Even in a world that's indebted to origin stories and recontextualizing classics, Gregory Maguire has a very unique perspective in mind. "Wicked" sounds like it would be a bit too novelty, giving The Wicked Witch/Elphaba from L. Frank Baum's masterpiece "The Wizard of Oz" a sympathetic backstory that turns her from villain to hero. The results have lead to a successful Broadway show adored by millions and an upcoming film. With that said, fans of the more mainstream takes may find a lot of difficulty in grappling with this version of the story. While it does plenty to add a dark, disturbing tone to the carefree world they once knew, the back half gets buried in a complicated mess of ideas that aren't nearly as successful, often removed or changed for later adaptations. As far as a concept goes, Maguire has released an impressive work. In terms of execution, it's much more difficult to praise.
A lot of the reason that "Wicked" is difficult to love is because Maguire is a cruel writer. He insists on making the story as morose as possible. This includes initially misleading readers to believe that Elphaba's horrendous appearance is to be feared. She is never given the cutesy makeover that the film later did, even if her cohort Galinda is still an overachieving ditz. With that said, a lot of the story reads closer to horror, turning Oz into a landscape of factions trying to determine order of who is respected and who is to be banished. It's a typical story of discrimination, only using witchcraft as its main draw. While it has the clever twist of The Wizard of Oz being the villain, it's not nearly as ambitious in making the story shine with the recontextualizing that the later musical would have. Whatever is there is a sadistic revenge that's loaded with very strange attention to detail on Elphaba's hygiene.
This isn't to say that the book lacks merit. A lot of what works in adaptations is present here, including the school Shiz which is populated with a rich personality of characters. Because of Maguire's cruelty, he's able to make the sympathetic moments land a lot better, making a young but not naive Elphaba able to connect with her peers even as they form their own biases. It's a world of enchantment and potential, but the idea of civil rights aren't achieved as easily. There's activism and more peril than later versions, making the moment it shifts into more despairing prose difficult to really enjoy. Without a sense of humanity to ground it, the story mostly comes across as an edgy book trying to negate the whimsical appeal of the original. It's clever enough to be worth perusing, but it's here that the limits of the idea become abundantly clear.
As most fans of the musical will attest, "Wicked" is a much more tumultuous book. It lacks the zippy optimism that can be found in later parts of the show. Even the chemistry between Elphaba and Galinda don't feel as established as they could be, meaning that many revelations don't land as succinctly as they could. While this book has an impressive legacy in that it inspired a lot of franchises to embrace the prequel/origin story craze, it does so with some faults in telling a fully worthwhile tale. It's good enough for those who love Baum's work and want a demented twist, but even then the pacing in the back half isn't quite as successful as the first half and the characterization leaves something to be desired. It definitely reinvents the witch and makes her a hero, but not in the triumphant way many would hope. It comes with great tragedy and sadness. If that's acceptable, then there's a good chance this book will be half good to the reader.
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