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Wicked Through and Through

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MaidenOfTheShieldarm
Post subject: Wicked Through and Through
Posted: Tue 31 May , 2005 7:31 pm
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I recently read Mirror, Mirror, which is Gregory Maguire's latest book, based (very loosely) on Snow White.

At this point, I've read all of his books, which are Wicked, a really wonderful book whose subtitle is "The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West," and is the basis of the smash hit musical; Lost, a ghost story about Jack the Ripper; and Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, which is a retelling of Cinderella through the eyes of one of the step sisters.

My personal favourite is Wicked. The Witch (Elphaba) is a really wonderful character--very firey and rebellious. It's interesting to go back and see The Wizard of Oz after having read this is. . . it really gives the Witch, and the rest of Oz for that matter, a real personality and character.

Mirror, Mirror was also fascinating. Maguire seems to really like weird dwarves, and these are the weirdest by far. He takes real people, the Borgias, and weaves their rather disturbing history into this tale alongside the fictional characters. It's a very strange book. . . but that's why I liked it.

Yay. My first thread on B77. And it only took me three months!

Last edited by MaidenOfTheShieldarm on Sat 24 Dec , 2005 3:48 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Alatar
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Posted: Tue 07 Jun , 2005 8:37 am
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I read Wicked, only because of my interest in the Musical. I enjoyed it, but I preferred the plotline of the Musical. It tied together in more ways. That said, I've never read the Baum books, so it's quite possible that the book of Wicked ties as neatly to the book of Wizard of Oz as the Musical tied to the Film.

Not sure I'd be in a hurry to read his other books though.

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Jude
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Posted: Tue 07 Jun , 2005 2:38 pm
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Thanks for the recommendations, these look really interesting.

I just reserved "Wicked" from my local library. I'm number 52 in the queue!

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MaidenOfTheShieldarm
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Posted: Sun 19 Jun , 2005 3:11 am
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Can't believe I forgot about my own thread. . . :roll:

Alatar, if you've heard the soundtrack, what'd you think of it in comparison to the book? They are, after all, substantially different. . .

Jude, wow, only #52? Any day now, then. :P

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cemthinae
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Posted: Fri 08 Jul , 2005 12:10 am
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I didn't like Wicked, the book. Too many bad things, negative things for me to enjoy it. It was well written, but I just couldn't like it. I've actually pretty much erased it from my memory. Sorry, but it wasn't my cuppa tea!

I also don't care for political minded books. To me this was too technical to enjoy... leave me the light & fluffy stuff!

I did like the musical however! :) Just went & saw it in Chicago for my birthday. Ana Gasteyer was cast as Elphaba & did an excellent job with the sarcasm! I was suprised at her singing ability, given before this I had only seen her on SNL!


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Jude
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Posted: Fri 08 Jul , 2005 12:41 am
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MaidenOfTheShieldarm wrote:
Jude, wow, only #52? Any day now, then. :P
Now I'm moved up to 33! :cool:

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Sassafras
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Posted: Fri 08 Jul , 2005 12:54 am
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Oooooh. Confessions of an Ugly Step-sister from the perspective of a step-sister. Very interesting. Entertaining and thought provoking. Kinda turns the story on its head.

A good read.

Haven't read "Wicked". I might now.


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MaidenOfTheShieldarm
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Posted: Fri 08 Jul , 2005 2:21 am
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cemthinae, I know what you mean. It is a very dark book. I have to admit, that's why I liked it. Light and fluffy person though I am ( :LMAO: ), I prefer darker stories. I loved Elphaba, and found her history very interesting.

One of my few (very few, I adore the musical) qualms with the show is that they fluffy-ized it a bit. I abhorred the love triangle, and the ending! GR. They should have left it like the book. :rage: That's all I'll say since Sassy and Jude haven't read it. ;)
Jude wrote:
Now I'm moved up to 33! :cool:
w00t. :Wooper:

Sassy, agreed on Confessions. I very much liked how Maguire flipped the story around. You should try Wicked, since you liked it. Much darker, but, in my opinion, a better book. You'll never seen the Wicked Witches in the same light, that I can guarentee.

