So, this is definitely not the Land of Oz of my childhood. Well, it is, but from a markedly adult perspective. I have yet to see the musical that this book was based upon. Perhaps, that is why I have a little more positive reaction to the book than some of the reviews I read about it on the LibraryThing website. Seems like for the majority of people who encountered the musical first, they found the book to be a little too dark and little too twisted. Not sure what it says about me, but I liked the dark and twisted aspect of the novel.
In short, this novel gives us the back story of the life of the Wicked Witch of the West and attempts to explain why she is wicked. And, raises the question if she truly is wicked or just mis-understood.
The first section of the book, Munchkinlanders, centers largely around Elphaba’s parents, and their relationship to each other and their actions following the birth of their, not just unique, but absolutely freakish child. Born with green skin and sharp teeth she’s not afraid to use, Elphaba is not like anything they’ve seen before. Her father, Frexspar, is a minister and her mother, Melena, is the granddaughter of the Eminent Thropp, which is the highest ranking family in Munchkinland. Added to the mix is a Quadling named Turtle Heart who carries on an affair with Melena while Frexspar is off on his missionary journeys.
In the second section, titled Gillikin, we meet the future Glinda, initially named Galinda. She is on her way to begin her studies at Shiz University. This young Galinda is not the same sweet, lovable Glinda from my childhood books and memory either. We instead are introduced to a vain, self-centered, and slightly stuck-up individual. By the end of the book we do see a more mature, thoughtful, yet still not perfect personality emerge. The complicated friendship that develops between these two at university work to shape and mold each other into the later adults they both become. Though they don’t maintain constant close contact with each other, there is a bond between them that remains to the end.
There are three more sections titled City of Emeralds, In the Vinkus, and The Murder and Its Afterlife. This is where we meet and follow the exploits of an adult Elphaba. Her early life is consumed by an affair with a married man and former schoolmate, as well as her secretive involvement with others who want to bring about political and social change. The intersection of those two passions end with tragic results which upends her life and ultimately sends her on a quest to redeem and reckon with what she feels she has caused to happen. One would call this time a period of soul-searching, except she does not believe in the existence of a soul. It is also during this time that she reluctantly reconnects with her father and sister, both of whom she is at odds with on religious and social matters.
Maguire explores many spiritual issues throughout the narrative. What is the nature of Evil? What is the soul? Is there an afterlife beyond the physical realm? How best to ask for and bestow forgiveness? Additionally, he touches upon political and social commentary as well. What qualities make for a good ruler? Should various social classes have equal say and rights within larger society? I think it’s fair to say that more questions are posited than are actually answered and solved. Yet, the journey along the way is definitely worth taking. It is not a happy, shiny, rose-colored trek within these pages. Real life happens here. Dark and gruesome deaths take place. Maguire has done a wonderful job of building his own narrative onto an already established fantasy world first created by another. He certainly puts his own stamp and personality onto it, but does so with many nods to the original work, which I believe shows his respect and admiration for that which came before.
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Notes from a Book Nerd 