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    Wicked: Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
    Wicked: Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
    Wicked: Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
    Audiobook19 hours

    Wicked: Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

    Written by Gregory Maguire

    Narrated by John McDonough

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    Maguire travels back to Frank L. Baum's land of Oz for this absorbing fantasy that delves into the background if the famed Wicked Witch of the West, a misunderstood creature who challenges the preconceived notions of good and evil. Unabridged.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateNov 16, 2005
    ISBN9781440780493
    Author

    Gregory Maguire

    Gregory Maguire is the New York Times bestselling author of the Wicked Years, a series that includes Wicked—the beloved classic that is the basis for the blockbuster Tony Award–winning Broadway musical of the same name and the major motion picture—Son of a Witch, A Lion Among Men, and Out of Oz. His series Another Day continues the story of Oz with The Brides of Maracoor, The Oracle of Maracoor, and The Witch of Maracoor, and his other novels include A Wild Winter Swan, Hiddensee, After Alice, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, Lost, and Mirror Mirror. He lives in New England and France.

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    Reviews for Wicked

    3.5/5

    508 ratings390 reviews

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    • 5/5
      The humor is spot on. A beloved series brought to life by one of my all time favorite narrators! If you love fantasy with sexual humor younger children wont quite grasp. Has such tasteful descriptions and as i said John Mcdonagh has such a warm rich voice i really enjoyevery book ive heard of his. In fact ive read books just because he narrates it. Its important as a listener. ?

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      As a huge Wizard of Oz (the movie and its books....) fan, and a fan of the musical based on this....slightly, I remember reading this in 1995 when it first came out. I have never read it again since then , so I thought; well, I will LISTEN to it. All I can say is: be ready to feel Sorry, YES sorry for the young woman of emerald green skin.

      With Maguire's books being a 4 set of books, this is just incredibly told. It is sexually disturbing, there is body horror, transexualism, scenes of torture of animals. This book is NOTHING like the comedic and sometimes just plain silly musical, that is its basis from. The tale of this 'Wicked Witch of the West' is a very sad one. We find out and learn alot about little Dorothy Gale, that we did not know. And if and when you listen to this.....just be ready to learn just how BAD the 'Wonderful Wizard of Oz' really was. Highly recommended to anyone who wants to know and learn a little 'back story' if you would, about Elphaba; the witch who was 'Wicked!'

      5 Water buckets all the way!
    • 3/5
      So I went to go see the play about halfway through the book. And there's some similarities between both the book and the play. If I had to choose, it would be the play. But I am glad to be able to read and see the story/side of the "wicked" witch. She was just very misunderstood imo.
    • 5/5
      A rattling good yarn narrated superbly I enjoyed it immensely.
    • 3/5
      I liked hearing elfy’s side but I didn’t like it some parts how it didn’t relate to the movie. I felt sorry for the wwotw.
    • 4/5
      Fell in love with wicked in NYC and bought the book. I loved the different angle that was told and enjoyed the story. However Maguire seemed to jump around a lot and leave much up for interpretation which I didn’t particularly enjoy but all in all great book!!
    • 5/5
      Great book. A very pleasant surprise. Well written,read and performed.
    • 2/5
      Great narration, colorful setting, and interesting characters. But the lack of focus and direction is a fatal flaw. The story never seems to really get started. I plodded halfway through before finally giving up.
    • 4/5
      I listened because the musical is my all-time favorite, as is the original Wizard of Oz. I have also listened to a recording of Frank L Baums original book... And I'll have to say, the adaptations (movie and musical) are way, way better, but I have to thank these authors for inspiring their creation. One has to admit this is a great book, but the author has a weird obsession with sex... Not something you expect to pop up in a fairy tale. That aside, you can tell he is a huge fan of the Oz books, as much (probably a little too much) of the history and stories of Oz are included and strung together quite nicely, with tons of metaphors and ideas to pknder about polotics, good, evil and religion to keep you thinking for days. I'll probably listen to the next book or too to see what becomes of several characters in the future.

