Status
Available
Call number
Series
Collection
Publication
William Morrow Paperbacks (2006), Paperback, 352 pages
Description
The sequel to Wicked returns to the land of Oz to tell the story of Liir, an adolescent boy last seen hiding in the shadows of the castle after Dorothy did in Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. Bruised, comatose, and left for dead in a gully, Liir is shattered in spirit as well as in form. But he is tended at the Cloister of Saint Glinda by the silent novice called Candle, who wills him back to life with her musical gifts. What dark force left Liir in this condition? Is he really Elphaba's son? He has her broom and her cape, but what of her powers? Can he find his supposed half-sister, Nor, last seen in the forbidding prison, Southstairs? Can he fulfill the last wishes of a dying princess? In an Oz that, since the Wizard's departure, is under new and dangerous management, can Liir keep his head down long enough to grow up?… (more)
Media reviews
''Son of a Witch" is vintage Maguire, thoroughly entertaining even at its darkest. Oz is as complex and satisfying a fantastic world as ever, wonderfully described, from the steam rising out of the marshes to the sloe-eyed young homeless on the Emerald City streets.
Enchanted elephants and dragon death squads — Maguire's sequel to his 1995 best-seller, Wicked, is as fantastical as a novel set in Oz should be.
As a result the story - which is meant to contain great love and great tragedy as well as great invention - tends to slip awkwardly between registers. Maguire may have successfully done away with Dorothy, but he hasn't quite got control of his broomstick yet.
Like the character Liir at its center ("a solitary figure untroubled by ambition, unfettered by talent, uncertain of a damn thing"), the novel suffers from entropy. It wanders around, off-kilter and aimless: "A year passed, another. Nothing was the same, year after year, but little was different,
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either." Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member Maethelwine
I really wanted to like this novel. I loved Oz as a child, am always glad to see someone take it up as a subject, and a prequel, Wicked, was pretty good. This one, though, is terrible.
Liir, the main character, is so thinly drawn he seems almost disembodied, spending most of his time alone wondering
The supporting characters are utterly two dimensional props intended to prompt yet another cascade of self-doubt and identity-confusion in Liir. The one character Maguire really should have fleshed out, the Quadling girl Candle, is left a complete cipher, little more than a human bandaid for Liir in his darkest hours. Later, there is a gay subplot that managed to come across as both gratuitous and drearily inevitable. Liir and his soldier friend Trism (rhymes with...) have at each other in a frigid garret above a little countryside B&B, and the next morning Liir actually complains about his sore bottom as they mount their horses. Despite the fact that Maguire creates no real emotional link between the two, and in fact Trism rejects further advances, Liir spends the rest of the novel wondering whether it might work out after all, if things with Candle go sour. You begin to think that Liir is not merely confused, but possibly not all that bright either.
There are a handful of excellent scenes, but in a way they only make the novel more disappointing by highlighting the contrast between Maguire's ability to generate atmosphere and his failure to populate his novel with interesting characters.
Finally, the story is so unresolved that the book has no legs of its own to stand on. It simply hangs forlornly between the crutches of Wicked and whatever book comes next. Unfortunately, having followed the Son of the Witch this far, the prospect of going any farther is completely unappealing.
Liir, the main character, is so thinly drawn he seems almost disembodied, spending most of his time alone wondering
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who he is and what his place in the world might be. Frankly, it was almost impossible to care, particularly given irritating authorial idiosyncrasies such as Liir's incessant internal monologues concerning his feelings about situation X. Does he feel revulsion? Attraction? Or simply...self recognition? It's breathtaking how dull this becomes after a hundred pages. The supporting characters are utterly two dimensional props intended to prompt yet another cascade of self-doubt and identity-confusion in Liir. The one character Maguire really should have fleshed out, the Quadling girl Candle, is left a complete cipher, little more than a human bandaid for Liir in his darkest hours. Later, there is a gay subplot that managed to come across as both gratuitous and drearily inevitable. Liir and his soldier friend Trism (rhymes with...) have at each other in a frigid garret above a little countryside B&B, and the next morning Liir actually complains about his sore bottom as they mount their horses. Despite the fact that Maguire creates no real emotional link between the two, and in fact Trism rejects further advances, Liir spends the rest of the novel wondering whether it might work out after all, if things with Candle go sour. You begin to think that Liir is not merely confused, but possibly not all that bright either.
