Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
There was much in Gregory Maguire’s novel, WICKED, that tickled my fancy. Elphaba, the main character more commonly known as “The Wicked Witch of the West” in the Wizard of Oz, sheds her uni-dimensional bad girl image for a more likable and complex one, complete with wounded childhood, lamentable green skin, and a tenderness toward animals. Her childhood days are a hoot (her first word as a baby was “horrors”); her days in college illuminating and self-fulfilling. But alas, as Elphaba’s character begins to tread the slippery slope toward her witchy future, her ethical slide toward evil wasn’t ultimately convincing or successful. So when Dorothy and gang finally do arrive (at the end of the book), it feels more like a confused afterthought rather than a knife-edged climax. Faults aside, WICKED is worth the read. Maguire’s use of language is clever, insightful, and funny, his skill with dialogue is to die for, and Elphaba remains a charming character worth remembering.


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