Wicked Book Review (as in the Wicked book, not like this book review is wicked)

Hai :))

So I'd like to try and pen down a couple of my thoughts on the books I've been reading as of late, specifically for this year. It would help me keep track of the books I've read along with what I think about them and if they end up changing over time. We'll see!

The first book I read this year was "Wicked" by Gregory Maguire. Obviously I read it because of the rise of interest in the story thanks to the movie. I for one have never seen the full musical, so I don't really know how it ends or anything like that. All I have for reference in retrospect is the book, and even then I've heard the musical story differs a lot from the book.

Tonally, I can def see that. The book is a lot darker, and written more like a fantasy novel. The land of Oz was a little difficult to kind of keep track of, spatially in my head, but you really only need to know the West with Kaimo Ko (the castle that Elphaba ends up living in), Munchkinland (that ends up seceding from the empire of the Wizard to become and autonomous state) and Shiz which is basically just like north Hollywood I think tbh.

The narrative was written in third person, so while you understood how Elphaba felt about a lot of the things that were going on in Oz and her feelings of people and situations, you never actually got to know what she thought in those moments, besides the end really. An example of this would be the poetry scene in Shiz between her and Madam Morrible. While you can understand her position politically, you don't actually get to see her form her opinions that lead to her beliefs. 

Now I don't want to just harp negativity- I did think the book was an interesting portrayal of what life is like under a totalitarian regime, and how the use of art, religion, and philosophy can be used as a tool for the state to control a narrative, persuade the masses, and manufacture consent (in this case, consenting to the systemic destruction of the Animals)

I love the idea of Elphaba becoming a political revolutionary(domestic terrorist lol/pos) and wish that aspect of her life was explored more. In the end, Madam Morrible's decision to whip up the tornado and bring a house down on Nesarose was a political action to try and draw Elphaba out of hiding so the Wizard can get his hands on the Grimmerie. By then, however, she had already moved on and the last half of the book really focuses on her denial of forgiveness by Fiyero's widow (Sarima).

Also the story arc of Elphaba stopping her political crusade after the botched assasination attempt at Madam Morrible, then becoming a nun and having Fiyero's baby, and then forgetting she had the kid and then going shamman-esque through the west to find out through a magical Animal that she is destined to become a witch then ending up at Kaimo Ko to become essentially a nanny for Sarima's kids.

Once the house fell and the rest of the story happened, it was just okay. Again, a dark retelling of the story that hinges on the fact that 1) Oz is real, 2) Dorthy was stuck in Oz for like months I think, irl, and 3) that the Tin Man (who was like a woodsman that was cursed with an axe that chopped off all his limbs and he was slowly replaced with metal?? okay... (•_•)...) the Cowardly Lion (which I guess also gets his own book later in the series) and the scarecrow (which was literally just... a scarecrow that came to life) also existed... and were the only weird ass mfs in the whole land of Oz and that's saying something when one of them is literally green, flies on a broom and does magic.

Elphabas death was interesting, as it's the epitome of the thesis of the book. What is good, what is bad, are these inherent, or something we assign that changes, and does it change to fit a narrative we are trying to tell? Dorthy asked Elphaba for forgiveness for killing her sister with her house, and Elphaba realizes that she's given the opportunity that Sarima had with herself. There was the question she's been asking herself her whole life- can I grant this girl the very thing I was withheld, and will that make amends? will my saying "you are forgiven" change her life as the absence of it would?And in her confusion and internal conflict, catches on fire and Dorthy helps the best she can and throws a bucket of water on her. It's a great thing to think about- how by trying to help, with good intentions and all, she killed someone, ended someone's life, against their will. But she also "killed the wicked witch" and is celebrated. A lot of morally grey ideas in this one scene and it's also great that's what the story of the musical centers itself around as well.

Anyway lol I don't hate the book, it's just not necessarily a book that I would read again. I'm sure someone would get a kick out of it, and again it had a lot to say about the use of art and religion in totalitarian states, the nature of good and evil, and what we can do about it all.

6/10 :3