There are a handful of excellent scenes, but in a way they only make the novel more disappointing by highlighting the contrast between Maguire's ability to generate atmosphere and his failure to populate his novel with interesting characters.
Finally, the story is so unresolved that the book has no legs of its own to stand on. It simply hangs forlornly between the crutches of Wicked and whatever book comes next. Unfortunately, having followed the Son of the Witch this far, the prospect of going any farther is completely unappealing.
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LibraryThing member theokester
A year or so ago I read Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, and found it pretty enjoyable and thought provoking. Enough so that I picked up the follow-up book, Son of a Witch. It took a while to finally getting around to reading the second book...and by now I've seen the
My overall feeling is that Son of a Witch has way too much going on and isn't terribly focused. While Wicked had a moderately clear message it was trying to convey, I often felt lost as to the direction Son of Witch was going. Perhaps it was done intentionally by Maguire to help us feel just as uneasy and confused as Liir. If so, I think it went a little overboard. It also felt like many aspects of the text were there for shock value rather than substance since many of the actions and themes were just dropped in the reader's lap without any further discussion or contemplation by the narrative.
The narrative style was a bit confusing at first, transitioning between current action and dream/coma flashbacks. I got used to that style fairly quickly, but then the coma ended...apparently before Maguire was done with the backstory, because the next many chapters continued the flashback tale even though Liir was no longer in his coma. It wasn't awful, just a little unsettling and felt like bad planning from the author. Once the backstory has finalized, Liir just seems to wander idly around Oz, picking up quest after quest, but not really focusing whole heartedly on any one task. He constantly behaves like a victim of circumstance, all the while bemoaning his fate and his lack of action.
The main storyline, once extracted from all the extraneous threads in the book, was actually fairly interesting. Over the course of Liir's young life, Oz is transitioning between one political faction after another. While the changes of power are relatively free of violence, each new ruler brings new trials, disasters, repressions and violence. The flashback history while Liir's in a coma takes us through a couple of puppet governments (one almost literally with the Scarecrow...though "not Dorothy's Scarecrow") and finally leaving us with the Emperor. Liir becomes aware of the vile machinations of the Emperor and disagrees with the actions of the government. He helps uncover a mystery plaguing many travelers around Oz (a violent and tragic "face scraping" of travelers...which threatens to throw rival groups into war, or at least keep them from any form of peace). Liir even leads a small rebellion against the Emperor, but he really isn't motivated in this and just sort of wanders off.
Generally, this book felt like it was trying to make a number of political and social statements but in the end it just felt like a statement about inaction, complacency and finding your own purpose. Any statement was muddled amid too many distractions. There were many great paragraphs and "sound bites" that would make for cool one-off quotes, but the ideas weren't lasting enough to help pull the book off.
All of that said, I am still interested enough in the vivid and intriguing Oz that Maguire has crafted, such that I will likely seek out the third book (A Lion Among Men) to see what happens next. But sadly, my expectations have fallen a bit.
***
2.5 stars (out of 5)
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musical and forgotten elements of the first book (which are definitely radically changed for the musical). My overall feeling is that Son of a Witch has way too much going on and isn't terribly focused. While Wicked had a moderately clear message it was trying to convey, I often felt lost as to the direction Son of Witch was going. Perhaps it was done intentionally by Maguire to help us feel just as uneasy and confused as Liir. If so, I think it went a little overboard. It also felt like many aspects of the text were there for shock value rather than substance since many of the actions and themes were just dropped in the reader's lap without any further discussion or contemplation by the narrative.
