Wicked

Today, I finished a book called "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" by Gregory Maguire. 

It's set in the Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum. As a child, I had a children's book about the adventures of Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, the Lion and Toto, the dog. I still remember the illustration of Dorothy in braids and her blue-and-white gingham dress on that book's cover.

However this book is very much unlike the light and simplified version of my childhood. For starters, it is told from the side of the Wicked Witch of the West. Under Maguire's writing, the land of Oz is transformed into a magical world of complex politics and exceptional characters. As the blurb says, "we will never look at Oz the same way again". (To put it simply, a blurb is the text at the back of the book that tells you it is awesome and you should read it. I had to google it. kekeke.. :P ) Besides, it also gives you a lot of things to think about so, it's worth a read.

  

I will sign off with an excerpt from the book.