Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

My brother gave me a copy of Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West[1] for Christmas. I just finished it (after a couple of interruptions), and I must say, it's a tale that's going to stay with me. A book that'll get re-read every so often. And I can't wait to see how it feels to watch The Wizard of Oz again after reading Maguire's spin on the character and circumstances of that story. (When does that come around on television again?)

This is one of those "tell everyone they have to read this book" books. I'd read a review of it a few years ago and was interested in it. It's even better than the review described.

I've been meaning to read Baum's Oz novels for quite some time now ... I'm thinking that maybe I should've read those before Wicked (yeah, like too many other people, my experience of Oz has been limited to the movie until now), because I know I'm going to be thinking of the politics in Maguire's version when I do get around to reading them.

Even though I knew how it had to end before I started it, I still cried at the end. That tells you what kind of job Maguire did.

Uh, folks? Y'all gotta read this book. Really.

[1] Maguire, Gregory; Wicked: the Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West; 1995, 2000, Regan Books (HarperCollins Publishers), New York, NY. Illustrations by Douglas Smith. LC shelf #: PS3563.A3535W5 1995. LC catalog #: 95-669. Dewey Decimal: 813'-54-dc20. ISBN: 0-06-039144-8 (hardcover), 0-06-098710-3 (paperback). 409pp not counting ToC, map, etc.