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topdragon 's review for:
Glinda of Oz
by L. Frank Baum
This final book of the Oz series by L. Fran Baum is often categorized as the “darkest” of the original Oz books but I really didn’t find it so. I did see it as a little more complex than most of the others but the fact that the author knew he was dying at the time he wrote it doesn’t contribute to any darkness as far as I can see.
In essence, this novel is like most of the others in the series. Several main characters including Dorothy and Ozma, set out to a remote area of Oz because they have found out that somebody hasn’t recognized that Ozma is the rightful ruler of all Oz and they are not following the laws of the land. (Yes, Oz, my friends is an Imperialist land). In fact, the Skeezers and the Flatheads are actually engaged in war, believe it or not, which is most definitely a violation of the rules.
Ozma and Dorothy get trapped and it’s up to their friends, including Glinda to rescue them. Here we do see that Baum likely knew this was his last story because he has nearly all of the major characters from past books make a cameo appearance as they gather to help plan the rescue. This was great to see. Not only familiar recurring characters such as the Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion, the Tin Woodman (Nick Chopper), The Wizard of Oz, Jack Pumpkinhead, Scraps (The Patchwork Girl), etc. but we also see some of the lesser “main” characters that round out Ozma’s Counsellors like Shaggy Man, Tik-Tok, Cap’n Bill, H.M. Wogglebug, and even Dorothy’s Uncle Henry.
While the first part of this book was straightforward, I did feel that the major middle section lost its cohesion and sort of fell apart. Solving the predicament of how to rescue Dorothy and Ozma was much more involved than the usual Oz story and required teamwork, lots of ideas, and experimentation. Perhaps this is why some regard this as a “darker” Oz tale. The outcome is not as assured as usual and at one point everybody, including the infallible Glinda feels as if they have exhausted all possibilities. For a child, I suppose, this could be stressful. The final two short chapters were wrapped up at warp speed; I could almost sense Baum’s effort to finish before he drew his last breath.
Obviously, there are numerous further adventures in Oz, written by many other authors. I’ve heard many of them are well worth the read, especially those by Baum’s immediate successor, Ruth Plumly Thompson, but alas, I have no plans to pursue them at this time. My goal was to read all of the originals and now that I have done so, I will move on to other things, always remembering my own adventures in Oz fondly.
In essence, this novel is like most of the others in the series. Several main characters including Dorothy and Ozma, set out to a remote area of Oz because they have found out that somebody hasn’t recognized that Ozma is the rightful ruler of all Oz and they are not following the laws of the land. (Yes, Oz, my friends is an Imperialist land). In fact, the Skeezers and the Flatheads are actually engaged in war, believe it or not, which is most definitely a violation of the rules.
Ozma and Dorothy get trapped and it’s up to their friends, including Glinda to rescue them. Here we do see that Baum likely knew this was his last story because he has nearly all of the major characters from past books make a cameo appearance as they gather to help plan the rescue. This was great to see. Not only familiar recurring characters such as the Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion, the Tin Woodman (Nick Chopper), The Wizard of Oz, Jack Pumpkinhead, Scraps (The Patchwork Girl), etc. but we also see some of the lesser “main” characters that round out Ozma’s Counsellors like Shaggy Man, Tik-Tok, Cap’n Bill, H.M. Wogglebug, and even Dorothy’s Uncle Henry.
While the first part of this book was straightforward, I did feel that the major middle section lost its cohesion and sort of fell apart. Solving the predicament of how to rescue Dorothy and Ozma was much more involved than the usual Oz story and required teamwork, lots of ideas, and experimentation. Perhaps this is why some regard this as a “darker” Oz tale. The outcome is not as assured as usual and at one point everybody, including the infallible Glinda feels as if they have exhausted all possibilities. For a child, I suppose, this could be stressful. The final two short chapters were wrapped up at warp speed; I could almost sense Baum’s effort to finish before he drew his last breath.
Obviously, there are numerous further adventures in Oz, written by many other authors. I’ve heard many of them are well worth the read, especially those by Baum’s immediate successor, Ruth Plumly Thompson, but alas, I have no plans to pursue them at this time. My goal was to read all of the originals and now that I have done so, I will move on to other things, always remembering my own adventures in Oz fondly.