Well, I'll be a son of a witch!
Dec. 30th, 2005 07:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vovatIt looks like Gregory Maguire's Son of a Witch is now officially the Last Book I Read in 2005. I finished it a few minutes ago, and I must say it was easier to get through than Wicked. I'm not totally sure why. Maybe I found Liir more likeable than Elphaba, despite the fact that they both come off as rather grumpy and morally ambiguous anti-heroes. Or maybe it was because Liir was a totally new character, so I didn't have the Original Oz Purism in the back of my mind (and it's always there, despite my best attempts to read Maguire's books as original fiction with a slight Oz connection) constantly saying, "That's not how it really happened!"
As a devoted fan of the "official" Oz books, I found the parts of the book featuring familiar characters to be both some of the most interesting and the most irritating. Wicked started with an account of Dorothy and her friends on their way to assassinate Elphaba, and they're talking about castration and such. In the sequel, we see considerably more of the original party, and their dialogue is pretty much along the same lines. Seeing the Tin Woodman and Cowardly Lion curse, and Dorothy recounting how Uncle Henry had filled Dorothy's Christmas stocking with manure because she was singing in the pigpen and "scaring the pigs shitless" might have been funny in an outright parody. In a book like this, however, they came across as rather overdone, like Maguire was saying, "Hey, look at these beloved children's book characters swearing at each other and discussing adult topics! Isn't this edgy?" Some of the scenes in the Emerald City, especially those in Southstairs prison, came across in much the same manner.
There were, however, many minor touches that I did enjoy. At one point, Dorothy is said to have "discussed differences between the gold and silver standards of foreign currency with the Scarecrow," which is most likely a reference to Henry Littlefield's interpretation of The Wizard of Oz as an allegory on populism. I liked the description of the Emerald City under the rule of the Emperor, with the Press Bureau changed into the "Ministry of Sincerity," and "I love Oz" merchandise for sale. Maguire's descriptions of culture and tradition in his version of Oz were quite cleverly done at times. Yackle, the enigmatic woman whose appearances throughout Wicked made for one of the most interesting plot threads in that book, is still around. And there was a cameo appearance by Mombi and Tip, presumably there primarily to excite people who had read beyond the first Oz book (and if this was Maguire's intention, it was successful).
Speaking of Oz, I got a holiday (or should that be "hozliday"?) card from the International Wizard of Oz Club the other day. The cover picture is from the new (well, in terms of publication, anyway) Oz book by Gina Wickwar (author of The Hidden Prince of Oz). The card says it'll be published in spring 2006, so I'm looking forward to that.
As a devoted fan of the "official" Oz books, I found the parts of the book featuring familiar characters to be both some of the most interesting and the most irritating. Wicked started with an account of Dorothy and her friends on their way to assassinate Elphaba, and they're talking about castration and such. In the sequel, we see considerably more of the original party, and their dialogue is pretty much along the same lines. Seeing the Tin Woodman and Cowardly Lion curse, and Dorothy recounting how Uncle Henry had filled Dorothy's Christmas stocking with manure because she was singing in the pigpen and "scaring the pigs shitless" might have been funny in an outright parody. In a book like this, however, they came across as rather overdone, like Maguire was saying, "Hey, look at these beloved children's book characters swearing at each other and discussing adult topics! Isn't this edgy?" Some of the scenes in the Emerald City, especially those in Southstairs prison, came across in much the same manner.
There were, however, many minor touches that I did enjoy. At one point, Dorothy is said to have "discussed differences between the gold and silver standards of foreign currency with the Scarecrow," which is most likely a reference to Henry Littlefield's interpretation of The Wizard of Oz as an allegory on populism. I liked the description of the Emerald City under the rule of the Emperor, with the Press Bureau changed into the "Ministry of Sincerity," and "I love Oz" merchandise for sale. Maguire's descriptions of culture and tradition in his version of Oz were quite cleverly done at times. Yackle, the enigmatic woman whose appearances throughout Wicked made for one of the most interesting plot threads in that book, is still around. And there was a cameo appearance by Mombi and Tip, presumably there primarily to excite people who had read beyond the first Oz book (and if this was Maguire's intention, it was successful).
Speaking of Oz, I got a holiday (or should that be "hozliday"?) card from the International Wizard of Oz Club the other day. The cover picture is from the new (well, in terms of publication, anyway) Oz book by Gina Wickwar (author of The Hidden Prince of Oz). The card says it'll be published in spring 2006, so I'm looking forward to that.
