Zhou May May itibaren Nialishpara, West Bengal 742187, Hindistan itibaren Nialishpara, West Bengal 742187, Hindistan

This book made me want to work to get Obama elected in 08.

It must be a real beast of a burdon to write a sequel something as odd and endearing as "Wicked". The successes of the first novel in this would-be series are two-fold... 1) The novel itself was a rather original and adult take on a character that was one of the most cliched villians in the history of story-telling ("I'm a witch! I want to kill you!"), that managed to turn her into a sympathetic and rather complex heroinne. For those who loved the first book (not everyone did), it took an iconic archetype and turned it on its head in a very satisfying way. 2) Even if you never read "Wicked", the popularity of the Broadway show made sure that Elphaba (as opposed to the Wicked Witch of the West) wormed her way into pop culture. Granted, the Broadway Elphaba was a watered down version that reflected only a fraction of the layers and complexity from novel's Elphaba, but popular is popular. So with these two avenues of success behind him, Gregory Maguire set out on a new and riskier venture: write a sequel, but this time without the character that was the heart of the success the first time around. The memory of Elphaba certainly hangs like a shadow over "Son of a Witch", but its obvious that Maguire's plan was to tell a story much broader than the one of a single character. Some of the negative reviews proove that many readers disagree with him, but Maguire seems to be of a mind that this is all a story about OZ, and that Elphaba is just a part of that story. And this novel is a continuation of that story, as seen through the eyes of Liir, the once-companion, possibly son of the character so many people would probably rather be reading about. If you'd rather be reading about Elphaba, then I can see how this would be a disappointing read. Liir isn't nearly as complicated or intriguing as his maybe-mother. Elphaba was head-strong and to-the-point. Liir is clueless and for a great portion of this book, without any kind of direction at all. But that's just his character and by definition, his life and story is going to be more plodding and aimless, which is a strong parallel to the state of affairs in OZ at the time. With the Wizard gone and the Witch dead, there is a chaotic scramble to see who will end up in charge. A valid complaint about this work is that it shuffles, sometimes rather jarringly, from event to event in too choppy a manner. The hasty introduction and political ambitions of Elphaba's brother (as one example) made me wonder if I'd skipped some important chapter somewhere in along the way. But the more you think about it, the more you realize that this is probably how Liir sees the world, disconnected as he is from the goings-on from Emerald City politics. A few side characters such as Candle and some religious Maunts (or Nuns as we'd call them here in our world) get barely enough time to make an impression. But again, you realize that even though they have a huge impact on Liir's life, he's hardly paying any attention to them. As the story moves along, you do realize that Liir actually is growing up and trying to do justice to the memory of the Witch. He gets a little bit of personal resolution, but again, Maguire isn't really writing a story just about a certain character, he's writing a story about OZ, and this second act of that story is seen from Liir's point of view. It is a totally valid complaint that this book doesn't seem to accomplish a great deal in terms of putting its main character through a distinct arc with a satisfying pay-off. I get that. But I accepted early on that this is only a part of the story. The third volume, "A Lion Among Men", is sitting on my shelf, and until I read that, and any other subsequent volumes, I'll reserve judgement on how 'successful' this work is. Final verdict: as a stand-alone novel, no this probably doesn't work that well. As act two of a broader story, it is successful at further realizing this new version of OZ that Maguire has concieved, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. [On a side-note, I feel very sorry for any fans of the Broadway who read this expecting more of the same. The musical "Wicked" is such a by-the-numbers, family-friendly endeavor that all the grisly and sometimes shocking subversiveness of this book (as well as the distinct lack of Elphaba) will be a bit jarring. Not to mention that the world of OZ as concieved in this novel and the original "Wicked" novel really is a quite different universe entirely. I'm not saying you can't enjoy both, but be aware that the two are quite different.:]

This was a harmless, heart warming book that did not change my life or enrich my thinking in any large way - except perhaps that I am slightly less afraid of bees. One thing that is a slight pet peeve with me is the healing power apparently inherent in the culture of the 'other'. Here is the formula: 1 caucasian person, hurt and broken by the world they live in, be it by family, work or environment + 1 minority culture (black or asian is fine) = that one caucasian person finding the true wonders in life and becoming a more secure and happy human being after being surrounded by drove of their black or yellow or red skinned friends, who show them beauty and love such as a white person has never known. Thank you minority culture! All black women are not royalty, "like hidden queens". But a little known fact is that all, ALL old asian men are kung fu masters. To summarize, I might criticize this book but I did read it in a weekend and there is something to be said for the ability of an author to keep his/her readers engaged. It is a good beach book. So there.