I wanted to read this book after seeing Wicked Part One last year. There is a light subplot in that first movie about the rights of individuals as it pertains to humans vs animals, that I could tell was hinting at a greater theme from the source material (the book). That theme was explored again a bit more in the second movie, so I decided to give the book a go.

Boy was I glad I did - this book is an absolute banger. Perhaps the first fantasy book I’ve truly loved. I frankly didn’t really like the movies; I thought they were a bit long and a bit uninspired. But the book was absolutely phenomenal. Dark, transgressive, political, complex. The author works to make Elphaba unlikeable as possible while still having you root for her, in an impressive and gripping way.

I haven’t seen the play, but I’ll say the book is nothing like the movie, plot-wise. Instead of a single story that takes place mostly during college, the book is spread out into five parts, each of which have multi-year time gaps between them. And Glinda plays a much smaller role in the book than in the movie.

What I was most enamored with was Maguire’s commitment to the religious and philosophical lore of Oz. There are a whole stable of different folk religions, each which weave in and out of different political leanings. One theme of the book seems to be how what we believe about ourselves and others has less to do with the truths of the universe we observe, and more to do with the stories we must tell ourselves in order to cope with our own selves and choices.

This book absolutely ruled. People with attachment to the musical or the movies should be warned: you may not like how the book originally portrayed these characters. But it’s a phenomenal read.