I have committed myself now to finishing Wicked, in part because I believe that Gregory Maguire used literary devices in his book that I simply didn't understand before, and in part because the story has actually managed to capture my interest. Something is happening, the story is moving, and all in all I feel better being a part of it all.
The problem is that this is one of those books that you can't "speed read." You really do need to take your time and read through the novel slowly enough that you catch everything that the author is trying to tell you, because some bits and pieces from early in the book are becoming important now, a little bit more than halfway through the novel.
The problem that is continually leaving me frustrated is the fact that this book is a very slow read. I can manage about 10 pages at a time before I begin to become frustrated by my overall lack of progress (and the fact that it certainly seems as though Maguire is taking a lot of time to say very little).
This is the kind of book that I have to read in small chunks, and which ultimately destroys my overall love of reading and learning, since it is easier to abandon myself to the Young Adult genre (which is fine, I might add) than to continue to explore literature.
I'd be lying if I said that understanding Wicked is making me love the book: I don't love it, and I an honestly say that as much as it is probably a 4/5 star book, it just isn't for me. This makes me incredibly sad.
I'm committed to finishing though, and I suppose that's what matters.
I would love to hear what other people think about Wicked.
and I agree, he takes forever to say little :)
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ReplyDeleteOh, sorry, I didn't read Wicked (reread my comments and it sounds like I did) I read his Cinderella book, saw the Wicked musical, and don't plan to read anymore of his books.
ReplyDeleteEdited my comment: I read his Cinderella book, and he had old men pursuing the 11 year old Cinderella (or thereabouts of age, she was pre-pubescent, and it was disturbing)...and it made me sad that a male author would use his popular books as a vehicle to make pedophilia somewhat acceptable.
ReplyDeleteThe overall book was depressing as well (one stepsister was ugly, the other very mentally challenged and a sad character). The acceptable underaged girls thing upset me so much though that I can't read anymore of his books.
PS I love to read, and I usually don't leave such gloomy posts. Sorry that my first posst here are a tad depressing.
LOL Penelope, I was expecting duplicates when I got the e-mails!
ReplyDeleteSo far I haven't seen a lot regarding underaged sex in *Wicked*. What I am seeing, however, is Animal sex (that is to say, essentially "furries"). It is more than a little bit disturbing, and certainly unnecessary, at least so far. I have yet to see a point where this moves the plot toward any kind of a conclusion. I don't know about you, but as a Christian this bothers me a little bit (and I read widely -- perhaps moreso than I should!).
Regarding "sad" characters (spoiler alert!) the Wicked Witch of the East is missing her arms in this novel. I don't remember anything about that from the original novel (The Wizard of Oz) and I found that to be really disturbing as well (and once again, unnecessary).
I've heard good things about the ending of this book, and bad things about the series as a whole. It's a bit depressing and more than a little bit disturbing.
Thank you so much for stopping by! I'm glad that you were here and I look forward to seeing more from you. I could never do the "mom-blog" thing. I WISH I could but I have nowhere near the talent of the women already writing in that arena. Thanks!
When Wicked was first published, I wanted to read it and didn't have time. I eventually bought the book, and it's still sitting gathering dust on my bookshelf. One day, I too will be committed to opening it up and actually reading it! Hope you enjoy it to the end!
ReplyDeleteI have a lot of books like that, that sit around waiting to be read for a long time. Atonement was one of those books, and I'm really glad in the end that I pushed myself to finish it.
ReplyDeleteStill hoping to get done with Wicked in a timely manner so I can decide whether or not to read Son of a Witch and A Lion Among Men.