      3 people found this helpful

    • 3/5
      I am a big fan of the Broadway musical Wicked and therefore I finally decided to listen to the book in which the musical is said to have been based on. I was truly underwhelmed by this book and found it really hard to finish. There were a bunch of sexual bits in the book that I felt were unneeded and inappropriate. I had a hard time following along with the storyline and felt like it jumped around too much. I guess I was expecting something much closer to the storyline of the musical and it is not at all the same. I was disappointed because I love the musical soo much. Too each their own tho!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 1/5
      I *love* pretty much anything Wizard of Oz related in an assortment of medias. I adored the concept behind the book. I was tremendously excited when I picked the book up because I thought the idea was a brilliant way to retell the story.I don't think I've ever been this disappointed in a book. Granted a part of that is because my hopes were quite high (perhaps unattainably so?). However, for me, this was a great idea that was badly executed.I'm probably going to pick it up again and try to read it one more time because I genuinely thought I would like it. I should love it. Maybe I wasn't feeling well at the time.
    • 4/5
      I’ll never look at The Wizard of Oz the same way again.
    • 4/5
      I feel like most people who gave this book a low rating never fully read the original books by Baum. If you read the original books (and not just the first) and read more about Baum's life the Wicked books make a lot more sense. Baum's stories never have a true beginning or ending like most fairy tales. So it's always open for change and origin stories and endings. It's also easier to understand if you know all about alternative universes. If you know that concept then change and mixing mediums is accepted. As for the sex references, this is an ADULT book. I read this like I read a comic book by Alan Moore or the Fables series. Maybe it would make a better comic book by Vertigo or something like that. Not saying people should like this book, but maybe understand the meaning and why there are four more books with an ending that is very promising.
    • 3/5
      I was not interested in the story, but it's well-written and appeals to many people, including my children (mmostly because of the musical play).The revisionist version of the Oz canon has some warrant. Baum originally had the Wizard deposing Ozma's father and sending her off to Mombi the Bad Witch to be enchanted, but that was all swept under the rug in later books.The Wizard was very popular with children, and Baum apparently decided that his unsavory history was no longer appropriate, although it did fit with the first book's character.I did not remember that cover-up until re-reading the books in my sixties; although I read all of them in my childhood, I also conveniently forgot that The Wiz was a bad guy at one time.Probably the influence of the Judy Garland movie.
    • 2/5
      Gave up around part 4. Couldn't bring myself to finish it. It moves at such a slow pace, and I've seen the musical (which, while different, is a much more enjoyable experience). This kind of feels dark just for darkness' sake. Elphaba isn't all that likable. Neither is Glinda. Or really anyone. It just never gets going, and I couldn't pay enough attention to it to finish it. I'll stick with the musical.
    • 2/5
      I tried to read this several times when it came out and I could not get into it. I saw the Broadway play, I even had the soundtrack on my iPod for a while, (yeah remember when that was a thing?) but I struggled with the book.

      I just have to conclude that this book is not for me.
    • 2/5
      We don't really get much inside her head until near the end.
    • 5/5
      Until I listened to this audiobook, which by the way is perfectly narrated by John McDonough, I had no idea that the Wicked Witch of the West has been so misunderstood. Not a fan of The Wizard of Oz (due to my first memory being a nightmare in which the flying monkeys were after me), I had been hesitant to read or listen to this book. However, I was pleasantly surprised.

