Wicked by Gregory Maguire?

Question

So, I have seen the musical in LA
and i absolutely loved it to death!

[im even going again this december]

so before i went to the show i bought the book
but i decided not to read it
because i wanted to go into the show open minded.

but i was planning on reading the book after my second trip

so my question is,
should i read it?

ive heard both good and bad reports on it
and im afraid it will change my view on this wondeful musical

ive actually read the first 2 chapters
and im actually already confused.
what the heck is the time dragon clock?
in the musical there was a dragon,
but what is it in the book?

see i really want to read the book
causae im a huge fan of wicked

but is it worth my time?

Answer 1

I haven't seen the musical, but I really want to. I have however read the book. There is no dragon in it, but there is the time dragon clock. I don't really know exactly what the clock is but it does tell peoples dirty secrets. for example the man committing adultery with a woman and her daughter. I can't tell you what you will think about the musical but I do know that I can't think of the Wizard of Oz the same ever again. Don't get me wrong I still like it, but it gives you a different view of how things happened. Was the wicked witch really wicked? Was Dorthy just a pawn in the Wizards scheme? I really didn't like some of the graphic language, but the book itself was pretty good. I even read the next book The Son of a Witch. I would recommend reading it. I hope you enjoy it.

Answer 2

The musical is much better. The book and musical are really so different reading the book shouldn't alter how you feel about the musical. I had to read the book twice to understand all that was going on, and afterward I was really disappointed that it wasn't more like the musical. The book focuses more on the politics of Oz instead of the friendship between Elphaba and Glinda. Truthfully, Glinda only plays a minor role in the book and isn't nearly as influential towards Elphaba's growth as she is in the play.

Answer 3

I saw and loved the musical too. Two friends of mine independently told be the book is MUCH darker, so I never read it or bought it.