Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
An enjoyable read. It’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, except in Oz. I’d really like to go back and read the Oz series all the way through (I’ve only read the first two) to see how much of that history is woven into this story.
Also, this book has a lot more sex in it than the other Oz stories I’ve read, so there’s that.
I seem to recall that they made her green color really appealing.
I enjoyed it but ultimately I felt that it was aimed at getting me to dislike Dorothy more than empathize with the main character.
SPOILER WARNING:
I believe they used the green color as her stigma of sorts. It made her strange and an outsider, but at a few points people realized that it looked good on her, when properly accessorized.
I disagree that they made Dorothy dislikable. I believe they portrayed her as an unwitting pawn, and the Wicked Witch even says that Dorothy reminded her of herself when she was younger, and even expressed sympathy that Glinda had sent the poor little thing into the clutches of the Wizard.
In the end, I think the Witch just went a little nuts over her failed life.
Hmmmm, It’s been a while; I think I may need to re-read it.