The narrative style was a bit confusing at first, transitioning between current action and dream/coma flashbacks. I got used to that style fairly quickly, but then the coma ended...apparently before Maguire was done with the backstory, because the next many chapters continued the flashback tale even though Liir was no longer in his coma. It wasn't awful, just a little unsettling and felt like bad planning from the author. Once the backstory has finalized, Liir just seems to wander idly around Oz, picking up quest after quest, but not really focusing whole heartedly on any one task. He constantly behaves like a victim of circumstance, all the while bemoaning his fate and his lack of action.
The main storyline, once extracted from all the extraneous threads in the book, was actually fairly interesting. Over the course of Liir's young life, Oz is transitioning between one political faction after another. While the changes of power are relatively free of violence, each new ruler brings new trials, disasters, repressions and violence. The flashback history while Liir's in a coma takes us through a couple of puppet governments (one almost literally with the Scarecrow...though "not Dorothy's Scarecrow") and finally leaving us with the Emperor. Liir becomes aware of the vile machinations of the Emperor and disagrees with the actions of the government. He helps uncover a mystery plaguing many travelers around Oz (a violent and tragic "face scraping" of travelers...which threatens to throw rival groups into war, or at least keep them from any form of peace). Liir even leads a small rebellion against the Emperor, but he really isn't motivated in this and just sort of wanders off.
Generally, this book felt like it was trying to make a number of political and social statements but in the end it just felt like a statement about inaction, complacency and finding your own purpose. Any statement was muddled amid too many distractions. There were many great paragraphs and "sound bites" that would make for cool one-off quotes, but the ideas weren't lasting enough to help pull the book off.
All of that said, I am still interested enough in the vivid and intriguing Oz that Maguire has crafted, such that I will likely seek out the third book (A Lion Among Men) to see what happens next. But sadly, my expectations have fallen a bit.
***
2.5 stars (out of 5)
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LibraryThing member xicanti
The second volume in Gregory Maguire’s WICKED YEARS series follows Liir, the young man who may or may not be Elphaba’s son.
As is the case with all his novels, Maguire’s style owes more to literature than traditional fantasy. His prose is careful, deliberate, and often beautiful, and the
That’s not to say that this is such a convoluted story as all that. The shifts between the present day and Liir’s past are easy enough to follow. It’s definitely complex, though; there are a lot of questions, and Maguire provides us with very little in the way of concrete closure. Instead, he gives us all the pieces and lets us put them together for ourselves.
His fantastic worldbuilding adds yet another dimension to the story. He continues to elaborate on Oz, filling in gaps left by Baum’s original version and his own retelling. We learn a lot more about what makes this country tick. We get some further insights into the government, the military and the religious organizations that play such a large role in Ozian society. It’s a thing of beauty.
The story itself is mostly a coming of age tale. Liir’s path to adulthood is far from smooth; his strange childhood hasn’t really equipped him to deal with life outside of Kiamo Ko, and he makes a ton of mistakes along the way. He does deal with the consequences of his actions, though, and he has some brilliant moments. Even though I already knew how it would end, (and believe me, the last line is a killer), I became caught up in his story. I was always eager to plunk myself down and read just a little bit more. That little bit often turned into thirty or forty pages.
SON OF A WITCH isn't quite as good as WICKED, but it’s still well worth your time. If you enjoyed Maguire’s version of Oz the first time around, you’ll want to get your hands on this as well.
(This review originally appeared in a slightly different form on my blog,
As is the case with all his novels, Maguire’s style owes more to literature than traditional fantasy. His prose is careful, deliberate, and often beautiful, and the
Show More
novel’s structure follows suit. He alternates between present-day scenes and flashbacks to Liir’s past throughout the first part of the book. We spend time with the maunts of the Cloister of Saint Glinda as they investigate a series of brutal attacks and try to nurse Liir back to health in the hopes that he can tell them who’s responsible. At the same time, we see how Elphaba’s death affected Liir and what he’s done with his life since then. Maguire handles the back-and-forth very nicely; I wanted more of both stories in the best possible way. The two storylines feed off of one another, too; Liir’s story answers some of the questions the reader has about the Oz the maunts live in, and vice versa. There are plenty of those wonderful little “Ah ha!” moments that make reading a convoluted story so much fun.That’s not to say that this is such a convoluted story as all that. The shifts between the present day and Liir’s past are easy enough to follow. It’s definitely complex, though; there are a lot of questions, and Maguire provides us with very little in the way of concrete closure. Instead, he gives us all the pieces and lets us put them together for ourselves.
