Wicked

The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

By: Gregory Maguire

Narrated by: John McDonough

Length: 19 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

Heralded as an instant classic of fantasy literature, Maguire has written a wonderfully imaginative retelling of The Wizard of Oz told from the Wicked Witch's point of view. More than just a fairy tale for adults, Wicked is a meditation on the nature of good and evil.

Elphaba is born with green skin, a precocious mind, and a talent for magic. An outcast throughout her childhood in Munchkinland, she finally begins to feel as though she fits in when she enters the University in the Emerald City. While she hones her skills, she discovers that Oz isn't the Utopia it seems. She sets out to protect its unwanted creatures, becoming known as the Wicked Witch along the way.

Narrator John McDonough draws you in to Maguire's magical world of witches and talking animals, making it possible to believe in a land somewhere over the rainbow.

©1995 Gregory Maguire (P)2000 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"A staggering feat of wordcraft." (Los Angeles Times)
"McDonough's excellent portrayals of Elphaba's outspoken, gravel-voiced nanny, Glinda's snobbish friends, and the wide-eyed, soft-spoken Dorothy make this excursion to Oz worthwhile." (Publishers Weekly)

Great novel, narration not so hot..

The content of the novel itself is very good no matter how twisted and disgusting some of the events and characters were. It's an intriguing take on the origins of the Wicked Witch of the West and brings vivid life to the world of OZ that seemed so silly and unbelievable prior to this book. My only gripe is that the narration at times was very distracting and distinguishing between characters at the beginning was a chore.

Weird, uneven, unpolished

Would you recommend Wicked to your friends? Why or why not?

To some... those who enjoy psychological historical novels. Maybe.

Which character – as performed by John McDonough – was your favorite?

He was OK - all the characters were recognizable.

Any additional comments?

It's not a GOOD book. It's not bad, either.
It feels like the author had a good idea. His grasp of language, details, etc. is brilliant. What's missing is - cohesion.

The books starts too slow, gets more or less OK towards the middle, but the end is disappointingly crumpled, unexplained. The author struggled to fit into the boundaries of the original Dorothy story - and failed.

All in all, a disappointment.

great!

Where does Wicked rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

John McDonough is a great reader for this story. I believe he gave the charactor such a personality! I enjoyed it so very much!

I'm probably the last person to read this book

When this book came out, just about everyone I know read it and recommended it to me. But you know how it is....

Anyway, now that Audible has changed all that, I heartily recommend this book.

It's a whole fresh story of a truly interesting character. Forget what you think you know about the "Wicked Witch;" she's actually quite a sympathetic and fascinating character.

The book has a rich structure and is beautifully performed. I don't know any reason why anyone wouldn't enjoy it.

An unhappy ending...

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Maguire glossed over some the more famous plot points from the movie. There is almost no interaction between Dorothy and witch in this book. These are the scenes I was most interested in and I was left feeling very unsatisfied at the end of the book.

If you’ve listened to books by Gregory Maguire before, how does this one compare?

This is the first book I have listened to from this author.

What about John McDonough’s performance did you like?

John McDonough's performance was superb. I especially enjoyed his booming

Was Wicked worth the listening time?

I enjoyed Wicked until the last section of the book. I kept waiting for the story to come together. A few questions were answered but I really wanted more. I can't say that I would recommend this to a friend. I won't listen to it again but I don't regret listening to it once.

Any additional comments?

Great back-story and some new (to Oz) characters but overall, very disappointing.

wonderful

i felt as if i lost my friends as the last words of the book slipped by

I enjoyed the book, The narration was good.

New View on a old book. I would definitely suggested 2 all my good friends

Wicked (Unabridged)

I enjoyed this book very much. Seeing it thru the Witches point of view gave me a whole new prospective on the Wizard of Oz.

SO SAD😔

I can’t believe how sad I am that the story is over! I put off finishing the final part so I could enjoy being engrossed in a story & loving the anticipation of plots yet to come. It’s been a very long time since I’ve felt like this & simply relished every moment of this Audible story.
I gave 5 stars for all 3 divisions; I have always said it’s my #1 favorite so that’s story, the reading was wonderfully easy to lose yourself in the reading performance, and lastly, overall how could I not love a talented performance of my favorite movie?! So ya, my review is 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️s for all 3. Highly recommend!

What a great perspective!

To read from the Wicked Witches story definitely changed my whole view of "The Wizard of Oz" story!