Nancy’s Comments on Wicked

July 26th, 2013

What an artful masterpiece! Gregory Maguire offers an intricate story with well-developed characters and deep layers, including meandering commentary on the problem of evil and suffering, while creating the back story for the beloved tale of the Wizard of Oz.

I must admit, I read slowly and not terribly eagerly at first, my perspective colored by those who told me that the book is very dark, and not as good as the musical. But I quickly became intrigued and engaged as Elphaba’s struggle to do good unfolds.

Discrimination and injustice disturb me. I have joined efforts to work against them for many years. I appreciate that this book puts these deep rooted societal issues at the center of the story. As I have found in my work, there are no simple paths to stop the mistreatment. Those who work for justice are often silenced and marginalized as in Maguire’s novel.

     The book causes me to think more carefully about the problem of evil. In the past, the “witches” were burned at the stake for their perceived evil. In this book, Maguire casts evil in the form of empire to a large extent, and sorcery becomes more of a profession, used from time to time in good and bad ways by individuals.  The “witch” characters seem to fear they are merely pawns in the games of the powerful. And the Wicked Witch spends much of her efforts seeking forgiveness, an unlikely past time for an evil sorcerer. On  the other hand, I found myself noticing that few, if any characters came off as “good,” or free of sin.  And I know we all share both light and the shadow, as we follow the yellow brick road through our lives.