• Out of Oz

  • The Wicked Years, Volume 4
  • By: Gregory Maguire
  • Narrated by: John McDonough
  • Length: 28 hrs and 44 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (1,058 ratings)

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Out of Oz  By  cover art

Out of Oz

By: Gregory Maguire
Narrated by: John McDonough
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Publisher's summary

The stunning conclusion to the smash New York Times best-selling series the Wicked Years

Gregory Maguire's Wicked Years series became national best sellers and the basis for a hit Tony-winning Broadway musical. Now, Maguire returns with the final installment in his transformative work, a thrilling and compulsively readable saga in which the fate of Oz is decided at last.

Once peaceful and prosperous, the spectacular Land of Oz is knotted with social unrest: The Emerald City is mounting an invasion of Munchkinland, Glinda is under house arrest, and the Cowardly Lion is on the run from the law. And look who's knocking at the door. It’s none other than Dorothy. Yes. That Dorothy.

Yet amid all this chaos, Elphaba’s granddaughter, the tiny green baby born at the close of Son of a Witch, has come of age. Now it is up to Rain to take up her broom - and her legacy - in an Oz wracked by war.

The stirring, long-awaited conclusion to the best-selling series that began with Wicked, Out of Oz is a magical journey rife with revelations and reversals, reprisals and surprises - the hallmarks of the unique imagination of Gregory Maguire.

Return to Oz: listen to another title in the Wicked Years series.; Download the accompanying reference guide.
©2011 Gregory Maguire (P)2011 HarperCollinsPublishers

What listeners say about Out of Oz

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Worth the Wait!

I've waited a long time for this - and it was only over too fast! There is some serious tying up of loose ends, some SHOCKS that had me in TEARS, and I must say, it's time now to listen to the whole series, because I'm sure I missed stuff. But Brrr is back, as lovable and neurotic as ever, we find out what happens to all of Elphaba's progeny (like that green baby!), and meet so many of the characters from the previous 3 novels. I can't say much more without giving stuff away, but if you've loved the first 3, you will love this! I sure did!

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Chances Are, You'll Be Safe in Judging the Cover

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Recommend a book in the Wicked series? HAHAHAHA.

No.

But why, you might be asking. Didn't I rate the book highly? Didn't I sit through every single one of the Wicked Years, gleefully bouncing up and down in my seat and clapping my hands like a three year old on a sugar rush? Why on earth would I forsake a recommendation on a series that has brought so much joy, so much food for thought, so much lasting pleasure into my life? Well, mostly for the same reason that I would never recommend full body tattoos or natto sushi. Namely, they're a commitment and a unique taste. And those types of books are ones that are rarely shareable. This is a huge monster of a book that requires more than just simple audience participation - it demands that you get on stage and join it in it's antics, and it screams for you to throw a few punches of your own into the mix as well.

Needless to say that if you got this far, if you read/listened to the other books in the series and actually LIKED them, as opposed to grudgingly reading them (which oddly enough, I think a fair number of this series do) , I think it's safe to say that you'll have a similar experience with this one. In a lot of ways I think that Out of Oz is a lot more similar to Wicked than most of its predecessors were.

I suppose I really can't add any more bits of wisdom other than that. The one good thing about Maguire's books is that if you read one you'll pretty much be able to gauge where you stand with all the others. Read Wicked and had mixed feelings? Well replace Wicked with Out of Oz and there's your magic answer. I don't think this is a book that someone should have to squander a credit on in the hopes that "this might be the one". If you haven't liked the series up until now, cut your losses and be done with it. If you do like these books then, yes, I wholeheartedly recommend it to you.

What other book might you compare Out of Oz to and why?

There is no one character - everything he narrates for this series in magical. As always I'm just floored at how wonderful John McDonough is. For me he is THE voice of the Wicked Years. I can't count the number of times I tried to read Wicked on my own way back in the day and failed for any number of reasons. But hearing these books read in his voice brought life into the characters and brought out subtleties in the plot that I never would have been able to construct on my own. Needless to say that while this book would have been fine in its own right, McDonough makes it a pure tour de force. So, that you John for making the commitment to this series.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No.

For one thing the book in print or in audio is HUGE.

Second, Maguire's prose is so steeped in lyricism, in witticisms and allusions that I think it would be a disservice to plow through it without taking some breaks in between to let it all sink in and ponder what it is he's trying to convey to the reader. Plus there is so. damn. much. emotional hardship in this book. Maguire is an author that really likes to put his characters through the wringer, and here, more than any other book in the series, it shows. In fact, I would probably go so far as to say that the central focus in Out of Oz is the concept of the Happily Ever After - that the only After's that really last are the ones that we continually watch over and mend on our own.

Any additional comments?

