Vernicious Knids

Random musings and snapshots about life, love, travel and everything in between...

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Wicked Confessions...

A few years ago I read a book review about a new novel that looked at the psychology behind the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz. It was obvious that my mission was to locate and read this book. I've always thought that the most fascinating characters in fairy tales were the naughty ones...though there is a tendency to paint them as one dimensional crones! Well I eventually tracked down my very own copy of Wicked by Gregory Maguire during our trip to Hawaii:



I eagerly devoured it on the plane ride home and became quite entranced in the life of Elphaba with her jagged teeth and green skin:

"She would emerge. She always had before. The punishing political climate of Oz had beat her down, dried her up, tossed her away - like a seedling she had drifted, apparently too desiccated ever to take root. But surely the curse was on the land of Oz, not on her. Though Oz had given her a twisted life, hadn't it also made her capable?" (Maguire, 2000:4)


Currently, I am immersed in Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister - his retelling of Cinderella:



I am as mesmerised by gaunt and unlovely Iris, as I was by Elphaba...

"In the lives of children, pumpkins can turn into coaches, mice and rats into human beings. When we grow up, we learn that it's far more common for human beings to turn into rats." (Maguire, 2000:x)
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11 Comments:

  • At 12:55 am, Blogger Lou said…

    They both sound like fascinating books. I may need to see if I can locate a copy so I can read them.

    Thanks for sharing these with us.

     
  • At 12:56 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Hi VK!

    You must have been reading my mind! I keep looking at these books in the bookstore and contemplating whether to buy them or not.

    Do you recommend them??? It sounds like you do!

    Great post!

     
  • At 1:14 am, Blogger Elsa said…

    It's funny that you should mention these books today! I'll be heading into Boston to see Wicked at The Opera House tonight! I was going to read the book first, but decided I wanted to see the musical with a "clean slate" - not knowing what's in store.

    I might pick up Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister since I've been eyeing that, too. Thanks for letting us know about the books! It's always great to get recommendations.

     
  • At 3:26 am, Blogger Bearette said…

    Wicked was a great book. I actually saw Gregory Maguire read from Son of a Witch at a local B&N (you can look in my archives for the blog entry if you want ;) Unfortunately, his latest book wasn't very good.

     
  • At 4:08 am, Blogger Miss Kim said…

    I loved both those books! Now I wish I could see the broadway musical of Wicked!

     
  • At 5:11 am, Blogger Caro said…

    Which one of the two do you find the best?

     
  • At 6:06 am, Blogger Bearette said…

    I liked Wicked the best, though Stepsister was good too. His other books were a bit of a disappointment.

     
  • At 12:37 pm, Blogger Amy said…

    I found Wicked to be very tedious reading, but I loved the Broadway show they created from the story. I've been wanting to read some of Maguire's other works though, he has written several "retellings."

     
  • At 12:39 pm, Blogger My float said…

    I loved Wicked. It was a great read and made the characters multi-dimensional. Must go and hunt it down and re-read it!

     
  • At 8:32 pm, Blogger verniciousknids said…

    Hi Lou, I hope you enjoy them - I think you'll like the cover ...and the various illustrations throughout the book!

    Hi Ivonne, That's freaky! I do recommend them - I'm only halfway through "Confessions" - I prefer "Wicked" at the moment...I'll let you know if this changes. I always liked "The Wizard of Oz" more than "Cinderella" anyway :p

    Hi Elsa, Another freaky coincidence! I can't wait to hear what you think of the stage show...please post about it :)

    Hi Bearette, I like hearing authors read their own books! And it's always disappointing when the next books don't live up to your expectations.

     
  • At 8:40 pm, Blogger verniciousknids said…

    Hi T1, I'd like to see the show too, I wonder if it will come to Japan and Albania?!

    Hi Carolyn, So far..."Wicked" :)

    Hi Bearette, Looks as though we agree...Great minds and all that :D

    Hi Amy, Some of the descriptions of the various lands of Oz got a bit tedious at times, but overall I did enjoy the book! He's written a stack of retellings..."Lost" about Hansel and Gretel and "Mirror Mirror" about Snow White are the others I'm thinking of reading. He also writes childrens books.

    Hi My Float, I think I'll reread "Wicked" after I finish "Confessions"!

     

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