Book Review: Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

Book Review: Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
By Gregory Maguire

I’m always intrigued by the ‘other side’ of stories. Having read The Wizard of Ozby L. Frank Baum when I was a kid, I was indeed curious what could make a woman into a ‘wicked’ witch. Maguire weaves an interesting story and provides a different take and depth on Oz and its characters than Baum’s story.

Maguire’s story follows Elphaba, later dubbed ‘the Wicked Witch of the West’ as her sister is a sorceress in the East who is suppressing her people, but Elphaba isn’t truly evil. She puzzles about life’s mysteries and stands up for Animals and underlings. For some reason, she believes she doesn’t have a soul and due to her green coloured skin, lives a life on the fringe of society. Yet, she is a likable and real character, who you might argue, is simply misunderstood and given a bad rap. For example, she wants the shoes from Dorothy not because she wants their power, but rather, she wants to protect the Munchkinlanders from the Wizard. Her friend, Glinda (the good witch) has given the shoes to Dorothy not understanding their possible influence on the underlings of Oz. It doesn’t help Elphaba’s desperation that the shoes also happen to be a blatent symbol of her father’s love–something she felt she never had enough of growing up–or that her sister promised them to her when she died.

Living on the fringe, Elphaba easily and vehemently took up causes in Oz that others would not dare. To her, a personal sacrifice, even if crippling, was worth it. That to me, is a real heroine and I will never see the Wicked Witch of the West in quite the same light ever again.

(Cool fact: this story was made into a Broadway play (and won awards). Cool!)

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