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Estel
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Posted: Fri 08 Jul , 2005 3:36 am
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Just a quick post to say, I love these books!! I'll get more in the discussion later, but I just wanted to say I'm glad that this thread is up!! :)


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cemthinae
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Posted: Fri 08 Jul , 2005 4:11 am
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MaidenOfTheShieldarm wrote:

One of my few (very few, I adore the musical) qualms with the show is that they fluffy-ized it a bit. I abhorred the love triangle, and the ending! GR. They should have left it like the book. :rage: That's all I'll say since Sassy and Jude haven't read it. ;)
I'll refrain from spoilers as well, but I liked the ending. (To be honest I scrubbed my mind with Brain Bleach & can't really remember the book ending!) I never felt in the musical that it was a love triangle. To me it was obvious who Fiyero was truly attracted to.

Let's just say that I was shocked by what the book contained & never recovered. I'm not a very liberal person & it really wasn't something I enjoyed. There were even parts I probably didn't understand, but it's for the best.

I will be very much interested in what Sass & Jude think! :)


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MaidenOfTheShieldarm
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Posted: Fri 08 Jul , 2005 4:17 am
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Estel, I look forward to reading your thoughts. :)

And I'm glad this thread is picking up. I've been wanting to discuss Maguire for a while, especially Wicked and Mirror Mirror.

SPOILERS LIE AHEAD



cemthinae wrote:
I'll refrain from spoilers as well, but I liked the ending. (To be honest I scrubbed my mind with Brain Bleach & can't really remember the book ending!) I never felt in the musical that it was a love triangle. To me it was obvious who Fiyero was truly attracted to.
The ending of the book was
"'And did the wicked out witch ever come out?'
'Not yet.'"

Something like that. . . and to have her come out alive in the end. . . eh, it just bothered me.

And yeah, it was fairly obvious who Fiyero was attracted to, but why Elphaba was ever interested in the show version of him I can't imagine. :roll: That's what bothered me about it more than anything.
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Let's just say that I was shocked by what the book contained & never recovered. I'm not a very liberal person & it really wasn't something I enjoyed. There were even parts I probably didn't understand, but it's for the best.
I'm fairly liberal, but some of it certainly ellicited a :Q :suspicious: reaction. It wasn't a book that I enjoyed. Just a little too much detail in some places. ;) It was a book that I very much liked, if that makes sense.

editted to reply to a bit that I forgot.

Last edited by MaidenOfTheShieldarm on Fri 08 Jul , 2005 4:31 am, edited 1 time in total.

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cemthinae
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Posted: Fri 08 Jul , 2005 4:27 am
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MaidenOfTheShieldarm wrote:
I'm fairly liberal, but some of it bothered me as well. Just a little too much detail in some places. ;)
Too much detail. Yeah, that would be a good way to explain!

Thanks for refreshing my memory about the ending... I would say the reason I liked the musical ending is that I prefer musicals to end on a good note. Pun intended.

Though... think of the chills that those two lines could evok upon the audience... the last thing they hear before silently filing out of the theater.

That could work too. :)


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MaidenOfTheShieldarm
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Posted: Fri 08 Jul , 2005 4:33 am
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cemthinae wrote:
[Though... think of the chills that those two lines could evok upon the audience... the last thing they hear before silently filing out of the theater.

That could work too. :)
Exactly! It gave me chills just reading it. . . and with Stephen Schwartz's score. . . I'm sure they could have come up with some really incredible way to end it with those lines. 'Twas a missed oppurtunity, and I don't like that they lightened up the end.

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cemthinae
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Posted: Fri 08 Jul , 2005 4:43 am
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Quote:
I'm sure they could have come up with some really incredible way to end it with those lines.
:D
Now you've got me wondering how I would have liked the musical had it ended that way...
;)

Because I liked the musical... I just didn't think it was "the best thing eva" as people had been telling me it was. I'm *so* a Hairspray fan anyway!

