Hey guys! It's Amy here... Thank you so much for the love on this video. I've officially started reading Son of a Witch (book 2)!! I've made this brand new channel to upload more video essays and story recaps so subscribe here to see brand new videos coming soon. Also if anyone has any requests for other stories/topics you'd like me to cover, feel free to send them my way 😊💕
I read the book in 2005. A year later I saw the musical and was gobsmacked at the difference. Now, that I saw the movie I wanted to revisit the book. Thank you for your recap bc it spared me all the gory details!
This is honestly so upsetting and you’re a trooper😂😭 I guess Wicked musical is semi-fanfic of Wicked book which is semi-fanfic of wizard of oz book/movie and this is all just so much information😂😭 I almost bought the book because they have a pretty edition out now so thank you for saving me money and time and sanity. You’re legit so fun to watch and listen to and if you’re brave enough to read the other books I guess I’m brave enough to come along the video journey with you because now I’m so curious about where the heck the story could go from here to be relevant to much anything else after the wizard of oz story unless they dive into the lore you talked about maybe? Idk it’s absolutely nuts and I salute you on this journey😂😭♥️
This is honestly so upsetting and you’re a trooper😂😭 I guess Wicked musical is semi-fanfic of Wicked book which is semi-fanfic of wizard of oz book/movie and this is all just so much information😂😭 I almost bought the book because they have a pretty edition out now so thank you for saving me money and time and sanity. You’re legit so fun to watch and listen to and if you’re brave enough to read the other books I guess I’m brave enough to come along the video journey with you because now I’m so curious about where the heck the story could go from here to be relevant to much anything else after the wizard of oz story unless they dive into the lore you talked about maybe? Idk it’s absolutely nuts and I salute you on this journey😂😭♥️
How someone was able to sit through every single word of this absolutely unhinged story and turn it into the blockbuster Broadway musical we all know and love today is BEYOND MEEEEE 💀💀💀💀
I love how the book just kind of glosses over the fact that the munchkins offered up a sacrifice to some diety out of desperation because they were trapped in a long drought and actually went through with unaliving that sacrifice with no apparent care or moral panic about their actions. 😅
I read the book as a teenager right after the musical came out and I now lovingly refer to the novel as “Fifty Shades of Green,” due to its mature tone. You did a fantastic job recapping! I do hope you’ll consider recapping Son of A Witch - as it is a decent continuation of Liir’s story!
This is literally an entirely different story, i am so shocked!! like sorryy??? thank you for taking one for the team and reading it so we don't have to!!
The book had some great ideas with mixed results on the execution. I haven't seen the musical or movie, and want to, but they basically just ripped off the book and white washed it by changing the story to an extremely kiddie version
I’m not sure how much you enjoyed making this video or the idea of making more like it, but this summary was PHENOMENAL. If you’re someone who enjoys books and you liked making this video you have serious talent for this. I was hoping the rest of your page would have videos like this but I’m still subscribing for the off chance you do other work like this. Thank you!!
I was bragging on her to my mom this morning. This lady seems like a natural storyteller. Smooth, no verbal tics or fillers, no "Oh, wait--I forgot to mention...." She's a keeper!
the way someone made a successful musical with this source material is impressive. like they condensed it into a story that showed a lot of the...other...stuff was uh...maybe not that necessary for the plot
Yeah, I feel like it was not necessary to get the rights to adapt it. My thinking is that someone read the book and got the idea to make their own version of Wicked witch story but maybe was afraid of comparisons and bringing sued so they just decided to get the rights and loosely adapt it. This book sounds awful😅
This is actually exactly how I fell in love with the book and spent years trying not to hate the musical lmao, I got it for Christmas at like, 10… . My mom heard about the musical and that there was a book and thought it was perfect for her book worm theatre kid daughter. I understood so little of it until I reread it as a teen but it still sorta grafted itself onto my brain forever and now I write political fantasy tabletop games and do activist theatre!
