Wicked: the bestselling book that inspired the movie Paperback – 1 Oct. 2024

This book came quickly and was an interesting read. Always get my books from Amazon

Loved every minute of reading this I'd happily take a non musical series over a musical any day, best book I've ever read

I cannot stress enough how this book is not for children – there is content that is deeply unsuitable for youngsters, and I am kind of mad at the publishers for using the film images as it really appeals to kids.Be aware there are some spoilers ahead:As prequels go this is a pretty good one. Here we meet the Wicked Witch Of The West before a house was dropped on her sister and Dorothy merrily waltzed off with the Ruby slippers.In Munchkinland, Frex and Melena are awaiting the birth of their baby. Frex is a minister and wanders the land preaching to the Munchkinlanders. Melena is a noble who married to escape her fate. Frex has left the house that morning to visit a nearby township to warn them of the dangers of the ‘The Time Dragon’ – a mechanical device that appears to tell fortunes. ‘The Time Dragon’ tells Frex’s fortune – his hidden wealth and his punishment. Soon after Elphaba is born – a beautiful baby who just happens to be bright green. Frex and Melena are disinterested in the baby and alarmed by her needle-sharp teeth, so Melena sends for her old Nanny. In an effort to get to the bottom of Elphaba’s greenness, Nanny speaks at length with Melena, and we learn that she hasn’t been faithful to Frex on numerous occasions including times that she can’t quite remember.Fast forward a few years and we meet Galinda on her way to Shiz university. She is travelling alone due to an accident to Ama Clutch, her attendant. On arriving at Shiz, Galinda is alarmed to find that due to the absence of her Ama she has been left without a roomie – and that is when Madam Morrible puts Elphaba and Galinda together.If you want to read the story from the movie or the stage play, then this isn’t that. This is political, multi-layered, consumed with right and wrong and how perception can cause someone to be viewed as good or evil. Elphaba struggles to find her place in the world – a world that seems intent on demonizing things that are considered ‘other’.We already know how the story of Elphaba ends but her journey there is interesting and absorbing. Yes, there are time jumps, we frequently move forward by chunks of years but it moves the story along well and we always get a little thumbnail sketch of what has happened in the intervening years.I was really enjoying the book until I got to the last 10% or so when Elphaba’s behaviour becomes more erratic and we can see the ‘Wickedness’ in her and that seems to have come from nowhere. Other than that, I really enjoyed it. Galinda is as vapid and silly as she is in the play, more obsessed with her own vanity than in being genuinely good, Nessarose is a good foil for Elphaba as she leans into the wicked witch idea, and the Wizard is a bitter tyrant (who appears to be Elphaba’s father through some twisted drugging of Melena) - it leaves one pondering who the really Wicked are.If you read this expecting the movie or stage play then you will be disappointed because it is very different, however, if you are coming to it with an open mind and are prepared to forget what you know about the films then you will find it is well worth a trip down the yellow brick road.

This took multiple attempts to get into, both reading and listening to the audio book.I actually think this broke me, it is not my usual genre of book and once I’d finished it I found it hard to get into another book. Once I did get into the book it gripped me but it did take a while.

After watching the Wicked movie I was impressed and decided that I wanted to read the source materialThe book is made of good quality and feels like a more premium book compared to some

I don’t usually read non fiction but I thought I’d give this a good. Good work with great storyline. There is a bit of the book that’s not for children. I haven’t watched the film yet so it’ll be interesting to see if it’s matched up. I’ve passed the book on to a friend to read.

A most enjoyable read.

Although I was warned this was not the story I’ve seen on stage and cinema I still found where the inspiration and story came from. This was a difficult read for me (dyslexic here), with lots of twists and turns, jumping timelines & made-up words but I enjoyed the story minus the violence but it gave the story flow, meaning & background.Will be reading the next book soon