Elphaba's life is hard from her first breath onward. Everyone has an opinion about why this Unionist minister's daughter has the greenest skin around. No one quite trusts her. Yet she is, like anyone, in need of friendship, love, independence, purpose. In her native Munchkinland, life is rural - the most intriguing complications of life happen at her own doorstep. Her eyes are opened to politics and class struggles while she studies in the lands of Gilikin, and while there, she first meets a friend, Galinda, and an enemy, the Wizard of Oz. She battles injustice and also becomes the mistress to a Vinkus prince. Before long, she is struggling to recover her soul and move into position for the destiny her wickedness demands.

...anyone needing to shake up their usual reading list (especially if you are back to college attending classes, my dears). There is some sexually explicit material even within the first few chapters. It's shocking at first, given the children's story source of the book, but it

Elphaba's life in the Land of Oz is a true journey - maybe truer than any impertinent farmgirl we know about.

the vicious talk by the children at Kiamo Ko

Read the original Frank L. Baum Oz books to compare "histories." I'm particularly curious if the concept of Animals and animals was solely constructed for the discussions in Wicked.

By the middle of the book, I felt like smoke was going to pour out of my ears since my brain was working furiously at rewiring all I had known and accepted about Glinda "the Good Witch," the doddering old Wizard, cowardly Lions, etc.

As most have grown up seeing the musical Wizard of Oz movie (many, many times), the idea of taking its main villianess and letting readers peer into the strife that created her is brilliant.

There are intelligent dialogues about the nature of good and evil, philosophy, politics, sexual mores, tyranny, magic and religion.

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Created Jul 24, 2005 at 3:33am • Submit your own review...