Wicked is Gregory Maguire’s marvelous interpretation of the Wizard of Oz story. A few years ago, I was entranced by his rather cynical and realistic “behind-the-scenes” notion of this tale. Who could have thought of the politics, the pathos, and the twisted perception of events that, in Maguire’s mind, shaped the famous children’s story as we know it today? After reading his ingeniously told Side B of the story, I can never look at the Wicked Witch of the West the same way again.
In case you’re curious about what I deem to be this author’s best, see a review from Room Full Of Words. Indeed you may be hard put to find a rendition of the Wizard of Oz that is charming but also scathing, compelling and so multi-layered in scope as Wicked.
Naturally, I gravitated towards this sequel, Son Of A Witch, which tells the story after the Wicked Witch of the West’s, Elphaba Thropp’s demise.
Author : Gregory Maguire
Date of First Publication : September 27, 2005
Publisher: Regan Books; 1st ed edition (Hardcover)
Date of Publication for this Edition : September 30, 2008
Publisher of this Edition : Harper
ISBN-10: 0061714739
ISBN-13: 978-0061714733
No. of Pages : 464
The Story :
After the revolution that unseated the Wizard of Oz and had Dorothy inadvertently melting the Wicked Witch of the West, the tale in Oz continues. The countryside of Oz is menaced by inexplicable murders in which victims’ faces are scraped off, the crimes many believe to have been perpetrated by the Yunamata. Liir, the little boy in Elphaba’s castle, is found broken and at death’s door. He is delivered to a mauntery either for care or burial. No one knows who he is or what had almost cost him his life, except for Old Mother Yackle, a silent, batty crone who believes he is Elphaba’s son.
The Superior Maunt assigns a young girl, Candle, who plays a domingon beautifully , to give whatever comfort her music may bring, either to aid in Liir’s death or help in his mending. Liir responds to the healing music and wakes to slowly remember what brought him here. His life is a journey of questions : Who is he? Is he really the witch’s son? What of his missions: to find his childhood friend, Nor and to grant the Yunamata leader’s dying wish?
With Elphaba’s broom and cape in hand, he faces his questions as best he can. Meantime, he learns of the political machinations behind all the murders by the powers-that-be in Oz. So he takes up the cudgels of his questioned heritage and decidedly albeit resignedly takes up the fight for the people’s rights just as his eccentric mother of a witch had done before him.
The Review :
I have read Wicked and have been flying around on its broomstick, until I crashed with a resounding” THUD” with Son Of A Witch.
As a sequel, Son Of A Witch is darker and much more serious than its predecessor. The overall feel is like going through a wasteland of negative emotions. Although Maguire incorporates love, forgiveness, perseverance, and honor, they come at the expense of an overbearing sense of depression all throughout the book. It is a dreary fantasy that comes across as too odd, too black, too serious, too everything. Maybe because it doesn’t have that light other side to it like Wicked had. I mean Wicked, although cynical, came out fantastically done because it was more like the “inside scoop” on what really happened in the fairy tale, the Wizard of Oz. That made it totally interesting, without mentioning Maguire’s superb writing and conceptualization yet. Son Of A Witch, though, isn’t based on anything so perhaps immersing in this rather eccentric world becomes too tedious to bother. A non sci-fi reader trying to read science fiction would perhaps know what I mean.
Actually, I am hard put on how to rate this particular book as I did like some aspects and but mostly hated a lot of others. The pros going for this book are Maguire’s prose and main character development. He handles shifting from serious philosophical meanderings to crude down-to-earth remarks rather well. There is humor in this book; Maguire is never without it. His brand is not the subtle kind but straight-to-the point jocularity that is oftentimes laced with sarcasm or vulgarity or even childishness. Character development is to be lauded as well. Liir’s personality progression is realistically paced and drawn.
Now on to the cons…Despite the prose I have always admired of Maguire and the believable development of the main character, the author just manages to strip this book of much appeal. It is its universal dreariness, its oddity perhaps, and its tiresome characters that bring the book down as a crashing bore. I just stayed with the book so I could make this review; otherwise, I would have chucked it out as a waste of time.
To Read Or Not To Read :
I can’t help but compare Wicked and Son Of A Witch because I am sorely disappointed. Invest your time in other reads unless you so love Maguire’s Oz or you just revel in Maguire’s phraseology and his style of festooning his fantasy world with realism. Then, you may not mind the pervasive moodiness this book offers.
In case you still feel like reading Son Of A Witch, don’t attempt to do so if you haven’t read Wicked. The author assumes you have read the first so he does not offer explanations about events or characters in this one. Moreover, the conclusion is a hanging one as the story continues on to A Lion Among Men, the third and last book of The Wicked Years trilogy.
As with Wicked, this sequel is far from a YA novel. Allusions to and spot mention of violence and sexuality categorize this book as adult fantasy.
In A Nutshell:
I don’t think Maguire should have made a sequel, much less a trilogy. Wicked is brilliant in itself and doesn’t need to be propped by a rather unsatisfying addendum.