His fantastic worldbuilding adds yet another dimension to the story. He continues to elaborate on Oz, filling in gaps left by Baum’s original version and his own retelling. We learn a lot more about what makes this country tick. We get some further insights into the government, the military and the religious organizations that play such a large role in Ozian society. It’s a thing of beauty.
The story itself is mostly a coming of age tale. Liir’s path to adulthood is far from smooth; his strange childhood hasn’t really equipped him to deal with life outside of Kiamo Ko, and he makes a ton of mistakes along the way. He does deal with the consequences of his actions, though, and he has some brilliant moments. Even though I already knew how it would end, (and believe me, the last line is a killer), I became caught up in his story. I was always eager to plunk myself down and read just a little bit more. That little bit often turned into thirty or forty pages.
SON OF A WITCH isn't quite as good as WICKED, but it’s still well worth your time. If you enjoyed Maguire’s version of Oz the first time around, you’ll want to get your hands on this as well.
(This review originally appeared in a slightly different form on my blog,
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LibraryThing member klarsenmd
While this one wasn't quite as good as WIcked, it was still enchanting. despite the slow start, the story really picked up towards the end with lots of politics, interesting twists and great characters.
Liir is questionably the son of the wicked witch of the west. He is a tortured soul and on a
Liir is questionably the son of the wicked witch of the west. He is a tortured soul and on a
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mission. When the politics of Oz get in the way his life takes a few unexpected turns and the reader is taken on a great adventure in the process. Show Less
LibraryThing member yarkan
I thought Wicked was an awesome book, an astounding epic book with a different look at Oz. I had a hard time getting through this sequel. Was it the slowness? Or maybe I felt no sympathy for the protagonist. He seemed clueless. Or maybe that was just me. He is bicurious, which seemed to come out of
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nowhere. I wondered if that and other themes were part of Maguire's political agenda. So many things didn't make sense to me. This one is so obviously set up for the next one with all the unanswered questions left hanging. Annoying. Show Less
LibraryThing member tiptoefairy
I read some reviews on Amazon and was leery of reading this. However, I disagree with people who felt it was not necessary or happening at the same time as Wicked. I tried to read it before I read Wicked and didn't get it, so I stopped and read Wicked first. I think that is definitely necessary
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because then you completely know what's going on. This was a book I couldn't put down. I actually enjoyed it much more than Wicked. I felt it was more fast paced and had lots of action compared to Wicked. And the ending is a killer because it definitely makes you hope for a third installment in this story. It drove me crazy and I was hungry for more when I read the ending. Show Less
LibraryThing member cybrarian_wi
Not as good as Wicked and in some places a little predictable but still an entertaining read.
LibraryThing member simchaboston
Not as dazzling or satisfying as "Wicked", and the character of Liir kept frustrating me (I wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shake him until he did something with his life). But it's still worth a read, and raises some interesting questions about people's responsibilities.
LibraryThing member ExVivre
This sequel to the highly amusing novel Wicked is one vast stretch of drudgery after another. The entire book is a plateau with a slight blip of energy towards the end. There is little or no resolution of plot lines, and this is certain proof that it's all set-up for a sequel. Or so one hopes,
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given the dismal effort Maguire displays here. Show Less
LibraryThing member iammbb
It took me two readings to really appreciate the charms of Wicked.
On the first reading, Son of a Witch does not match the mastery of Wicked.
Son of a Witch picks up the story of Elphaba's son, Liir, although Maguire expends an annoying amount of energy and verbiage trying to convince the reader that
The novel picks up approximately 10 years after the death (?) of Elphaba and fills in the intervening years through flashback. A recurring theme throughout the book is the question of whether "Elphaba Lives." Given that I had just seen Wicked - The Musical, I was amenable to the idea that Elphaba was in fact alive.
