Received in the mailbag with many thanks to jamesmum.

The back cover blurb is as follows:
When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious Witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil?

Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability, and the Tin man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to become the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly, and misunderstood creature who challenges all our pre-conceived notions about the nature of good and evil.

Wow, this book took me forever to read! It was one of those books where I was drawn in enough to want to finish it, but not enough that I kept wanting to get back to it – hence the extended duration! The story did suffer a bit because of this too, as I think there were hints and clues about where the story was going that I missed. Maguire has created a fascinating story around the character of the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz. Definitely an enjoyable read – I will hunt out the rest of the series one day.

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