Out of Oz: The Final Volume in the Wicked Years, by Gregory Maguire (2011)

I first heard of this series about five years ago, when I was perusing the personal library of a book-loving couple. I saw Son of a Witch, the second novel in the series, and got interested. When I saw Wicked in a bookstore, a year and a province later, I finally picked it up. Wicked still stands strong as a compelling read about the nature of evil and the benefits of perspective. It is one of my favorite novels I've had the chance to read. Disclaimer: I never liked the Lion, so I skipped out on the third and preceding novel, A Lion Among Men.


The Facts
Length: 568 pages.
Publisher: HarperCollins.
This is Macguire's eighth novel in Adult Fiction. It is part four of four, being the completion of The Wicked Years.

Quick Summary
Wicked revolved around the tale of Elphaba (better known as the Wicked Witch of the West) from the beloved tales of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. If you haven't heard of the latter, the former probably won't do much for you: the shock of Wicked was the way it took one of literature's most despicable villains and gave her a story. Because Oz was largely aimed at children, we don't think of its characters necessarily having realistic characteristics or politics or even much of a life. We never expected it; when we saw the Witch, in all her glory, in the 1939 film of Oz, we never questioned her evil. Unlike Darth Vader (another one of film's big villains), who redeems himself at the end of Jedi, the Witch is, acceptably, wholly evil.

This is the tragedy of Wicked.

While Wicked studies the Witch, Maguire extended the series to delve deeper into the universe of Oz. Out of Oz follows Rain, the grandchild of Elphaba, as she rambles through childhood, adolescence, and the beginning of adulthood. It also depicts the erupting war between the Munchkinlanders and the Emerald City, bubbled at during the preceding novels.

This story is told in third person, and Maguire moves between a number of characters in Rain's life (including Rain herself).

The Bad
One problem I'm starting to see with The Wicked Years has been its complete rejection of heteronormativity. This isn't necessarily anything big: gender and sexual lifestyles is a difficult subject, yes; there isn't anything wrong with homosexuality; gray areas play a big part in this great thing we call life. But Maguire imagines a world where no heterosexual relationship seems to work, and though I hate to say it, it almost seems like it became a gimmick within The Wicked Years. The only marriage is a sexless one, between a woman and a talking Lion, to give you a taste. Even this relationship breaks down. And without giving away too much, the climactic surprise is somewhat ruined if you've noticed this trend.

But perhaps I'm being too harsh. After all, in Out of Oz, it seems like no relationship - even the non-heterosexual ones - survives the test of civil war and abandonment. It's a running theme with Maguire's works.  Everything is unclear. No one is happy, except in glimpses of connection between friends or lovers. Even these are lost quickly. If this turns you off, or are expecting a happy ending, you might want to turn this novel (and series) down.

Also if you need clarity. If the ending of Lost had you pissed off, solely because of unanswered questions, well, then, hey. Again, this isn't for you.

The Good
If you're still reading, then maybe this series is for you. If you've read Wicked and proceeded to read at least one other book in the series (re: don't look at me, Lion Among Men), you're probably going to want to pick up the closing. It's a good ending for the series, even if it didn't give us all we wanted. But it's the bittersweet sequel to the tragedy of Wicked, and a great feel of lurking adventure after the bildungsroman when Rain decides to just get away. Out of Oz is, in one way, about leaving home, and never looking back.

Rain makes a great protagonist - she's a bit more solid than Elphaba, a bit more real than Lor, but also deserves a good throttling every once in a while. You'll find yourself screaming at the book: "JUST DO THE *&#@ing MAGIC!" (As with Elphaba, as with Lor, Rain's world has largely been disrupted because of her aptitude with spells. It's understanding her hesitation that halts the reader from expecting an epic battle-mage out of Rain).

Final Thoughts
Yes, bittersweet was a good word for this series, and is perhaps a more realistic adjective in describing this novel, apart from the entire series. Give it (and Wicked) a go if you're in the mood for a good tragedy.

Arbitrary Score: 4.1 out of 5.

Next book: The Marriage Plot, by Jeffrey Eugenides (2011)

The Magician King: A Novel, by Lev Grossman (2011)

Yeah, you just read the review of The Magicians. I liked it. This is its sequel. Can't stay away from that sugar crisp.


The Facts
Length: 400 pages.
Publisher: Viking.
This is Grossman's fourth novel. It is part two of two - so far (a third novel is expected).

Quick Summary
Okay. You know the jist of this series, so I'm not going to take up a lot of your time. But this story has two protagonists - yeah. You heard me. For one, you've got Quentin Coldwater (a lot more likeable in this book, but still sad ol' Quentin). But the story also follows the arc of Julia, who's just an example of what happens when Brakebills turns down someone with OCD. Spoilers: you'll be enjoying reading her magical periphery backstory intensely enough that you'll be some kind of disappointed when Quentin (and the main plot) pokes his scronkin' head back in. That's not to say Quentin's storyline is bad, rather the opposite: you'll see old friends, mythical creatures, and really get to the crux of why magic exists, rather than have magic be treated as something with unflappable origin.

The Good
Everything. But, to be more specific: the ending, for one, is just brilliant. This is supposed to be a trilogy, right? And yet I found myself convinced that this was it. The novel ends on such a strong note that the next novel doesn't seem a requirement, but rather an unexpected bonus. I have never felt that about the middle child in a series (excluding, upon growing up, Empire Strikes Back, but hell, that was a movie).

If you're still looking for more stuff to revel in, I'm going to reiterate my feelings for the Julia plot. It grabs you by the soul and never lets you go, because her own search for the dream of magic leads down a path I'm sure you know well: the stale taste of midnight coffee, the mindlessness of surfing the 'net in search of something, the estrangement from the parents and the life you once led...Julia's plot seemed like she was growing up and growing away, but in a way that wasn't expected, and she was finding out different parts of herself that she'd never known before. And unlike Quentin, she does it in our world. It's scary, and leads down some dark paths, but she is who she is.

The Bad
The problem is, though, that Julia in Quentin's storyline is a cardboard figure. Because the Julia plot gives her a large portion of the narrator's time, dedication, and attention, we're allowed to sneak into her world more fully than in Quentin's story. Yeah, Julia went through some pretty weird stuff, so there's a reasoning for it, but it just seemed kind of alien to me, and made her character hard to respond to. I wish we had some more of the narration behind Julia in Quentin's story.

Secondly: the love interest isn't as real as Alice, either. Alice for life.

Final Thoughts
I'm not sure why I even have a "The Bad" category here. I can only tell you to get into this series, because it just keeps getting better.

Arbitrary Score: 4.8 out of 5.

Next book: Out of Oz, by Gregory Maguire (2011)