This is the first book I’m reviewing that I never finished and have no intention of finishing. I can’t even tell you that much about the plot because it’s been over a year since I shelved it. When I thought about reading it again, I remembered how much of a chore it was to read. The format of this review will be a little different than normal. Alright, let’s talk about Wicked
Before I started reading Wicked, I had heard that if you liked the musical then you wouldn’t like the book. Well, I had never seen the musical. I did listen to the soundtrack, and since there were moments that I didn’t fully understand, I figured I’d read the book with the hope it would fill in the gaps.
I feel that Wicked was written with shock value in mind. Some moments, uncomfortable moments, add nothing to the story but get way too much time and detail seeming just to disgust the audience.
Actually, that’s not fair.
I’m sure the dark/disturbing scenes were meant to world build. The world of Wicked is a terrible place that made the Wicked Witch into the villain that she is, so it makes sense that things get weird in the book.
The being said, I could have lived without the sex show that turned into a threesome with bestiality (and if I remember right, one of the characters was a minor. Double gross). In fact, this book is full of random sexapades I could live without that probably don’t go on to affect the plot, but I didn’t stick around to find out.
I think I just don’t like Gregory Maguire’s writing to be honest. I read his book After Alice around the same time. Both stories rely too much on their concept (which is rooted in someone else’s work) for momentum. While he does provide some interesting twist and turns to the world he takes on, it doesn’t really hold my interests.
So I’m going to rate Wicked as a 2.5 out of 5. (I would rank After Alice as 3 out of 5 because at least I could finish that one.)
I Think Thinks 