Two of my favorite lines/passages :

“She wasn't afraid of doing good or of resisting evil. She was merely afraid she might not be able to tell the difference.”

“Maybe that's what growing up means, in the end - you go far enough in the direction of - somewhere - and you realize that you've neutered the capacity of the term home to mean anything. [...] We don't get an endless number of orbits away from the place where meaning first arises, that treasure-house of first experiences. What we learn, instead, is that our adventures secure us in our isolation. Experience revokes our licence to return to simpler times. Sooner or later, there's no place remotely like home.”

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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A Wonderful Journey

If you could sum up Out of Oz in three words, what would they be?

Twisted Mind F&$@!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Out of Oz?

When the blind-fold was lifted from Liir and Candle's eyes and they could see what

Have you listened to any of John McDonough’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have only heard Mr. McDonough read Wicked and A Lion Among Men and I truly enjoyed his interpretation. I especially love his Brrr and his Granny was a hoot!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Out of Oz...Ruby slippers no required

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it.

What did you love best about Out of Oz?

I feel that it's a fitting end to the Wicked Years. It wraps things up nicely, and the author answers some questions that seem to arise. Gregory adds some pretty wicked humor at the right times to give a good chuckle. Like wise, if you've fallen in love with any of the characters you'll experience tragedy as well. Most of all I love how the author re-wrote the world of Oz so that you find out that the Wizard of Oz may not have been everything youve known it to be.

What did you like best about this story?

Oh, there's so much. I guess, how attracted I got to some of the characters, and how much I detested some others.

Which scene was your favorite?

Grandma Beaver was pretty great.

Any additional comments?

I agree with many of the other listeners who have listened to Out Of Ozz and the earlier books. These books aren't for everyone. At times Gregory seems to just ramble on and you begin to wonder what he's getting at. There's a few things I would like to point out with The Wicked Years. To start with, this is not a series for your young daughter. If you watched the musical and then decided to read the book, Wicked, be aware that this series was written with a mature audience in mind.

This is a very introspective series. As you listen ( or read) you can somewhat see the author's own philosophies and questions that he's writing into his book. You can take it at face value of whats going on in the story or you can also follow his thought trains. He tends to derail sometimes and play around with some ideas. I think this is why many may not appreciate it. It's also not a book/ or series for people who think that every story needs to end on a positive note. As I said its introspective and I feel the author writes his own thoughts on life into the series.

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  • T
  • 09-28-12

Maguire's stories are much more enjoyable in audio

This is the first book in the out of oz series which I got on audio book. Reading the earlier books, I was not very engaged in the stories. I would find myself stopping and starting the books over and over until I finally finished them. I became very engaged in this book in a way I did not with the others. I think its due to the audio performance. I might just pick up the other books in audio.

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Tied up in typical Maguire fashion!

If you could sum up Out of Oz in three words, what would they be?

War Rain Peace

What did you like best about this story?

The bringing together of all the characters from the four books for a satisfying conclusion.

Which scene was your favorite?

Bringing Liir back from the dead.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Would have loved to, but too long to do it! However, I did stay up quite late on the last night. Had to see how it ended!

Any additional comments?

The author wants his readers to draw their own conclusions, like always. At first I was unsure of the ending, but thinking it over now I love it. (The last sentence in the book is eerily similar to the first sentence in Wicked).

Readers should look for sly references to the musical, Judy Garland, The Wiz and of course the previous books. There are also some fun asides to Gone With The Wind which was also produced in 1939.

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Loved it!!

So well done!! Great attention to detail. Kind of confusing when around a little in the beginning but all comes together wonderfully.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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To the point

Not the ending I was expecting, but that's good. I like being kept on my toes. Nothing is what you'd expect in the land of OZ and following the lineage of the Wicked Witch has left me wonderstruck. I know it's over, but I want more.

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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Ramble on!

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I'm not really sure I could find someone who would enjoy this rambling mess.

What was most disappointing about Gregory Maguire’s story?

I'm not really sure there was a story here. I listened to it, and when done, I just don't rurally understand what the story was suppose to be anyway. The first book was awesome, but the next three have gotten progressively worse. I continued listening to this book in hopes that it would be redeeming at some point, but alas I was sadly disappointed.

Have you listened to any of John McDonough’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Performance is fine, it was the story that was just awful.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

This book sparked disappointment and confusion as to what exactly the story was.

Any additional comments?

Don't waste your time with this book. In the end, it is just a rambling mess of nothing.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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a bit too long

I loved the other books in the Wicked series, however this one felt out of place and a bit too long. At times it felt a bit too wordy and descriptive.
But I stuck it out since I wanted to know how the story ended. The ending was lack luster and ultimately I could have done without this installment.
If you really want to know how the Wicked series ends read it. However its not really exciting.

The narration itself was great though.

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