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)
