Wicked Book Review

Title: Wicked
Author: Gregory Maguire
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Fiction,

In Wicked by Gregory Maguire It tells the story of the Wizard of Oz from an entirely different point of view. In Wicked we learn about a green child called Elphaba and her armless sister, Nessarose. These two characters are more commonly known as the “Wicked witch of the west” and the “wicked witch of the East”. During Elphaba’s school years she becomes pals with the Galinda (the good). We know how the wizard of Oz ends but in wicked Dorothy is only seen in the Prologue and in the final section of the story; but what does Elphaba think of Dorothy? She did kill her sister after all.

The main character in this book is Elphaba. Elphaba is more commonly known as the wicked witch of the west. She has green skin and black hair; she grew up with her mother and a Nanny. Her father, Frex who is a priest was almost never around for her childhood. A glass blower, Turtle Heart lived in their household also. For the most part Elphaba is realistic, if you forget about the green skin of course. She had a hard childhood and is teased for being different. She has a love of books and will read all day if she has the chance. I think that Elphaba is not a typical stereotype; but there are other characters that have the terrible childhood background. I do like Elphaba because she is a twisted fresh look on a classic witch. Elphaba is the main character in the novel Wicked. Another important character is Galinda (the good). Galinda is Elphaba’s roommate at Shiz University. Galinda has creamy ringlets of hair, perfect red lips and she is very smart. Galinda is very realistic. She comes from a rich family, is beautiful, very smart and is a popular person in school. Galinda is very stereotypical because she is popular blond of Wicked, just as Elphaba is the ugly outsider. I am not very fond of Galinda because she seems to be to perfect and right all the time. Galinda’s importance in the Wicked is she will end up becoming “Galinda the Good”.

In the novel Wicked some issues/ideas include Family life, Religion, Mystery, friendship, death and horror. Family life is a theme of Wicked because Elphaba is raised by her Mother, Father, Nanny and Turtle Heart in the country side. Religion and mystery are themes because Frex, Elphaba’s father; is a priest. He tells us about a Dragon clock tower and its mysterious powers. Friendship is a theme because Galinda and Elphaba gradually become friends as they spend their time at Shiz University together. Death and Horror are also themes because of the death of loved ones and the disasters that follow in the ripples of those deaths. This book makes you think about what good and evil truly is. Is Elphaba the bad witch like she is made out to be in the Wizard of Oz? Or was she just misunderstood and mourning over the death of her sister. Is Galinda really all good and no evil? Or will Dorothy the bad guy this time?

I really enjoyed Wicked, although Munchkinlanders was a little boring the pace picks up in Gillikin. Wicked has affected my outlook on good and evil because it is just really point of perspective. I cannot personally identify with the characters of Wicked but I can imagine what it would be like to be in their situations. Like Elphaba being the outsider; Galinda the popular girl or Melena the cheating wife. From this book I have learned that you should give people a chance to get to know them before you decide if you like them or not. I also learned that you should not judge people from the color of their skin (Elphaba being green).