No Spoilers.
I'll do posts occasionally on books I've just finished reading. It's nice sometimes to record what you thought about a book, and maybe someone else can read what you've written and be like 'ah, yes, I might give that a go'.
In true librarian style,all my book "reviews" (I say in inverted commas, because my thoughts on a book can probably not be constituted as a proper review), will probably include lots of positive things about the work. I like to focus on the positive points about the experience of reading a novel, for three reasons:
a) I prefer being positive in general. I like looking for the 'good' in things.
b) I think that when an author has put in lots of effort to write his/her book, it's awful to just slate it and move on. Even if you think it's not so good, someone else might love it, given the chance to read it, and you should always encourage them to read and make up their own mind.
c) We had a rule for marking at school - two stars and a wish. Guess it stuck with me. You had to say two good things about the work, and one wish - something you think could have been done a bit better, or something you wish they'd have added.
So I just finished reading the fourth book in the Wicked series, by Gregory Maguire. In case anyone out there is unaware of the order, it goes as such:
Wicked
Son of a Witch
A Lion Among Men
Out of Oz
There's lots of hate out there for the last two books. People say they get boring, and are non-eventful. I honestly don't know why. Maguire takes time with his characters and storylines. Just because people can't read it in three days and be done with it, doesn't make it not worth reading. It's full of detail and excellent character/plot development. Out of Oz doesn't conclude the series neatly. You aren't handed all the answers at the end, not everything is fully explained. If this is something that would annoy you, perhaps it's not the series for you. But there are some excellent 'Maguire-esque' quotes to look out for all through the series and you're really pulled into the world of Oz, perhaps even more so (I'd say), than the original Wizard of Oz book...(eep, I'll hide in case anyone finds me and beats me with a copy of the book for that comment). The Wicked series is for adults (oh heavens, please don't let your children read them!) and I enjoyed it as such. Perhaps I feel the way I feel about the original WOO, because I read it as an adult, not as a child, and perhaps some of the charm passed over me in a way it might not have done, had I read it aged eight.
I'm beginning to ramble.
To conclude, I would rate the whole series a good 8 out of 10 overall. Read the first book, and see how you go. If you don't like the style, or the way in which Maguire twists beloved Oz, then there's no reason you can't stop with the fist book and be happy you gave it a go. I'll apologise if this post isn't as coherent as some of the others - I'm a little tired!
Over and out
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