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A review by prebeartobemoosified
The Emerald City of Oz by L. Frank Baum
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
This is my first Oz book other than The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which i read an innumerable amount when i was younger. having not read Baum's first Oz work since i would read it every time I was in the car, over and over, The Emerald City of Oz is a surprise. The Wizard of Oz, while also a book in which Dorothy explores the land of Oz, still had an influential plot--Dorothy had a quest: find the wizard in order to get home. In The Emerald City of Oz, Dorothy, at this point a regular ozlander, introduces her wageslave farmer family to the city, and so goes on a road trip with them and a few of her friends she met after the events of the first novel. it's delightful and funny and mindbogglingly imaginative, and reminiscent of Dorothy's adventures in the first novel, where every resident she meets is new. Dorothy remains a wonderful children's protagonist, perfectly encapsulating that paradoxical childish aspect of curious open-mindedness and utter faith in her own opinions and beliefs.
Baum and Ende both have these adored child emperors--for Baum, Ozma, for Ende, the Childlike Empress--and both of them rule their respective lands with compassionate laissez-faire. Most of the residents of Oz are directly impacted more by Glinda, who magics them, than they do Ozma, whom they adore. More curious than these wise largely uninvolved young women who rule are the ways in which they justify their ruling styles. In both The Neverending Story and this particular issue of Oz, it's explicit that the evilness of some of the creatures is a feature of the fairylands; it will not be addressed or punished. The one who enacts any sort of "justice," especially of a punitive kind, is Dorothy, and to some extent, the Wizard. They bring from the United States their ideas of right and wrong, and, more importantly, how they deal with those issues. Being from the States, their first response is punishment. In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the punishment for the Wicked Witch of the West is death, brought on by the Wizard and held as a prerequisite for Dorothy's way home. However, Ozma doesn't respond to her subjects in that way. the residents of Oz are held to a different standard altogether. They are living beings whose evil is not their fault, just as her goodness is not hers.
Maybe it's not the most morally superior view, but I do love that in a fantasy novel--a children's fantasy novel--morality is specifically not the point. If anything, Baum prefers to impart manners, a way of interacting with others that makes them not viciously uncomfortable, which is very funny.
Idk there's an article here comparing the overarching moral views of Baum and Ende, and how hands-off it is, how willing to take the evil with the good without really every condemning...
the book is good though i highly recommend it, and more than even the book, i recommend baum's beautiful note to his readers at the beginning, thanking them for their contributions to the marvelous land of oz. this edition as well, by Dover, is really lovely with wellbound pages and an extremely vibrant cover at nearly 40 years old. the illustrations by Jno R. Neill look like rolling smoke on the page, fluid and yet solid, and perfect for Oz.
Baum and Ende both have these adored child emperors--for Baum, Ozma, for Ende, the Childlike Empress--and both of them rule their respective lands with compassionate laissez-faire. Most of the residents of Oz are directly impacted more by Glinda, who magics them, than they do Ozma, whom they adore. More curious than these wise largely uninvolved young women who rule are the ways in which they justify their ruling styles. In both The Neverending Story and this particular issue of Oz, it's explicit that the evilness of some of the creatures is a feature of the fairylands; it will not be addressed or punished. The one who enacts any sort of "justice," especially of a punitive kind, is Dorothy, and to some extent, the Wizard. They bring from the United States their ideas of right and wrong, and, more importantly, how they deal with those issues. Being from the States, their first response is punishment. In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the punishment for the Wicked Witch of the West is death, brought on by the Wizard and held as a prerequisite for Dorothy's way home. However, Ozma doesn't respond to her subjects in that way. the residents of Oz are held to a different standard altogether. They are living beings whose evil is not their fault, just as her goodness is not hers.
Maybe it's not the most morally superior view, but I do love that in a fantasy novel--a children's fantasy novel--morality is specifically not the point. If anything, Baum prefers to impart manners, a way of interacting with others that makes them not viciously uncomfortable, which is very funny.
Idk there's an article here comparing the overarching moral views of Baum and Ende, and how hands-off it is, how willing to take the evil with the good without really every condemning...
the book is good though i highly recommend it, and more than even the book, i recommend baum's beautiful note to his readers at the beginning, thanking them for their contributions to the marvelous land of oz. this edition as well, by Dover, is really lovely with wellbound pages and an extremely vibrant cover at nearly 40 years old. the illustrations by Jno R. Neill look like rolling smoke on the page, fluid and yet solid, and perfect for Oz.