@@AmyAstridd wait, they released the original novel with the movie cover?? I thought the movie was based on the musical - why not use the movie cover for a novelization of the musical or movie?? 😵💫😵💫😵💫
OMG! You have to do the rest of this book series. First of all, THANK YOU for taking the time and effort to put this together. This book has been on my reading list since Wicked's original cast.
Yup. The book is just about her. It's a biography of her life. So when she dies... that's it. "And there the wicked old Witch stayed for a good long time." "And did she ever come out?" "Not yet."
I'm one of the ones who read the book before seeing the musical, and I have to agree I found myself thinking there was a lot of detail included purely for edge value. I know that adapting existing stories and adding a darker tone is something Maguire's gone on to do (he's done Cinderella and Snow White to name two), but this one was a bit much. I remember feeling quite annoyed at how much they were going to change for the musical (not because I wanted to see all the dodgy stuff of course, more along the lines of "if you have to change that much why even bother adapting it?"), but I started to love it as soon as I heard some of the songs. Oh, and some of your end questions are answered in later books. I won't say which ones in case you do go on to read them though!
"If you have to change that much why even bother adapting it?" An excellent, 'age-old', and LOADED question I find myself asking about a lot of Oz adaptations...
Having read the Novel AFTER seeing the Musical for the first time, I was astounded by HOW DIFFERENT the Musical was from it. Having read the original Oz Books, I'm surprised that I didn't read Wicked the Novel back in 1995 when it first came out, BUT, I was in college back at that time, and I didn't have a lot of time to read recreationally as I was reading a great deal on what I was studying. There wasn't a great deal of publicity about the novel back when it came out initially, but when the musical came out eight years later in 2003, it revived interest in the novel, and I went out and bought it after I saw the Musical for the first time with the Original Broadway Cast. I wasn't shocked by how much darker the Novel was, because the Musical gives you a MERE HINT of those darker themes, but what did surprise me was that both Elphaba and Fiyero were more decidedly ethnic, with Fiyero being a man of color and Elphaba being more "demon-like" than a Witch.
I mean I don't think cannibalism was in there but then again I don't really remember Dude really went through the Wikipedia of horrific crimes and treated it like a bucket list for his book
I appreciate this retelling and a key part is missing from the first chapter. Frex and Turtle Heart lose track of Elphaba toward the end of the chapter because they’re preoccupied with each other. An important note that’ll come back later in the book.
I read this book before I saw the musical, and the only things I remembered from it were the goat professor, the sex orgy and the tiger, and that Fiero was not the scarecrow. Also that I did not like the writing style and the author had somehow written a crazy off-the-rails story that was somehow really boring to read. Thank you so much for doing this so that I remember the book but don't have to read it again. Also, my goodness, are those goldfish-in-pet-store-bag earrings? Those are absolutely adorable! Subscribed.
Yeah, lol my dad actually read the series around the time the musical came out, I got a bit older and was really into listening to broadway soundtracks and asked what the book was about and could I read it? He said "hm... no, when you're older." because I was like 12 lmao. I sure hope to god no 12 year old wicked fans are stumbling upon this book though. I read it when I was about 17, and I had a really similar impression as you "how can a book with objectively batshit events all over the place be such a slog prose-wise?" Ah well. I don't blame some folks for liking it, everyone's got their own style, but it just really didn't gel with me much at all.
This is literally an exact summary of what I remember and how I reacted after checking this out from the school library when we did the songs for my eighth grade choir class.
Probably because it points out a lot of social points you don't like to talk about...but they exist. Doesn't "gel" because you can't relate. @@Zanyotaku
I really hope you do the next book. I've really, really enjoyed watching you... you've made some rather horrifying content extremely entertaining! You are a joy to watch!