      The prose is beautifully constructed, the characters are quirky and well developed, and the plot is delightfully and unexpectedly twisting and twisted. Even for those familiar with the original book and movie, multiple surprises are in store on every page.
    • 4/5
      Yes, I saw the musical first and they can't be compared.I enjoyed the overall history, the journey through Elphaba's life is certainly difficult and she, as everyone else, can never fully understand what's happening and how she got where she is.But this book feels heavy at times. Even though I admire Maguire's prose and figures of speech, sometimes they feel like a drag on the overall pace. Sometimes it feels rushed, sometimes it lags and it becomes quite noticeable in a book this long (500+ pages in my pocket edition).I must confess I admire the overall idea of the book (is "evil" a choice? if it's not, how can we judge it?) but I feel it falls short. Wicked makes you look twice at why things were like they were in L. Frank Baum's book but I feel it could have gone much deeper.My real rating for this one is 3.5/5
    • 1/5
      It get's tiring when writers and screenwriters do everything they can to justify why a villain is a villain. Interesting take but I like my baddies bad.
    • 4/5
      I did enjoy the book. It's like picking behind the closed doors to see the whole truth... I always wondered what is happening beyond the fairy tale stories.
    • 3/5
      Audiobook narrated by John McDonough2.5** Subtitle: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the WestThis is a re-telling of The Wizard of Oz, told from the viewpoint of Elphaba, the “Wicked” Witch of the West. I’ve had this on my tbr since shortly after it came out, having been a long-time fan of the classic movie starring Judy Garland. But for whatever reason, I just never got around to reading Maguire’s version. I have never even seen the hit Broadway musical based on this book, though I certainly love some of the music from that show. I did read another of Maguire’s re-tellings - Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister (Cinderella) – with my F2F book club some years back. I liked it but wasn’t blown away; still I was predisposed to liking this book.I thought Maguire’s book went just too far afield in directions I never expected. Some of the scenes were downright disturbing (for example: sex that involved dismemberment and cannibalism! ). I also thought the plot dragged in places. This wasn’t helped by the fact that I had just read another Oz re-telling whose plot moved MUCH faster. Still, it’s definitely imaginative, and there are some scenes that really forced me to think about assumptions, first impressions, and entrenched behaviors. So, while I can’t say I particularly enjoyed the book, I am glad to have finally read it, and I’ll round up by rating to 3*.John McDonogh does a fine job performing the audiobook. His diction is clear, and I was rarely confused about who was speaking. I did have a copy of the text handy, and did a little speed-reading for part of it when I felt the plot was moving too slowly. The text also has a map of Oz which was helpful.
    • 4/5
      When I was younger I tried reading this but I couldn't get through it for the life of me. I decided to give it another try and I'm happy I did! I really enjoyed reading this book! I think before I was so focused on the book and the play being the same that I couldn't enjoy the story the book was telling me. The play is COMPLETELY different from the book.

      This book helped me explore ideas of what is evil and good, and if there is a way to be completely good or completely 'wicked'. I would recommend this to anyone!
    • 3/5
      I am usually intrigued by retellings of classic stories from the point of view of the antagonist or another minor character. This is what initially drew me to "Wicked." I had also heard the book is nothing like the musical, and since I may get to see the musical for the first time soon (fingers crossed!), I decided to put the book on my "Currently Reading" list sooner rather than later.

      As many others have mentioned, Maguire's writing drags along in a lot of spots. This prevented me from enjoying the book as much as I could have. However, I don't think the premise of the novel - "The Wizard of Oz" from the Wicked Witch of the West's point of view - is bad at all. The author leaves a lot of the questions we have about particular characters unanswered, which in turn allows us to consider larger themes (such as good versus evil) in a variety of ways. This ambiguity is the mark of a good writer.

      I've concluded that "Wicked" is to "The Wizard of Oz" as "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead" is to "Hamlet," in that in each retelling, things just happen to a lot of the characters, and they cannot make sense of all of the goings-on. If you've experienced the "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern" and "Hamlet" in addition to the "Wicked"/"Wizard" pair, then maybe you get what I'm talking about. Not everyone understands "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern" - indeed, it took me a couple viewings of the film version to understand it - so maybe not everyone is going to "get" "Wicked." However, even if Maguire's was aiming for a "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern" effect, his slow writing in spots prevents it from being as smart as the adaptation of Shakespeare.
    • 1/5
      Actually, below a star, how it was possible to create an award-winning musical from this is beyond me. It breaks the premise that the book is always better.
    • 1/5
      This book took me forever to get through and I was very disappointed. I saw the Broadway musical and I loved it so when I heard it was a book I had to check it out. It was not at all what I expected in many different ways. When the book started it was just a lot more blunt about life, which is fine, but as it went on there were more chapters that were just unnecessary and frankly disturbing and had no place in the plot. And not in that 'Oh, good heavens to Betsy! Did that young man just engage in inappropriate sexual activities?' It seems when Maguire could not think of repugnant scenes to add, simply for shock value, he rattled on about politics for pages before abruptly, and without any explanation, jumping 5, 6, 9 years at a time. I found it hard to care about most of the characters and many of them did things that did not seem to fit with their character.
      This book was quite a disappointment and I'll probably not read the rest of the series. I do not recommended reading this book.

      (07/11/2013)
      *page 324*
      I mostly liked this book so far but it's started to get a bit boring and slow. Also there are a lot of really unnecessary and frankly disturbing parts. No one want's a page long description of someone having diarrhea, or a threesome with a tiger, or a creation story about a goddess's urine. Sorry but no, you're not being edgy you're just being gross. This is defiantly not what I thought it was going to be.

