Here's the tale of the Wicked Witch of the West, from infancy to death, and not in the way you may know it. Born to an intenerate preacher and his aristocratic wife, though the true identity of her father may be somewhat in question, she goes to a prestigious girls' school, but does not graduate. Elphaba, as the witch was named at birth, instead sets herself against the Wizard of Oz when her head mistress tries to recruit her as a supporter of the order of things as they are in Oz, and leaves school to pursue her goal of deposing him . . . until the death of her sister brings her into contact with one Dorothy.
Impression: I initially couldn't put this book down. The first section on the Witch's childhood was actually very interesting. Unfortunately, the same writing that made the opening so interesting get tedious and dull for an entire novel, especially when there's not a whole lot going on action wise. Even where there was action was often rendered much less interesting than it could have been by explaining the action exposition. The book picks up a little towards the end, Maguire's changes in the story we know make sense, but it's not enough to make the novel worth the read. I know a lot of people have said this is a wonderful book, but a wonderful book doesn't take me 3 months to get through. Wicked was more a novel full of promises that it just didn't meet.
