Reviews

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire

Only show reviews with written explanations

gmc043's review

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adventurous sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

mgeorges's review

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dark slow-paced

The first thing I did after reading this was google "Wicked book v. musical". If what my findings are correct, then I am relieved to learn that they are nothing alike, because that means I may actually enjoy the musical. My general response to the book is WHAT THE HECK?! I want those hours back.

bethanaaaaay's review

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.5

akiikomori's review against another edition

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1.0

TL;DR - If you watched the Broadway first - don't read this.

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So yes, I am one of those people who watched the musical first and then decided I wanted to pick this up.
I started reading it years ago but got super bored and never picked it up again.
Having recently seen the play again in New York this time I was determined to pick it up again.

MISTAKES. WERE. MADE.

I've seen reviews of people who LOVE LOVE LOVE this book and all reviews are valid.
But the fact that there's a very obvious like 3 stars - 24% / 4 stars - 29% / 5 stars - 24% or something like that on Goodreads, SHOULD KINDA tell you something, maybe. And I don't look at reviews, but whenever I don't like a book I sit here and go, "Am I the crazy one?".

And I know I struggle with audiobooks that don't have good readers because it is important. I just know that were I to read physical books right now I would not be able to read hardly as many books as I am now. How I managed to before I have no idea.

This book. Is NOTHING. Like the play.
It was long. It went on forever. It was just so weirdly political...
I personally did not enjoy it and again IF YOU LIKE IT - I AM HAPPY FOR YOU.
But if someone said to me, "akii don't read this, it's nothing like the musical" I would have NEVER picked it up.

reading_phil2393's review against another edition

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dark funny reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

mnemo's review

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2.0

I had heard the hype about this book/musical and was honestly intrigued about the premise, but I was disappointed overall. I understood the themes the author wanted to explore, but it was either the writing style or the words themselves that left me to skip paragraphs here in there just to get the book finished. Obviously this is a spinoff of a children's story, but it seemed more distracting to have this kind of story set in a land like Oz with all the weird phrases and terminology that no enjoyment was added to the experience.
The last section of the book where the time line is supposed to meet that of the original story I found to be the most interesting but still really confusing as to who these characters are and how they came to be. It's as if all the back story that was established previously within the book came undone in that last section. I understand that the Wicked Witch is supposed to be so filled with conflict over what has happened in her life that she's so unstable in the end, but it just turns her into another shallow pathetic female protagonist.