      (07/11/2013)
      *page 325*
      I noticed that my numbering is off because my edition is not listed and a typo. But I had to post an update of this book's continued disturbing unnecessary existence. I'm not sure what I am even reading anymore because it keeps skipping around in years without warning, and then just slaps some horrible scene in just for shock effect. Why is it necessary to put a 9 year old playing with her mother's nipple? It's not.

      (07/11/2013)
      *page 500*
      This book went from trying to be too intelligent to being a painfully corny madhouse.
    • 2/5
      Best for: People who like fantasy. So, apparently, not me.In a nutshell: It’s billed as the back story of the wicked witch of the west. Instead it’s a convoluted mess of a book that I could not follow.Worth quoting: “Galinda didn’t often stop to consider whether she believed in what she said or not; the whole point of conversation was flow.”“I don’t dress for your approval, boys.”Why I chose it: I initially tried to read the Audrey Hepburn book Alabama Pink reviewed, but after about 80 pages it still felt like homework. I thought this would be a fun read.(Narrator: It was not.)Review:I think this solidifies my thought that Alabama Pink and I would not have belonged to the same book club. I absolutely hated the Cannon Book Club pick by Craig Ferguson (seriously, it’s so bad), and of the remaining dozen books to review for this square, none really caught my eye. I tried the Audrey Hepburn biography and it was as dry as a desert and just as monotonous. I realized that Wicked was an option, and given how popular the musical is, I assumed this would be a fun, interesting read.Sadly, I assumed incorrectly.I think part of this is because I just don’t enjoy fantasy that much. I don’t like having to learn a new vocabulary, or new worlds. Having to memorize the geopolitical landscape of a fictional world just isn’t generally my favorite thing to do. So clearly this isn’t the book for me.I also think that it isn’t particularly strongly written. I mean, I’m sure my opinion is wrong, and someone out there could explain to me how it is factually a masterful book, but clearly I missed something. In fact, when I finished, I went back to read the Wikipedia entry about the book, and holy shit. Plotlines were discussed that I didn’t even recognize. Books shouldn’t feel like chores. At least, I don’t think they should. And I don’t mean they shouldn’t be challenging, or tough, or interesting. I’ve read many books that are slow reads, that I need to concentrate on deeply, and that have many layers to explore. But those books don’t feel like things I’m trying to get through so I can get to something better. Sadly, this one did.
    • 3/5
      I read The Life and Times of the Wicked Which of the West because I loved the play Wicked. The play and book are kind of similar and good in their own way. The only reason why I gave the book a 3 star is because it started off so good with lots of promise but it was kind of let down at the end. Felt like it never got to the point and that the Witch didn't really do anything throughout the book. I was shocked at some of the material and the adult themes lol. Definitely wish the book was more like the play with the plot would of made for a much better ending and overall plot. I feel like maybe because I haven't read all the Oz books that I was missing stuff because at times it would get confusing. I do plan to read the other Wicked Years and the Oz books, so I will probably end up rereading this and it could change my perception of it.
    • 3/5
      For a book as talked about as this one, I expected more. I found the plot plodding at times. I'm sure there was a lot of symbolic significance that is beyond me to interpret.Basically, the book follows The Wicked Witch of the West from "The Wizard of Oz" from the time she was born to her death. I think partly the idea was to explain how and why she became what she did and to evoke sympathy or at least understanding for her character. I had never considered that she was born with green skin and a dislike of water. If I thought of it at all, I guess I thought those had come about when she became a witch. Between Elphaba's green skin and the Animal rights, there is much discussion of how those who are different are treated. One has to wonder if Elphaba had been shown more love as a child if she would have turned out the way she did--or if Dr. Dillamond had lived if she would have turned out as she did.I guess I also assumed that The Wicked Witch of the East resembled her sister--which this book states not to be the case. I do feel some sympathy for Elphaba. Her father considered her a punishment for his failures. Her mother viewed her as a punishment too I think. But she also chose her own path in choosing to take a married man as a lover, in choosing to leave school, in choosing to fight for Animal rights.As the blurb says--it does turn the Oz we knew on its head.
    • 1/5
      I tried to read this book twice and just couldn't get into it.