Commentaires en ligne 

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

5 étoiles:		(0)
4 étoiles:		(1)
3 étoiles:		(1)
2 étoiles:		(0)
1 étoiles:		(0)

 

 

Have you ever read a popular book and wondered why it was so popular? That's exactly how I felt as I worked my way through WICKED. Actually, that's not entirely true. I know why it's a New York Times Bestseller. Part of it has to do with the reason I picked the book up in the first place. I expected a light, fairy tale-like story. It's based on a children's book. There's a Broadway musical about it. Sounds like it should be fun, right? Uh, not quite. I get the feeling, though, that a lot of people thought as I did and bought WICKED looking for an easy-to-read lead-up to THE WIZARD OF OZ. I wonder how many of them finished reading the book when they figured out the truth?

Although to be fair, WICKED doubtless also owes some of its popularity to the fact that it's a well-written, literary novel that can be appreciated by well-read, literary-type people. Unfortunately, I'm really not one of those. Giving me a piece of deep, meaningful literature is like giving a copy of Hemingway's THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA to a manatee. In other words, I was disappointed. My disappointment was partly in the book for not fulfilling my expectations, and partly in myself for not being able to appreciate a quality literary effort.

In case you've been living in a hollowed out tree for the last couple of years and haven't heard about the play, WICKED is the story of the Wicked Witch of the West and how she became the Wicked Witch of the West. The book delves far deeper into the witch's life and times than any musical could in only two hours, however. In the book version of WICKED, readers are introduced to the witch, whose real name is Elphaba, when she is first born. She's green and has dangerous, pointy teeth. Needless to say, she's not too popular with the other children. Even her parents aren't too sure about her.

As the story progresses, we see Elphaba at college. She falls in with a number of fellow students, some of whom are more and others less accepting of the strange green girl. It's not just her skin color that's different, though. Elphaba thinks and acts differently than other people. And she has this aversion to water.... Well, we all know how that turns out for her.

The book is an interesting departure from the Oz books, including such details as why the Cowardly Lion is able to talk, and the fact that everyone in Oz thought Dorothy's dog, Toto, was the most irritating thing to ever draw breath. I wish, however, that I could have liked some of the characters. No one was particularly likeable, as far as I was concerned. Even Elphaba, who readers should have had some sympathy for, seemed odd to me, and I never understood her motivation for anything she did. In other words, I could have gotten over the fact that she was green, but it really bothered me that she didn't act normal. Also, a word of warning: Even though these are essentially fairy tale characters, this book treats them like adults, complete with sex, swearing, and the occasional murder. Younger readers should steer clear, and older readers should be aware of what's in store here.

In general, I recommend this book for OLDER readers who are huge fans of the Oz books or the Wicked play and want to go deeper. According to my husband, who is capable of appreciating fine literature, it also has literary merit. But for those of us who want to keep our memories of the Oz stories as sweet as the old Judy Garland film was, those readers might want to be careful around WICKED.

Reviewed by: K. Osborn Sullivan

Commençons par une confession, je n'ai pas lu le Magicien d'Oz. Ce que j'en connais vient donc simplement du film.
En revanche, j'ai vu la comédie musicale Wicked.

Soyez préparés, si vous pensez retrouver l'esprit de la comédie musicale dans cette œuvre, vous allez être fortement déçu. En effet, Winnie Holzman, a pris l'idée de départ, les événements majeurs du livre mais en a fait une œuvre joyeuse qui se termine bien.

Ce que je trouve assez fantastique dans ce livre, c'est la création de ce monde avec tous les problèmes que l'on peut trouver dans une société. La discrimination des Animaux (ceux qui pensent et parlent), ou d'autres catégories de gens dans le cadre d'un empire créé par le Magicien d'Oz qui a volé le trône à la Princesse Ozma qui a disparu sans laisser de traces.

On suit donc l'histoire de la sorcière de l'Ouest, de sa naissance à sa mort et on découvre un être totalement différent de ce que le magicien d'Oz a pu nous montrer. Une jeune femme qui a peur de l'eau, verte mais qui s'inquiète de la condition humaine ou d'autres êtres et qui déteste toute forme de discrimination.

Le début du livre est absolument fabuleux. Ensuite, l'auteur, il me semble, se perd un peu dans son histoire et il y a un gros gros passage à vide avant de redevenir intéressant. Il est intéressant pour l'analyse d'une société autre que la nôtre qui ressemblerait à s'y méprendre à la nôtre. A la place des Animaux, on pourrait y voir une autre minorité, idem pour les Quandlings. C'est aussi une étude intéressante des régions en fonction de ce qu'elles apportent. Certaines agricoles, d'autres minières et d'autres les hautes technologies et les différences de traitement entre les gens des villes et les gens de la campagne.

C'est pour ça que je met un bon trois, plutôt qu'un petit 4.