*25 posts in one day... it is SO bedtime for me! And wow! Before midnight even!*


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TheMary
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Posted: Fri 08 Jul , 2005 5:08 pm
I took the stars from my eyes, and then I made a map, And knew that somehow I could find my way back; Then I heard your heart beating, you were in the darkness too - So I stayed in the darkness with you
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I would just like to say I'm am absolutely thrilled about this thread I can hardly think of a place to start. I'm going to get myself fired because I should be working but I want to dish about Maguire work instead ;)

I initially grabbed Confessions off of the bookshelf based on it's cover, I really liked the size and smoothness of the cover (I know the old saying but what can I do I'm a sucker for a neat cover), but then I read what it was about and was hooked! Initially it took me a while to get into Confessions but before I knew it I was sucked in and couldn't put it down. I really enjoyed my first Gregory Maguire experience, who doesn't like a Cinderlla story (even if it isn't the traditional plot).

From there I borrowed a copy of Mirror Mirror from my boss. I'm not a fan of Snow White but wasn't initially put off since Maguire did such a wonderful job with Confessions. I figured maybe I'd even like Snow White after reading Mirror Mirror, unfortunately that wasn't the case. I didn't really care for Mirror Mirror, it was a little too bizarre for my taste.

Don't get me wrong one of the things I really like about Maguire's work is that it's darker and different. Although I will admit that he can get a little weird at times and his books aren't always easy to read. I find that sometimes (at least once in all of his books) I've had to stop and re-read certain chunks of the book to make sure I've understood what had happened. *like the Philosophy Club part in Wicked :scratch I'm still not sure I understand what went down.... ;)

WARNING: Wicked description and analyzation below contains spoliers if you have not read the book or seen the Musical avert your precious eyes please :D

So finally I bought Wicked a month or so before I was to see it on the stage, and started reading it. I'd heard the rave reviews of Wicked from Broadway and was all excited, but as I read I'd be scratching my head wondering how in the world they were going to translate the book into a play. So naturally I bought the soundtrack and would listen to it, again scratching my head wondering what I'd missed. I got a little worried that I misinterpreted the entire book! But then I found a web site that explained each song and discovered how different the play was vs the book. I'm not slow I knew there would be some differences but these were pretty serious differences.

Wicked the musical was a candy coated version of Wicked the book, to say the least. And I really think that a little bit of the Gregory Maguire "spirit" was lost in translation. They took the darkness and made light of it. Glinda was not nice in the book and that's who she was, where in the musical she was more of a slow to warm type. I think the there was a hint of the Glinda from the book in the begning of the play when she denies actually being Elphaba's friend to the Munchkinlander, but then she got bubble-gum cute and even felt friendly feelings towards Elphie. I think my biggest disapointment with the play was what they did to Fiyero's character. They took his life and rewrote it completely editing out one of my favorite aspects of the book and insterting a love triangle. Because I really did feel that the only Wicked thing about Elphie was her relationship with Fiyero in the book, but I liked it! I liked that she was getting "some" and making herself happy even though Fiyero was married. I liked that he really cared about her and she him yet they were both so stubborn about their feelings for eachother. I also think that Nessa's character was toned down too much for the play. Nessa was baaad. She was a wicked witch and she didn't care what you thought.

Overall I loved the book and I loved the play. But I sugest readin the book before you see the play. I think there would be more disapointment if you saw the play and then read the book hopeing for the same happy feeling, because the book is much darker and less fluffy than the play, but still really darn good! Don't get me wrong I really liked how the play ended because let's face it I wanted Elphie and Fiyero to be happy together forever (mushy I know), so I was plesantly surprised by that, but I liked the books darkness.

I have yet to read Lost but I will eventually get there. I hope it is as good as it sounds!

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cemthinae
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Posted: Fri 08 Jul , 2005 6:00 pm
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I'm wondering... has anyone read the sequel to Wicked. It's fairly new. Entitled "Son of a Witch".

