What if the Wicked Witch of the West was not all that wicked?  Such is the premise of Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel, "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West," a continuation in his series of fairy tale conversions better suited for adults. Like his earlier novel, "Confessions of An Ugly Step-Sister," Maguire takes on the view of the villain.  This perspective refrains from the plaintive case of, "Well yes, I'm evil.  But can you really blame me when I'm pitted against someone so damn perfect?"  Instead, Maguire goes to great depth creating an entirely different world.

Elphaba is the Wicked Witch; the green-skinned offspring of two Munchiklanders.  One is a preacher, the other, his self-centered socialite wife. Elphaba's sister with the ruby slippers is Nessarose - a girl with no arms, but fair and lovely. Their world alters as they go to college. They see the horrible things the Wizard of Oz has done (such as mine the rubies out of the land and force intelligent Animals - there is a difference between Animals; that is ones who can speak, think, learn languages, and are aware of the world, and animals, which are like those found in our own world – into exile).     

Elphaba becomes friends with Galinda, who would later be known as Glinda the Good.  As college roommates, the two stay somewhat at odds with one another.  Galinda, coming from a wealthy family, and Elphaba, coming from a slightly lower than middle-class family, find tension in their disparate upbringings.

Things seem to be going well enough until the Wizard goes a little too far, taking fascist actions against those who oppose him and killing innocents who dare to bother him. While Dorothy does make an appearance, she is rather sickeningly sweet, and the Wicked Witch doesn't really instigate their now infamous quarrel.  Elphaba's death is still accidental, but it does come off as anti-climatic. 

The language and flow of the book is rich and engaging, but the long-winded explanations of Oz politics tend to tangle up the work; thus boring those who have no interest in the intricate doings of the land.  And while the characters don't give fifteen page soliloquies, they do tend to flip-flop, giving everyone but Elphaba a flat feeling.

Similar works by Maguire include "Confessions of an Ugly Step-Sister," "Lost," and most recently, "Mirror Mirror," a retelling of the classic Snow White fantasy.

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