The book was uneven and choppy. It held my interest in spite of itself, mostly due to my curiosity as opposed to any intrinsic artistry. Maguire's imagination still impresses but his storytelling disappoints.
I finished the book with a feeling of inconclusiveness. I suspected yet another sequel and was not surprised to learn that in October of 2006, Maguire announced that he was working on a third book based in Oz.
On the first reading, Son of a Witch does not match the mastery of Wicked.
Son of a Witch picks up the story of Elphaba's son, Liir, although Maguire expends an annoying amount of energy and verbiage trying to convince the reader that
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this fact is in question.The novel picks up approximately 10 years after the death (?) of Elphaba and fills in the intervening years through flashback. A recurring theme throughout the book is the question of whether "Elphaba Lives." Given that I had just seen Wicked - The Musical, I was amenable to the idea that Elphaba was in fact alive.
The book was uneven and choppy. It held my interest in spite of itself, mostly due to my curiosity as opposed to any intrinsic artistry. Maguire's imagination still impresses but his storytelling disappoints.
I finished the book with a feeling of inconclusiveness. I suspected yet another sequel and was not surprised to learn that in October of 2006, Maguire announced that he was working on a third book based in Oz.
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LibraryThing member im-imagined
Unimpressive. Certainly doesn't live up to the standards set by 'Wicked'. If I'm honest, the whole idea of a sequel without the main and most interesting character (ie. Elphaba) seems a bit like lunacy.
LibraryThing member bribre01
I was dissapointed with the ending, excpected something more interseting and intreguing. Overall a good read though.
LibraryThing member amanda_anderson
This was less enjoyable than WICKED but continued the story nicely - there were things I felt were missing and areas I had predicted differently but overall it was anohter intricate story woven by Maguire whose abilities to twist conventional fairy tales into modern realities is riviting.
LibraryThing member madamejeanie
This was a superbly written sequel to "Wicked," telling the story of
Liir who was last seen cowering in a doorway while Dorothy did in the
Witch. He's never known who his parents were and no one has ever
enlightened him about that, but he suspects that Elphaba was his mother,
though why he thinks
to the Emerald City, mostly because there is nothing at Kiamo Ko to keep
him there but the flying monkeys bred by the Witch. He gets the witch's
broom back from the Scarecrow and sets off to find the young girl who
might be his half-sister, Nor. From the depths of the worst prison in
Oz, Southstairs, to serving in the Home Guard army in the Emerald City,
to learning to fly on the broom, Liir has one adventure after another,
maturing as he goes. When he is attacked and left for dead by a flock
of dragons, he is taken in by the maunts at the Cloister of Saint Glinda
and nursed back to health from a certain death by the young mute novice
named Candle, who coaxes his spirit back with the magic of music.
Throughout this book, he continues his search for Nor, believing somehow
that she holds the secret to who he really is. The question is, will he
survive long enough to mature into the man he was meant to be?
This book was splendidly well written, a tale spun of pure gold. I read
this one slowly, to savor every word and I was very sorry to come to the
end of it. Gregory Maguire has become one of my favorite story tellers
and I cannot recommend this book too highly. A very high 5.
Liir who was last seen cowering in a doorway while Dorothy did in the
Witch. He's never known who his parents were and no one has ever
enlightened him about that, but he suspects that Elphaba was his mother,
though why he thinks
Show More
that he really can't say. He sets off with Dorothy to the Emerald City, mostly because there is nothing at Kiamo Ko to keep
him there but the flying monkeys bred by the Witch. He gets the witch's
broom back from the Scarecrow and sets off to find the young girl who
might be his half-sister, Nor. From the depths of the worst prison in
Oz, Southstairs, to serving in the Home Guard army in the Emerald City,
to learning to fly on the broom, Liir has one adventure after another,
maturing as he goes. When he is attacked and left for dead by a flock
of dragons, he is taken in by the maunts at the Cloister of Saint Glinda
and nursed back to health from a certain death by the young mute novice
named Candle, who coaxes his spirit back with the magic of music.
