Have You Read the Novel, "Wicked"

[randomkid]

There are very mixed reviews on Amazon, so thought I'd get some feedback from here. Haven't seen the play and likely won't anytime soon. Is it worth my time or no?

Thanks.

[lilycat88]

I liked it but it was like walking through mud at the beginning. s....l...o....w... Once you get beyond a certain point, though, it gets great. I can't remember how far you have to get in.

[infomama]

I gave my mom tickets to Wicked last month. I asked for suggestions for a gift basket to present the tickets in and feedback on the book was pretty meh.
I would skip it.

[wellyes]

I couldn't get past the first 20 pages. Great concept, boring execution. But obviously some people LOVE it so maybe it's worth a shot?

[willow33]

same here...just couldn't get started with it. My MIL read the whole thing and she said it was "just okay".

[ThreeofUs]

I find most of this author's books a little slow. But it's worth a read.

[Seitvonzu]

if you are thinking of a quick, light read, i would say to pass on "wicked"-- i actually read it for a book club and lots of people were really drug down by this book. it has LOTS of things going on, and it's NOT like watching "the wizard of oz" on tv :) i'm not saying this to pass judgment on my book club, but lots of the people couldn't get past that. there are lots of deep-ish, thought provoking things in the book, which i really liked. my husband read it at the same time as me and really liked that aspect too...we talked about the book alot, so that was fun.sorta like our own little intellectual (:p) book club.

i haven't seen the show, but my husband did get me the soundtrack...i have barely listened to that, but i really enjoyed the book. i couldn't get into "son of a witch" (the sequel) though, but of course, i'm pretty sure i tried that post motherhood!

[EllasMum]

if you are thinking of a quick, light read, i would say to pass on "wicked"-- i actually read it for a book club and lots of people were really drug down by this book. it has LOTS of things going on, and it's NOT like watching "the wizard of oz" on tv :) i'm not saying this to pass judgment on my book club, but lots of the people couldn't get past that. there are lots of deep-ish, thought provoking things in the book, which i really liked.

:yeahthat:

I read most of this author's stuff and liked most of it, Wicked included. I found that most of the books were quite involved/deep and not at all light reading. Also, although the books use fairy tale type characters, that's about where that ends - the stories are quite separate and mature. I really enjoy this author's stuff.

[MommytoEliana]

I'd skip it. I enjoyed the musical, but the book dragged for me, although I can see where a discussion of some of its more thought-provoking story lines could be interesting. But after reading that one and the Snow White one (can't think of title offhand--Mirror, Mirror?), I had no interest in reading the other ones.

[boolady]

I started it and got about 100 pages in and never finished it.

[lizzywednesday]

I enjoyed it, but my BFF (who read Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister) didn't like it one bit. It's very much a "love it or hate it" type of book.

It's more philosophical than the film and kind of meshes with/re-rells the story from the Oz books more than the film in many ways. The philosophical aspects come from a discussion the author (Gregory Maguire) was having with his brother about what exactly makes someone "good" or "wicked" and it kind of spun from that bull-session.

I have the soundtrack to the musical, but couldn't get into it ... listening to Stephen Schwartz takes a lot more effort than I have in the car. (This is sad because I LOVE Idina Menzel and had such fun watching the performance of 'Popular' on the Macy's parade when the musical opened!)

Someone mentioned Mirror, Mirror and, personally, that one's just super-weird; maybe it'd be better if I/we were high? I also read Lost and wanted to hurl it across the room when I'd finished it!

I really liked his "kid's book" What the Dickens, which I read recently, although I wouldn't recommend it for kids younger than 12 ... it's a little twisty and does have scary moments.

[Cam&Clay]

My expectations were high, but, alas, it was a slow crawl through hell to get to the end. I hated it. I'd love to see the musical just to see how on earth they managed to make THAT book into a musical.

[randomkid]

My expectations were high, but, alas, it was a slow crawl through hell to get to the end. I hated it. I'd love to see the musical just to see how on earth they managed to make THAT book into a musical.

:ROTFLMAO: From what I've heard, the Broadway play is very good. My stepdaughter is into drama at school and went to NYC with her drama class last Spring Break (nice, huh? I want to go to NYC and see Broadway plays!). They saw Wicked and she loved it. She started the book, but hated it and couldn't get past the beginning. She also felt like it was somewhat inappropriate for her to be reading.

Thanks for the honest opinions. I expect nothing less from the BBB! I don't have time to get mired down in a terrible book. On to look for something else to read.

Soundtrack isn't good either?

[Happy 2B mommy]

Not light reading. But I really enjoyed it.

[hellokitty]

I did not read wicked, but read, "confessions of an ugly stepsister," since several of my friends recommended it to me. I WANTED to like the book, but ugh, it was a drag to read. I don't think I will be reading anymore of his books, waaaay too slow and I got about 3/4 through it and then it was due at the library (and I used up all my renews).

[vonfirmath]

The beginning was good. I HATED the ending.

So overall? Meh. I wouldn't read it again. Nor am I interested in the sequel.

[elektra]

I read it and then saw the musical afterwards. It was a long read but I must admit that certain parts are so memorable and I am glad I powered through it. I don't think I would have the patience for it now though.

[3blackcats]

My expectations were high, but, alas, it was a slow crawl through hell to get to the end.
:yeahthat:

I did not enjoy the author's writing style. It wasn't an easy read.

[MmeSunny]

I have "read" Wicked, Son of a Witch, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister and Mirror, Mirror. I "read" Wicked and SOAW on audio book in the car. The rest were paper version. eedless to say, I enjoy Gregory McGuire.

As PP have said, they are NOT an easy read. He caches major philisophical issues under the guise of "fairy tale" characters. The issue of Animal vs. animal (notice the caps) is HUGE in Wicked the book and barely touched on in the musical--just the Dr. Dillamond song and the lion cub. Somewhat odd because it was one of Elphaba's major motivating forces.

In short, like every other book vs. other art form of same material, they are very different things. They share some similarities of plot, setting and character, but it stops there. There is very little in common with WOO movie. The book is not just a grown up version of WOO, but a deeper look at what really makes a person "wicked" and how others interpret their actions and come to assign that label.

I strongly suggest using the audio versions for Wicked and SOAW. They are very well done and make the story alive.

[erosenst]

My book club read it before it was a musical. But I use the word "read" very loosely - pretty sure no one finished it, which was very rare. I *may* have made 50 pages, but if so, only because I was really trying.

I'd find something else - too many good books out there to waste time on something that isn't!

[spencersmommy]

I read the book about 7-8 years ago...it was very weird! When I heard they were making it into a play, I was shocked! I'd say skip the book and just see the play. So many people I know love the show! I do want to see it!