrong things. As fond of them as adults may be, the stories aren't often dissected, interpreted, or believed in for much farther than that. Maguire does not intend to create a pretty or perfect world. It seems rather, that he intends to take the perfect pretty worlds we are used to, and turns them into something we hate recognizing about ourselves. He fills his pages full of the things humans refuse to admit about themselves and in several cases he actually makes us sympathize with characters who we as children once hated. It's easier to believe that there is a very blatant line between good and evil, do or don't do. In reality if things were so simple, wouldn't human beings find less struggles? I love Wicked. The once negatively portrayed green queen of evil from Oz is thrown into very sad situations, situations that seem so bizarre and yet, she feels things the same way we all do. It allowed me, to look at people I had once considered enemies, and see they had human nature built into them long before they became my "enemies", they had feelings that led them to wherever they happen to be now.

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.

This is the first novel by Gregory Maguire that I've read, and I can't wait to begin the next! I was expecting an enjoyable read, but what I got was truly exceptional. The only time I was even remotely bored with this story was towards the very end; I felt that the last section could have gone a bit faster - but I would still read it again - the horizons of my imagination have been stretched just a bit further in reading it ;)

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.

Wicked Gregory MacGuire In this telling MacGuire decides to tell the tale of the Wizard of Oz from the point of view of the Wicked Witch of the West, and how she has a tragically misunderstood life, right from her childhood and through her adulthood. Great premise, and it should have been great book, but sadly it wasn't Maybe, I was just not getting the book, I thought it was going to be uproariously funny, and it totally missed the boat. But, then again humor is hard to get across with the written word alone. It lacks the timing, the tonal inflections and facial cues a good comedian or actor can use to punctuate the words. I am not sure I will read more of Macguire's book, and I do have the access to them, as a friend is a huge fan of his work. I am not even sure if I will see the play they have inspired. I am sure I will see the movie this will surely inspire, to see if the right producer/director combination can make it as great as Neil Gaiman's Stardust or Goldman's The Princess Bride. Perhaps, my expectations were to high for this, that they could not possibly have lived up to it. But, I still feel that the premise gives the book the potential to be so much more, and to me it isn't. Maybe, if the humor came across more, and it was less that a tragedy, I would have enjoyed it more. Well not everything will meet everyone's taste.

The concept is great, but I also found the book too political. It made it hard to continue at times.I may read something else by the author, but I am a little reluctant to.

Overall, I thought this book was just okay. I couldn't really get into it. I think its because I'm not a big fan of stories that take place in other worlds that are quite different. My imagination just isn't that great. I found that a lot of the time I was rather lost at what was going on. It took me almost two months to finally finish this book because I just couldn't convince myself to read it. But that being said, I still would like to see the broadway musical so that I can compare the two. I like seeing books I've read being brought to life.