Throughout this book, he continues his search for Nor, believing somehow
that she holds the secret to who he really is. The question is, will he
survive long enough to mature into the man he was meant to be?
This book was splendidly well written, a tale spun of pure gold. I read
this one slowly, to savor every word and I was very sorry to come to the
end of it. Gregory Maguire has become one of my favorite story tellers
and I cannot recommend this book too highly. A very high 5.
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LibraryThing member aliciamalia
The long-awaited sequel to Wicked is, like the rest of Maguire's books, a major disappointment. Wicked was clever and mischievous and very funny; this book is scattered, random, and hard to follow. It's also oddly homo-erotic in ways that are just plain odd.
LibraryThing member dmorrison
Excellent book, I liked it more than Wicked, possibly because I was well into the story line and was able to pick it up and get engrossed in the book immediately.
LibraryThing member readingrat
This one just didn't have the magic for me that Wicked did. Which isn't to say this isn't a good story in it's own right - just not what I was expecting.
LibraryThing member ssplam
This one I entered knowing something about the world of Oz as seen by Maguire. I'd read wicked and became acquainted with Liir through that. I really wanted to like this book too, but found it quite long and not quite as interesting. Still it provides a further look at a world I missed after the
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first book ended. Show Less
LibraryThing member Djupstrom
Great sequel to Wicked! I didn't plan on liking either book..I was wrong!
LibraryThing member Joles
Typical Gregory Maguire, the writing is not the easiest to digest but the story is intriguing.
LibraryThing member sharonlflynn
Son of a Witch tell the story of Liir, who may or may not be the son of Elphaba, the wicked witch of the West. After Elphaba's murder, Liir is left as a child with no purpose and no direction, but in possession of Elphaba's broom and cape. He is let down by the murderer, Dorothy, and the Scarecrow,
I actually enjoyed this book more than Wicked. I thought it was well written with good characters and a good story line.
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who has his own ambitions. The story follows Liir's attempt to trace his stolen possible half-sister Nor, and in so doing, his involvement in the political scene in Oz following the defection of the Wizard and the rise to power of the Apostle. I actually enjoyed this book more than Wicked. I thought it was well written with good characters and a good story line.
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LibraryThing member donttalktofreaks
Not as captivating as Wicked. I had a hard time getting past the first 20 pages and still have yet to finish the book. Probably not one I would recommend.
LibraryThing member KApplebaum
Okay, but not as much fun as Wicked. The ending was a turn off -- can we say "let's not really have an ending so you have to buy the sequel"?
LibraryThing member dvulcano
Son of a Witch was a painful read. It is an entire book dedicated to Liir, a throwaway character from Wicked, and his life after his mother's death. Maguire is unable to envoke any passion, sympathy, excitement or emotion towards his main character. Despite his plights, there is no yearning for
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anything for Liir but only for the book to be over. Show Less
LibraryThing member ocgreg34
Carrying passengers as quickly and as safely across the the Thousand Year Grasslands and the Disappointments, dreading every turn which might bring them closer to the warring tribes, Oatsie Manglehand and her Grassland Train come across the body of a young man, severely bruised and beaten but
"Son of a Witch" is Gregory Maguire's second foray into his re-imagining of Frank L. Baum's classic stories, focusing the story on a young man named Liir, who may or may not be the son of the Wicked Witch of the West, but whose actions will ultimately effect the changing political landscape of Oz. Maguire's Oz is much darker than the fantasy almost everyone grew up seeing on the screen, but he manages to throw enough characters and scenes that we recognize to keep the work familiar but at the same time filling in gaps. For example, at the beginning of Liir's "rehabilitation" with Candle, his memory flashes back to the castle where Dorothy melted the Wicked Witch. He leaves the castle with Dorothy and her traveling companions, helping her to return to the Wizard with the trophy of the burned broom. (And it doesn't necessarily paint a rosy portrait of the Dorothy that we all know.)
