The Fascinating Story of the Wicked Witch of the West: Wicked - A Journey Through the Life and Times of an Iconic Villain

Amazon Customer: Fantastic book.

United Kingdom on Dec 13, 2023

Angelphant: Jättebra bok och den levererades snabbt och utan problem. Tusen tack för bra vinterläsning

Sweden on Dec 11, 2023

Cliente Amazon: The conditions were as reported in the description and therefore I have no notes.

The layout of this edition is very cluttered and oddly spaced (think the early editions of Goosebumps) so I wouldn't recommend it if this kind of detail bothers your attention span/eyesight.

Italy on Jun 07, 2023

Giada BastioliGiada Bastioli: Wicked è il fortunato retelling de Il Meraviglioso Mago di Oz di Baum e la storia si incentra su Elphaba, destinata a diventare la Strega Cattiva dell'Ovest.
Il romanzo è diventato molto popolare grazie anche alla trasposizione a musical, tra i più longevi di Broadway (e che è possibile vedere su Youtube, con una risoluzione pessima ma, ehi, è sempre meglio di niente).

Ciò che amo di più degli antagonisti è scoprire cosa li ha resi tali e questa è sicuramente una delle armi vincenti di Wicked. Qual è la vera natura del male? Si nasce malvagi o ci si diventa? Maguire ci sottopone a molteplici quesiti morali e filosofici mentre ci racconta la storia di questa straordinaria ragazza dalla pelle verde, destinata a farsi consumare dalla sete di vendetta.

A differenza del Mago di Oz, qui non ci troviamo di fronte ad una favola per bambini: in queste pagine vengono affrontate tematiche difficili e profonde come la diversità, il razzismo, il femminismo e vengono posti quesiti religiosi e filosofici. In particolare Elphaba, che viene da una famiglia molto religiosa, si interroga spesso sulla contrapposizione tra fede e scienza, creando dibattiti e riflessioni che...

Italy on Feb 24, 2021

Vienna: I enjoyed this book although I can see where the negative reviews came from. I am impressed by the writers ability to create a full lore surrounding the politics and religions of Oz. That is the what the story is founded upon....politics and religion. There is some enjoyable creativity in the storyline but a lot of politics. He writes characters well and this book is full of ideas. I appreciate the trouble gone into filling out the details of the lion, tinman and scarecrow in brief asides and I felt myself being pulled along by the story. I can’t help feeling a bit disappointed by all the intesting vents and characters that just went nowhere and dropped as loose ends. Wanted opportunities. But...it’s fun and I want to read the rest.

United Kingdom on Nov 13, 2020

C. Aleo: I was introduced to the music of the Broadway musical Wicked not that long ago, and was immediately intrigued with the idea of the Wicked Witch of the West not being as evil as she was made out to be in The Wizard of Oz. What if it was the Wizard who was the evil one? The idea of turning such a revered story on its head was too much to resist, and I was pleasantly surprised when my friend starbreiz sent me some items from my Amazon wishlist, including Wicked by Gregory Maguire.

::: There Is Always More to the Story :::

Gregory Maguire's first novel turned one of the most established legends of our time on its ear with its premise: what if the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz wasn't so wicked after all, but was actually viewed that way based only on perception? The story surrounds the life of Elphaba, the daughter of a minister and a woman who wasn't the most faithful minister's wife ever. Her unfortunate tale begins with her birth, when she is born with green skin, teeth so sharp she bites her own skin, and an aversion to water. Her mother turns to herbal drugs, and her missionary father believes that Elphaba's condition is somehow his fault. The only...

United States on Nov 23, 2015

Tiffany A. Harkleroad: Before there was a Dorothy, before there was a twister, and before the Lollipop Guild sang in Munchkinland, a very strange girl was born, a girl with green skin, who was named Elphaba. As a tiny babe, she was a bit savage, and adverse to water. As she grew, she and her sister attended Shiz University, where Elphaba learned that the Animals in Oz were being oppressed. She made it her mission to join the resistance and fight for what is right and good. Though she seeks to fight the evil forces, those forces instead force her to the margins of society and vilify her to the point that she is deemed a wicked witch.

Wicked is a revisionist view of life in the land of Oz. As a fan of the Oz stories in both book and film since childhood, it only made sense to me that I give this alternate viewpoint a chance. My first exposure to this story was actually through the musical, which is quite different from the book. Where the musical is somewhat lighthearted, with a happy ending, the book is a dark allegory for past and current political actions throughout the world.

With the Animals in Oz being marginalized and repressed, one can see parallels to the Nazi treatment of Jews, as...

United States on Sep 22, 2011