marosq 's review for:

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

3.75

adventurous challenging dark funny tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Wildly different from the musical that's derived from it. Not a bad book, just much denser and more complex than expected. NOT INTENDED FOR CHILDREN! Aside from the mature content, quite heavily reliant on moral/ethical/spiritual/religious conundrums and conversations on top of religious and political machinations. Gave me Orwell vibes a lot of the time, mixed with the attitude of Vonnegut and at times the disembodied voice of J.D. Salinger.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Slavery, Blood, Police brutality, Dementia, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Genocide, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Kidnapping, Stalking, Abortion, Suicide attempt