The Book Depository Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire

Author: A. Non

Rating: 5

Review: *very minor spoilers* I was sorry to hear that "Out of Oz" is to be the last book in Gregory Maguire's Wicked Years series, but I am pleased to see that he has finished on such strong form. After adoring "Wicked: the Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" (despite suspecting I would not) and loving "Son of a Witch", I was most disappointed with "A Lion Among Men", and feared the final installment would not compare to the earliest two. I needn't have worried. I devoured it. Nearly 600 pages in two days, which is a sure sign of its readability. I could hardly put it down to eat until I was done. The book opens with Glinda the Good - aging but determined to cling on to her youth, and still mourning and dreaming of the return of Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) - being placed under house arrest for sedition, with an ever-decreasing retinue of staff. It's sad we only really see her for the first 120 pages - she always has been and remains one of the most vibrantly-drawn characters and her absence was notably felt in "A Lion Among Men". It is in her household that we meet Rain, Elphaba's granddaughter, and one of the strangest children in fiction. Our adventure doesn't really start until Rain leaves Glinda's household, and old characters resurface. It is here I leave the plot for other readers to discover and turn to the characters. The Cowardly Lion, Brrr (who I wouldn't have objected to being shot for a rug after "A Lion Among Men") is back and now has some semblance of a backbone and has developed into a generally more likable character. We also reconnect with Ilianora - formerly Nor - who literally and figuratively veils herself from the world, but seems to deeply desire children despite sterilising herself in a most crude way. Rain's parents Liir and Candle return and try to reconnect with their odd little child. I was delighted that former nun Sister Apothecaire is back, revoking her vows of chastity and obedience in the process. And there's Dorothy Gale - hyper-cheery, optimistic, and still without a thought in that perky little head, despite being placed on trial for double-murder. The book is well-paced; it is thoroughly enjoyable even before the adventure begins. Maguire uses the lyrical language we've come to expect from him in the previous three volumes. For fans of the film "The Wizard of Oz", and those of us who know the musical "Wicked", he even manages to sneak in a few clever references. This is not the book to start with if you're new to Gregory Maguire. It will make no sense at all unless you have read the whole Wicked Years series so far. Those of us who have followed the series won't get every outcome they may have hoped for. Not everyone gets the "happy ending" they seek. However, it's none the worse for it, and I think this finale strikes just the right balance of tying up loose ends of the past and opening the door to the future. Recommended to all readers of this intelligent fantasy series for adults.

Author: The stoat

Rating: 3

Review: I read Wicked and loved it, Son of a Witch also. but A Lion in Winter I found on first read rather pointless and detracting from the brilliance of the other two. However when the final installment came out I re-read all three to familiarise myself with the story and then went straight into Out of Oz. Surprisingly to myself I found A Lion in Winter much better on second read. I read that someone here on this thread thought that you wouldn't be able to understand the book without reading the other three. I beg to differ: Out of Oz bows to the lowest common denominator by insisting on re-capping situations and characters from the other books. This was unnecessary and incredibly annoying. I want to be able to make my own remembering and associations, not talked to in a patronising manner by the author. It makes it very easy I would have thought to understand this as a stand alone book and if Maquire hadn't insisted on doing this so much the book would have been many pages shorter. There is much that is compelling: Some beautiful and haunting writing as always, I disagree with the comments that there is too much description, I think it is essential in this series and the author is very skilled at creating this other land of Oz. I want to go back there again and again but apparently this will be the last time. Shame. Mr Boss is a great character and Glinda is always good value. However I agree with the comment already on here that Rain appears to chance character at school. The school chapters are bad filler. Not at all comparable to the Shiz University Scenes in Wicked, it is like something out of Little Women or a Dickens classic, seems out of place and rather childish and on the whole these books are not for children. Dorothy is as always acutely annoying and distracting. Why is she in it? Seems totally superfluous to the plot. The trial ridiculous and could have been replaced with another sub-plot to achieve the same point - deflection. I am surprised that as Maquire re-wrote the Witches that he couldn't be bothered to completely re-write the character of Dorothy right from the start - In fact why not make the whole Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion thing better? Anyway that is probably relevant criticism of and review for the first book I digress. The author does not tie up many loose ends, just brings in minor characters from the other books for no apparent reason. The loose ends that need to be brought together are mainly not resolved. However there is one real surprise near the end of the book which pleased me and gave me hope for a great ending. I had started to think would not happen and unfortunately it didn't, ultimately a real fizzle at the end. ????????? Dreadful. It was an opportunity to answer the question we all wanted answered: What happened to ??????????? Unless there is going to be another book - and we are told there is not - this is an exercise in teasing the reader for profit. I have made my own ending in my head. It is far better and I am trying to ignore the actual one.