A Wickedly Awesome Novel

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

Grade: A-

Genre: Book

After growing up watching The Wizard of Oz I find it fascinating to read the story from the “bad guy’s” perspective. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West tells the story of Elphaba, the green girl who ultimately becomes the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz. I will just admit right now that I am the biggest fan of the musical Wicked and I did hear that it is nothing like the book. I heard from many people that the book it was based on was just terrible and most people I know who have attempted to read it could not stand to finish it. However, I already wrote this book on my list of books to read before 2011, so I decided to read it anyway.

As I was reading this book it was hard to find the Broadway hit musical in it. In fact, looking for the musical in this book was as useless as trying to find Starbursts in a bag of M&M’s. I could not find the song “The Wizard and I” because Elphaba loathed the Wizard ever since she knew who he was. I could not find the song “Popular” because Galinda did not care too much about Elphaba fitting in even after they became friends. And I could not find the song “Defying Gravity” because Elphaba did not learn to fly a broom till many years after she left Glinda in the Emerald City. In fact, I do not see how Steven Schwartz read this book and saw a musical. Nonetheless, even though the book’s story is not much like the musical’s, it can be given some credit on its own that not even the musical can claim.

The story is told in five different parts, each representing a different stage of Elphaba’s life and each making Ephaba just as mysterious as the one before. The book really drew me in, making me want to read more to find out what would happen next. And there were some chapters that forced me to stay on the edge of my seat. I also found it quite fun to draw connections between the book and historical events.

As I was reading this book I wondered why it took me so long to find it and decide to read it. It was the kind of book I have been looking for to read for years and I have not been this fascinated by a book since Harry Potter. I became very attached to the characters as I read and I could really empathize with Elphaba even though she did not have a great reputation by most people in Oz. The only complaint that I have is that the last few pages seemed to rush to wrap up the story.

I can understand why some people have a hard time reading beyond Part III because it can be what some people would call “smutty”. But I did not find the “smuttiness” to be much worse than what is in the “oh-so-clean” Twilight series. In fact, I think that the best of the book is in Parts IV and V because of all the revelations made and the questions answered, so people are missing out if they refuse to read past Part III. I found the book to be rather satisfying even though it did not quite end the way I wanted it to. I’m thinking I might want to read this book again once I am done with reading my list of 40 books, and maybe continue on to read its sequel.

*Image borrowed from http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n8/n41744.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/gregory-maguire/wicked.htm&usg=__-bF_irV-rro2vJajzS7PGNpgv_8=&h=475&w=303&sz=36&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=NNgz7JREWRDLYM:&tbnh=129&tbnw=82&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwicked%2Bthe%2Blife%2Band%2Btimes%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1

I Used to Not Know So Much About History

Don't Know Much About History by Kenneth C. Davis

Genre: Book

Grade: B

I have to admit, I was a little bit discouraged when I pulled the book Don’t Know Much About History off the shelf at the library. “I have to read this whole thing?” was the first thought that came to my mind. For some reason, I thought that this book was going to be thin, like the other books I have read by Kenneth C. Davis, but this one was more than 600 pages. But since I hate to give up on my goals I decided to check it out and take it home with me.

When I began reading it, the first page of the introduction sparked my interest when I came across the George Washington quote: “Shift that fat ass, Harry. But slowly, or you’ll swamp the damned boat.” I eagerly kept reading because I had the feeling that this book was going to be good.

This book is definitely learning American history like I have never learned it before. I had no idea before I read this book that America would not be what it is today if it were not for tobacco. I had no idea that the girls who made the accusations that started the Salem Witch Trials possibly went crazy because of “mushrooms”. And I had no idea that it is a possibility that America did not need to drop the atomic bombs on Japan.

This book is for sure full of interesting facts, but it does have a weakness because not all of it is that interesting. I remember being bored as I read through the first half of chapter five because I felt that it was just going on about the dishonesty of the people running large businesses during the late 19^th century, and I felt as though I was running into typos about every 20 pages. But if there is one thing that I really like about the book, it is the way it avoids sugar coating history and shows that the people in it were real people with their own flaws.

This book has definitely changed the way I look at history and the current world. And I have to admit that after reading about the Bay of Pigs and the Vietnam War in this book I do not think that I will ever be able to trust the American Government the way I used to ever again. But this book shows how important it is for everyone to learn history. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone if they want an interesting way to learn about American history or if they want to brush up on what they learned back in school. However, if they are looking for a book that will “teach them history and stop harping about the past”*, they will have to look elsewhere.

*Quote borrowed from the musical Wicked.

**Picture borrowed from the website http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51QKVYR3E4L._SL500_AA240_.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Know-Much-About-History/dp/0553502344&usg=__gR9XekHFjmqvm74lUGxXnmDj8vw=&h=240&w=240&sz=19&hl=en&start=12&um=1&tbnid=r1jKk1t99mfJ0M:&tbnh=110&tbnw=110&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddon%2527t%2Bknow%2Bmuch%2Babout%2Bhistory%2Bbook%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1

Great Story Blown Away by the Wind

Daughter of the Wind by Michael Cadnum

Genre: Book

Grade: D+

It depresses me to see a novel that has so much potential crash and burn. Daughter of the Wind started out as an exciting story to read, but soon lost its intrigue as the pages turned.

The story is set in the Viking times and surrounds the life of three characters. First, there is Hallgerd, the daughter of a jarl (chief of a Norwegian village), who is kidnapped by the Danes to be forced to marry against her will because of her well known beauty. Then there is Hego, a blacksmith who longs to be a hero who can boast about his brave deeds but struggles to do so by constantly making poor and slow decisions that only hurt his reputation. And Gauk, who is a berserker, a temperamental fighter who can easily be provoked.

At the beginning, Gauk’s close friend is killed by a bear which leaves him to struggle with his sorrow from the loss throughout the rest of the book. When he returns to his home village he learns that the jarl’s daughter, Hallgerd, is kidnapped and makes the decision, followed by his eager friend Hego, to go rescue her. The novel is without a doubt graphic, but that is not what bothers me so much about it.

Honestly, this novel is so hard to read because it is very choppy. The book is packed with adventure from the beginning till the very end. However, when the story is set in the middle of action it is suddenly interrupted by paragraphs describing what Odin’s favorite color is, etc. As I was reading it I was getting the idea that the author was either showing off all he knew or was trying to teach his readers all there is to know about Viking culture. Sure, I love to learn about Vikings and their history, but I do not look for it in adventure stories like this one.

Even though I will not spoil the ending, I was very disappointed with the way half of the book’s pages were about Guak, but the story’s ending did not reveal what his ultimate fate was. The book’s clumpy writing also makes it difficult to feel any connection with the characters within it because it is too busy informing the audience about Norse mythology. There were also some obvious spelling errors toward the end of the book that I am surprised were not noticed before the book was published. Honestly, why can’t some writers and editors take their jobs seriously?

I would suggest that readers looking for a good adventure novel set in Viking times should steer away from this one. However, if they are looking for a story that is filled with random information about Norse mythology, used only to take up more pages, then all I can say is, “Be my guest!”

*Book cover image borrowed from http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/c/michael-cadnum/daughter-of-wind.htm.