This is the book that started it all! The basis for the smash hit Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, Gregory Maguire’s breathtaking New York Times bestseller Wicked views the land of Oz, its inhabitants, its Wizard, and the Emerald City, through a darker and greener (not rosier) lens. Brilliantly inventive, Wicked offers us a radical new evaluation of one of the most feared and hated characters … feared and hated characters in all of literature: the much maligned Wicked Witch of the West who, as Maguire tells us, wasn’t nearly as Wicked as we imagined.
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This is the first of the Wicked series and the book that the famous musical is based on. It’s a great read full of complex characters and a great open world.
However, don’t expect this to be like the musical! The musical is wonderful, but it lighter and a little more “child friendly” compared to the book.
The book is as little slow at first, but …
This book will change the way you look at “The Wizard of Oz” for the rest of your life. Basically you know the story and the characters…but not really! I won’t say that this is my favorite book. There are parts that are uncomfortable. It is a book that makes a statement: good versus evil, a book about discrimination, politics,and probably more. …
I found this book about a year or so after it came out and was immediately hooked. I love the Wizard of Oz, and this take on the Oz universe and its characters was absolutely fascinating. The entire series is worth reading and losing yourself in.
Hands down. I’ve been waiting years for this to hit Hollywood. The play was great but imagine what could be portrayed on the big screen that wasn’t possible on stage.
This book was given to me by a friend who loved the twist on the famous Oz which basically goes with life’s saying there are always two points of view to a story.. Loved it as well as many similar classical books the author has chosen to write from another point of view…
Who knew the Wicked Witch of the West could be brought to life in such an extraordinary way? Gregory Maguire did, that’s for sure! The world he builds as the Witch’s will amaze you and brings to her a “humanity” that makes the reader stop and think. I highly recommend this series. You will be richer for having read it.
Wicked is a rather strange yet informative story. Explaining how her childhood was like to how she seemingly went off the “deep end” of her mind & life.
I found it a rather strange yet an intriguing read.
I first read this when it was released and loved it. I re-read recently and some of the gloss has gone (for me). Original and a wonderful adaptation of Oz, but with uncomfortable parts – an inditement on society. Discrimination, violence. Still worth the read.
The land of Oz will never be the same. Maguire takes stories that we think we know and turns them upside down.
After reading about a third of this book I quit. Still couldn’t understand what or why the characters wanted to do.
The only thing I liked about this book was that it was the origin of the play by the same name. I found this story to be boring, trite, and, in some place, just down right discussing.
I only read this because I loved the play so much. If you have seen the play and not read the book then you might want to keep it that way. I sure wish I had.
THE WICKED YEARS SERIES by Gregory Maguire
Oh, I had a love/hate relationship with this series. The series follow’s ‘OZ’ Wicked Witch of the West, her friends, relatives and enemies. The love part…Maguire created a vivid fantasy world, I mean what an outstanding imagination. The hate part…there were parts that were very hard to get into, …
Love this take on a family favourite.
I love it.
Growing up in Kansas I have heard every stupid Wizard of Oz joke a hundred times. As a kid and young adult I did not like the movie. However I enjoyed getting a fascinating backstory of some of those characters by reading Wicked. It was a great read!
So, I have to admit that I love the play, Wicked. So, with that being said, I know that clouds my opinion of this book. It was fine. It kept me listening. I am glad that I listened and that maybe at a later date and time when I am in a different place in my life, I will be able to listen again. I may like it better. For now, I was just okayed by …
I was late coming to the “Wicked” series, but got everything I expected from this much-loved first book. I won’t rehash what thousands of reviewers have said better than I ever could, but if you have even a passing interest in The Wizard of Oz, “Wicked” will not disappoint. Hats off to Gregory Maguire for taking us down his version of the yellow …
By far my favorite musical and I could not put the book down!
This was picked as a book club choice and was very excited to read it. I love reading stories that give you a different version of what you thought you already knew. When I was finished with this book, I wanted to go back and read Baum’s OZ books to see how true to those Wicked was (or could have been) There were little details that came back to …
I love the twist on a classic!