cp0329

MrsTC Posted: Jul 14, 2003 11:55 AM

cp0329

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

what's this about - the witch from Oz? Sounds awesome!!!

Jordan Posted: Jul 14, 2003 12:07 PM

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This is one of my absolute favorite books - I fell in love with Elphaba (Fabala), the 'wicked witch of the west'. It tells the story of her life and brings you to the Oz that we 'know' from the Wizard of Oz...
It's an absolutely beautiful story with the classic good & evil plot...very well written & great character development. IMO, of course.

Jordan Posted: Jul 14, 2003 12:08 PM

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From bn.com:

From the Publisher
When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil?

Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to be the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.

Synopsis
An astonishingly rich re-creation of the land of Oz, this book retells the story of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, who wasn't so wicked after all. Taking readers past the yellow brick road and into a phantasmagoric world rich with imagination and allegory, Wicked just might change the reputation of one of the most sinister characters in literature.

MrsTC Posted: Jul 14, 2003 12:27 PM

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wow! I am going to try and see if booksfree.com has it. If not, I'll have to track it down! Thanks

Lunatrek Posted: Jul 14, 2003 12:30 PM

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He wrote another book about Cinderella, which I thought was SOOOOO much better. I read both of them (read Wicked Witch first) but I definitely liked the Cinderella one a lot more. I thought the Wicked Witch one strayed just a BIT too far from Th Wizard of Oz. Cinderella was more true to the original. They were both great, though!

Jordan Posted: Jul 14, 2003 12:35 PM

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See, I thought 'The Ugly Stepsister' was lacking...I thought it dragged. What I loved about 'Wicked' was that it told you a completely different story based on a childhood favorite. The whole time, even knowing how the wicked witch bites it in the Oz, I was rooting for Fabala to somehow, survive. *sigh* It was just a beautiful story, imo...whereas the Cinderella story was too closely knit with the original, for my imagination.

Lunatrek Posted: Jul 14, 2003 12:38 PM

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Very interesting!!! I see what you mean! 'Different strokes for different folks', I guess. I always like things to stick to the original... I guess that's why I hate cover bands too! LOL

Jordan Posted: Jul 14, 2003 12:40 PM

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The thing is, 'Wicked' didn't necessarily stray...it told the 'back' story of one of the main characters - whereas, the original never told it. The original led you to believe that the 'wicked witch' was in fact, wicked. It ends in the same fashion that the Oz did - both stories sort of meet up in the road.

But like you said, different strokes for different folks. For what it's worth, I don't like cover bands either.