Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West 💚💗

By Gregory Maguire.

I went into Wicked with very high expectations. The theatre show has been one of my all-time favourites for years, and I have lost count of how many times I’ve watched the film adaptation.

The music, the characters, the story, all of it has such a special place in my heart. So, naturally, I assumed the book that inspired it all would be an instant five-star read.

Sadly, I was wrong.

I made it to around 60% before admitting defeat. While I knew going in that the stage and film adaptations were inspired by Gregory Maguire’s book rather than being faithful retellings, I was surprised at just how different it was. The tone, pacing, and character relationships bear little resemblance to the versions I already loved, and this made it hard for me to find my footing in the story.

The premise remains a fascinating one. In Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, we see the Wicked Witch of the West solely through Dorothy’s perspective. Wicked aims to flip that narrative, exploring where the witch came from, how she became “wicked,” and questioning what good and evil truly mean.

Maguire paints a rich and complex Oz, one where animals talk and demand equal rights, Munchkinlanders chase middle-class respectability, and the Tin Man’s backstory takes a heartbreaking turn. At the heart of it all is Elphaba, the green-skinned girl who will grow into the infamous witch.

Unfortunately, the execution didn’t work for me. The book introduces a huge cast of characters, with numerous side plots and changing relationships. Rather than feeling layered and immersive, it felt cluttered and hard to follow. I often found myself pausing to recall who was who and how they connected to the main narrative, which broke the flow of reading. The dense political and philosophical undercurrents, while impressive, also slowed the pacing and made it more of a challenge than I’d anticipated.

That said, I can absolutely see why Wicked has devoted fans. The writing is ambitious, the world-building is unlike anything else in fantasy, and Maguire clearly set out to create a work that makes you think as much as it entertains. It just wasn’t the reading experience I was looking for, especially with the deep personal attachment I already have to the musical and film.

For now, I’ll happily revisit Elphaba’s story on stage and screen instead — and yes, I’m already counting down the days until Wicked Part 2 hits the cinema.

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