I'd like a review... just not interested in reading it myself! ;)

Also, I didn't like Wicked, but would I happen to like any of his other work? Or are they all equally dark & disturbing... I like my candy coated stuff! :D


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TheMary
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Posted: Fri 08 Jul , 2005 6:20 pm
I took the stars from my eyes, and then I made a map, And knew that somehow I could find my way back; Then I heard your heart beating, you were in the darkness too - So I stayed in the darkness with you
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I found Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister was the most "cheerful" of the three I've read. I'm glad I started there myself...his books aren't for everyone :)

And Son of a Witch doesn't come out in the US until September 2005 :)

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Lay down
Your sweet and weary head
Night is falling
You’ve come to journey's end
Sleep now
And dream of the ones who came before
They are calling
From across the distant shore

Why do you weep?
What are these tears upon your face?
Soon you will see
All of your fears will pass away
Safe in my arms
You're only sleeping


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MaidenOfTheShieldarm
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Posted: Fri 08 Jul , 2005 6:57 pm
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I'm skeptical about Son of a Witch. One of the things that I loved so much about Wicked was Elphaba herself, and if she's not in it. . . well, it just doesn't have the same draw. However, Maguire is an excellent author, so I'll read it, anyway.

Cemthinae, Wicked is easily Maguire's darkest book. The rest are essentially happy, though Mirror Mirror can be very bizzare. You'd probably like them more. However, I should warn you about Mirror Mirror. . . if the philosophy club in Wicked made you uncomfortable, this migiht as well. Let's just say that two charactesr who are brother and sister are. . . a little too close. Really good book, though, and don't let that put you off it.

MORE SPOILERS



TheMary, I saw Wicked on Broadway first. I had read the book a few years ago, so basically knew the story, but didn't remember much.

So when I read the book again, I was dissapointed at how different it was. Then I started thinking about it. The only really huge changes are the end (grrr :x ) and the love triangle (again, not happy). I started thinking about it, and in general, it's the details that are different. The end is far too happy, but other than that. . . deep down, a lot of things are really the same. Maguire lives near here, and I very much regret not meeting him while he was artist in residence at the Gardner museum, but I've been wanting to write to him to ask his honest opinion. He seemed very content with the show in the CD's liner notes, but I'm still skeptical.

That said, I absolutely adore the musical, and it is one of my favourite shows that I've ever seen (in case you can't tell by my title ;) ). I've listened to No Good Deed and Defying Gravity over a 100 times each, and that's just on my iTunes. It's really easy for me seperate them, because they are so different. But in the end, I do think that essentially the Elphaba that I loved in the book is the same as the one I loved in the show. She's prickly, sarcastic, smart, and just kewl. :cool:

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cemthinae
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Posted: Fri 08 Jul , 2005 8:16 pm
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TheMary wrote:
And Son of a Witch doesn't come out in the US until September 2005 :)
That just shows how observant I am! :neutral: They were really pushing the title at the musical a few weeks ago... I just assumed it was already published.
MaidenOfTheShieldarm wrote:
Cemthinae, Wicked is easily Maguire's darkest book. The rest are essentially happy, though Mirror Mirror can be very bizzare. You'd probably like them more. However, I should warn you about Mirror Mirror. . . if the philosophy club in Wicked made you uncomfortable, this migiht as well. Let's just say that two charactesr who are brother and sister are. . . a little too close. Really good book, though, and don't let that put you off it.
I think I'll avoid Mirror, Mirror then. The philosophy club is the main reason I don't like Wicked. I also think that I've been reading too many childrens books lately and the stark "adultness" of it surprised me.


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MaidenOfTheShieldarm
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Posted: Sat 09 Jul , 2005 4:16 am
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cemthinae wrote:
I think I'll avoid Mirror, Mirror then. The philosophy club is the main reason I don't like Wicked. I also think that I've been reading too many childrens books lately and the stark "adultness" of it surprised me.
There is *nothing* like the Philosophy Club in Mirror Mirror, or anything even approaching it. There *is* implied incest, however nothing graphic like in Wicked.

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