My Mark : Fair
July 27, 2010 at 4:15 pm
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July 29, 2010 at 12:48 pm
Hi, Jo! Gregory Maguire is one author whose works I have yet to read. I have Wicked in my shelf though, the edition with pictures of the wonderful Broadway show. I think I read the first few chapters, but I can’t recall how I felt about it at that time. I guess it probably got lost in my wicked TBR pile!
July 29, 2010 at 2:34 pm
I’ve got to read Wicked soon… I’ve been dragging my feet on Maguire for the past couple of years!
July 31, 2010 at 5:34 am
Peter, Blooey, “Wicked” is really great! It may be slow going at first; but after awhile it gets interesting when you start connecting events to those in the Wizard of Oz and thinking, “So that’s why this and this happened…”.
I admire Maguire’s imagination in being able to build a world behind a fairy tale and telling it from the perspective of the supposed “bad guy”. That’s what makes him, in my opinion, original. 🙂
Although, I’m really let down with this sequel. 😦
July 31, 2010 at 2:23 pm
I liked “Son of a Witch” and “A Lion Among Men.” Probably because I’m familiar with the Oz series of books (though I’ve never read them). Both sequels subvert what is established in the Oz series, while maintaining continuity–in both the Oz series and the Wicked series.
I thought Maguire juggled the two worlds with deft hands, and that’s not the main reason why I liked the books.
I admit to not having problems with dark and depressing. I love reading/watching horror stories and stories without happy endings. I think they’re a breath of fresh air… for a lack of a better term. But I do understand where you’re coming from.
Then again, I thought Wicked was depressing as well, so the sequels are right in line with the first book. =)
Just my two cents. =)
August 1, 2010 at 9:22 am
Hi! Thanks for the dissenting opinion. Nice to have a discussion here.
A dark theme doesn’t really bother me so much as I do like gothic/horror books as well. It’s just that this particular book seemed rather long drawn out and draggy. So being both broody and depressing, it was a toil of read for me.
Wicked was snide, sarcastic, cynical, depressing, etc. but somehow the author’s way of telling was just fantastic! Maybe it was more upbeat? Can’t tell anymore since I read it years ago. I just remember loving it so much, I even downloaded music from its broadway show.
August 1, 2010 at 9:49 am
I love the soundtrack of the Broadway show. A lot of my friends were disappointed though when they learned that the book was nothing like the musical. Haha.
It’s been a while since I read both “Son of a Witch” and “A Lion Among Men” as well, so I can’t pinpoint exactly what I liked about them. But I do agree that parts of “Son of a Witch” dragged, but “A Lion Among Men” is better as it follows the Lion’s story from Dorothy’s departure to the new regime of Oz. But I won’t spoil that book in case you ever consider reading it. =)
I never saw Wicked, the book, as being upbeat. Probably because I was immersed in the musical’s soundtrack at the time. Now THAT was upbeat. So my guess is that Wicked’s subversion of the popularity of both the Wizard of Oz story and film is really what made it more enjoyable for you than Son of a Witch. as you first assessed. =)
August 1, 2010 at 10:29 am
I wasn’t going to read “A Lion Among Men” anymore after my disappointment with “Son Of A Witch”. But now that you say it is better and it does take up the thread on the Lion, I’m getting curious again. Hmmm…let me not negate this conclusion to the trilogy. Besides, I’m getting curious now how the whole Oz thing ends.
Okay, you’ve got me putting the third book in my wishlist. 🙂
August 1, 2010 at 3:33 pm
haha, now I’m scared that you might have high expectations of “A Lion Among Men”. maybe you can borrow it from someone first?
and I don’t think it’s the last book of Maguire’s Wicked series. I’m hearing something about “Out of Oz”, which is supposedly the next book in the series.
August 2, 2010 at 5:48 am
Not the last? Wow, a lot of people must really like this series so maybe a good thing to try the third book. If it’s anything like Son Of A Witch, I know whom to blame for wasted time. Tee Hee!
August 2, 2010 at 2:18 pm
haha, yikes! =D
but yeah, not the last. i’m hoping the new one would be good.
August 3, 2010 at 7:01 am
Hello! I read the Wicked too! Series of Oz made me to, I’ve been trying to collect all the Oz Series and the spin-offs so I have all Maguire’s books. I haven’t touched Son of a Witch yet because I read/heard some disappointing reviews from it! It makes me sad because I really love every stories about Oz 🙂
Hope that I will enjoy reading this one!
August 3, 2010 at 1:04 pm
Well, I didn’t take to this; but, there are a lot of reviews that would disagree with mine. The best is: read for yourself. Blurredlights above enjoyed it.
Btw, nice to hear from you, isaw08. 🙂
August 20, 2010 at 3:13 pm
[…] Son Of A Witch « Jo's BookShelf […]
October 29, 2010 at 3:16 pm
Hi, I found you through Filipino Book Bloggers. –Nice review. I haven’t gotten around to reading Wicked ..now I’m excited to get it to it ..then maybe take a peek at the sequel.
Take care.
Jinky is reading
October 30, 2010 at 12:51 pm
Thank you, Jinky. 🙂 Yes, you gotta read Wicked.
November 28, 2013 at 9:23 am
Hey Jo! long time where are you?