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A review by situationnormal
Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire
5.0
I was enjoying this book way more than any of the other books in this series at first, but by the middle I was a little jaded with Rain's relationship with Tip, and a little too frustrated with her relationship with Liir (or lack thereof) and started to like it slightly less. Overall, I think if parts of it had been more from Liir's perspective it would've been even better for me than Son Of A Witch. But I'm too biased.
This book is well-written, tongue-in-cheek, and poignant, and the characters are so frustratingly dimensional that they make you hate and love them at once. I think my main complaint, maybe my only real complaint, is that it's almost impossible for me to fully connect with any of them. Even though the third person point of view is so well-written the characters' voices come out even in the syntax, it makes it very difficult to get as close as I'd like. Sure, Elphaba and Rain are mysterious characters who never fully connect with those around them, but even characters like Glinda are mysteries by the end of the book. On one hand, it simulates real life, on the other it makes for a frustrating reading experience that makes you feel like you can't leave the book completely satisfied.
That said, I loved every character. Even Brrr who bored me out of my mind throughout his book in the series, redeemed himself in this one with his love of Rain. I felt invested in all of them (well, maybe except Candle, but...) and was genuinely upset when one of them would get hurt, or be disappointed. I just wish the end of the book had centered more on each of the previous characters in the series, since they never got real endings in their own books, instead of fully circling around Rain--whose ending, which wasn't wrapped up with a pretty bow, either, was still in line with her character and very satisfying for me. I wish the same could be said for Liir, especially, because he was by far my favorite and the the ending to his storyline left me feeling sad and frustrated and disappointed. A small demerit for a book I enjoyed so much.
This book is well-written, tongue-in-cheek, and poignant, and the characters are so frustratingly dimensional that they make you hate and love them at once. I think my main complaint, maybe my only real complaint, is that it's almost impossible for me to fully connect with any of them. Even though the third person point of view is so well-written the characters' voices come out even in the syntax, it makes it very difficult to get as close as I'd like. Sure, Elphaba and Rain are mysterious characters who never fully connect with those around them, but even characters like Glinda are mysteries by the end of the book. On one hand, it simulates real life, on the other it makes for a frustrating reading experience that makes you feel like you can't leave the book completely satisfied.
That said, I loved every character. Even Brrr who bored me out of my mind throughout his book in the series, redeemed himself in this one with his love of Rain. I felt invested in all of them (well, maybe except Candle, but...) and was genuinely upset when one of them would get hurt, or be disappointed. I just wish the end of the book had centered more on each of the previous characters in the series, since they never got real endings in their own books, instead of fully circling around Rain--whose ending, which wasn't wrapped up with a pretty bow, either, was still in line with her character and very satisfying for me. I wish the same could be said for Liir, especially, because he was by far my favorite and the the ending to his storyline left me feeling sad and frustrated and disappointed. A small demerit for a book I enjoyed so much.