Much of the book deals with Liir trying to find out about his past -- is he the son of the Witch or not? Will his be able to find his supposed half-sister Nor who may be rotting in a prison city with the Animals beneath the Emerald City? For the most part, this search tries to show a positive light on Liir maturing from the young adolescent to an army veteran to somewhat understanding that he does have magic abilities. But the let down is his constant whining about not knowing who his parents are. In fact, that becomes his mantra, and I wanted to throttle him not quite as much as the Cliff Eagle at the Conference of Birds wanted to peck his eyes out.
Despite that, I enjoyed reading about the politics and the realistic side to Oz. The Animals being forced into labor or winding up in the underground prison. Glinda's cleansing of the riffraff and poor from the city streets to make it seem like a nicer, cleaner place. The now intelligent Scarecrow goes into hiding because he won't become a puppet politician; he's instead replaced with a drunken, easily managed lookalike. Not everything matches the technicolor façade, nothing is really ever as good as it seems.
But hope can still manage to thrive, even in such a terrible environment. Whether it's from a boy flying on a broom, with an enormous flock of birds filling the sky, or a few simple words scribbled on a poster, that little bit can help bring about big change.
So if you haven't figured it out by now, I did enjoy reading the book and am eager to read the third installment, "A Lion Among Men".
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barely breathing. Oatsie forces her passengers to take a side trip from their trek to the Emerald City, to stop at the Cloister of Saint Glinda and hopefully offer shelter and aide to the man. Recognizing who he is, the Sisters agree to tend to his wounds, with the Mother Maunt placing the novice Candle -- a soft-spoken musician -- in charge of his needs. Candle's music has a healing effect on the young man, the soft melodies helping his broken mind and body work through the mysteries of his past to possibly help him with his future."Son of a Witch" is Gregory Maguire's second foray into his re-imagining of Frank L. Baum's classic stories, focusing the story on a young man named Liir, who may or may not be the son of the Wicked Witch of the West, but whose actions will ultimately effect the changing political landscape of Oz. Maguire's Oz is much darker than the fantasy almost everyone grew up seeing on the screen, but he manages to throw enough characters and scenes that we recognize to keep the work familiar but at the same time filling in gaps. For example, at the beginning of Liir's "rehabilitation" with Candle, his memory flashes back to the castle where Dorothy melted the Wicked Witch. He leaves the castle with Dorothy and her traveling companions, helping her to return to the Wizard with the trophy of the burned broom. (And it doesn't necessarily paint a rosy portrait of the Dorothy that we all know.)
Much of the book deals with Liir trying to find out about his past -- is he the son of the Witch or not? Will his be able to find his supposed half-sister Nor who may be rotting in a prison city with the Animals beneath the Emerald City? For the most part, this search tries to show a positive light on Liir maturing from the young adolescent to an army veteran to somewhat understanding that he does have magic abilities. But the let down is his constant whining about not knowing who his parents are. In fact, that becomes his mantra, and I wanted to throttle him not quite as much as the Cliff Eagle at the Conference of Birds wanted to peck his eyes out.
Despite that, I enjoyed reading about the politics and the realistic side to Oz. The Animals being forced into labor or winding up in the underground prison. Glinda's cleansing of the riffraff and poor from the city streets to make it seem like a nicer, cleaner place. The now intelligent Scarecrow goes into hiding because he won't become a puppet politician; he's instead replaced with a drunken, easily managed lookalike. Not everything matches the technicolor façade, nothing is really ever as good as it seems.
But hope can still manage to thrive, even in such a terrible environment. Whether it's from a boy flying on a broom, with an enormous flock of birds filling the sky, or a few simple words scribbled on a poster, that little bit can help bring about big change.
So if you haven't figured it out by now, I did enjoy reading the book and am eager to read the third installment, "A Lion Among Men".
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Awards
Gaylactic Spectrum Award (Nominee — Novel — 2006)
Original publication date
2004-09-27
Physical description
352 p.; 9.2 inches
ISBN
0060747226 / 9780060747220