Reviews with content warning for Racial slurs - Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire

8 reviews

littleyellowfangirl's review

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Fetishization of inappropriate content

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purplehulk713's review against another edition

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I got bored. The musical is just better—much more entertaining and engaging, and not nearly as dense. There are just so many details that seem unnecessary like everyone’s perspectives that make the book feel eternal (why do we need know Boq’s perspective?). Maybe if Maguire had chosen to tell it from one perspective like the musical does, it would have just been easier to understand and enjoyable to read. I felt like it’s something I needed to read because I like the musical and thought I should read the source material. I just thought it would be interesting to see how they differed, but then I realized I can look that up and spend much less time on Maguire’s dense prose.

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nasabl3's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Very different from the musical and a lot more lifeless if you are looking for more of the Broadway musical go no further

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yossy_cookie's review

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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oliviamnsnll's review

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adventurous dark mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I used to really like this book, and have enjoyed the musical based on it a number of times. Unfortunately during our last read though, my wife and I realised that Maguire hates women. There is not a single woman in this story who is described in remotely sympathetic terms, and the second you get to the area of "Oz" where the African inspired peoples live, it's just full of racism. I recognise that talking animals are a thing in this world, but maybe he didn't have to make the Princess of one of the Tribes in the Vinkus a literal fat elephant.

I used to like Elphaba, Glinda, Nessarose, and even Morrible, but now I can't help but wonder if this book didn't become "popular" in part due to the unique kind of misogyny prevalent among cis gay men.

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