I really enjoyed your video, which caught my eye because I, too, just re-read Wicked in preparation for the movie. But I would never tell someone that I read it "so that they don't have to," because it's one of my favorite books I've read. But it is interesting because I'm a bit older (38 but who's counting), so your reactions remind me how I responded to the book back when I was in college, and read it for the first time because I loved the musical so much. Like you, I was shocked (SHOCKED I say!) by all of the sex, vulgarity, and traumatic imagery, and really focused on the narrative journey, which you covered so well in this video. But back then I just wanted to find more musical nerds who would dissect the musical vs book changes with me :) Now, 10 years later (eek), I really saw the book from a completely different lens. I'm older and jaded now, so the sex stuff didn't shock me anymore (just seemed like sadly repressed imagery of an author trying to write a book about young women, when he himself was an older man and had gone through college in a hormone-laden frenzy and thus made EVERYTHING about sex). I really connected to the deeper levels of the book this time -- the social and political conversations about Lurlinism/paganism vs Unionism/Christianity vs Pleasure Faith/modern atheism. I especially connected to the philosophical musings on good and evil -- where do each come from, is someone destined to be one or the other, do our choices matter or are we puppets of an Unnamed God, etc etc. These occurred mostly during the parts that you noted were "and then they talk to each other for a long bit", and I think I similarly thought of them as "painful" and "boring" back then. When Elfie goes to tell Avaric that she killed Morrible, the dinner party must have lasted 10 pages or so, but this time I actually appreciated all of the different opinions people brought forth, both serious and ironic. I think it's really taken these extra years of seeing so much suffering in the world, and trying to find answers myself, and getting more comfortable with "grey" spaces (instead of black and white) and ambiguity. I agree with the questions you listed at the end of the book and find it to be a fascinating discussion with others about what the answers "might" be, because I don't think there really is one "right" answer that McGuire came up with. Who is Yackel? Is she human or god-like? Is she on the sidelines of Elfie's life, or is she helping to shape it? Is she good or evil? And then, of course, there's also yet another lens to the book, which is a sort of treatise against authoritarian regimes, and shows the warning signs from as early as possible. I guess I'm saying, hold on for the chance to re-visit the book because I agree that it is NOT for children, but it was sold as a "young adult" novel, and I really wonder if it was just hard to put a label on it, because I think it's a pretty solidly "adult" novel, and even falls into a more philosophical, what's the meaning of life and/or suffering kind of book, using the fanciful land of Oz as a back drop. It definitely takes an open mindset to read and enjoy. One thing we DEFINITELY agree on, though, is that the musical is so much happier and lovelier and just makes you feel better about the world (as a musical should). I basically hold book-Fiyero and musical-Fiyero as completely separate people in my head, because I love Fiyero as the cocky book-Averic character singing "Dancing Through Life," but I also love the book's version and how he and Elphaba developed in their love story. I think Stephen Schwartz is an absolute genius and I think that the changes he and others made to streamline the plot, helped open it up to be more accessible to a wider audience. It's a shame, though, that there's not much there for a sequel since there is no Liir. Even so, the musical *briefly* touches on "Are people born Wicked? Or do they have Wickedness thrust upon them?", but I think the goal of the musical is a more basic lesson in learning to question our assumptions and look for "the other side" of the stories we've been told. Which is always a good place to start. :) Excited to see what you come up with for Son of a Witch; I'm only about 1/3 of the way through, and it's already just as twisted as Wicked is. I think the success of Wicked translated in McGuire's mind as "thumbs up! Keep up with the depravity and folks will keep coming!" Lol
Thank you so much for defending it ❤ I truly think both the book and musical are as perfect as they can be for their form. The book is a perfect book, the musical is a perfect musical. They’re just vastly different art forms. I read the book first, and when the musical first came out I had HUGE doubts about it. I thought turning Boq and Fiyero into the Tin Man and Scarecrow had corny George Lucas vibes (the way he’s obsessed with turning everyone you meet into someone you already know or connected to them, for no good reason), but now I think it’s brilliant, No Good Deed is my favorite song and it makes me sob. It’s beautiful and so emotionally affecting, her trying to save him and cursing him to this strange pseudo life. Similarly, the first time I heard Defying Gravity out of context I hated it, I thought all the “I hope you’re happy” drama was cheesy, maudlin melodrama compared to the book’s more understated, realistic parting (before Wicked I didn’t fully get musicals in general). But now I love that song and it also makes me cry (I don’t think I really have to explain that one 😂) Basically, before I saw it I thought it sounded horribly Disneyfied. And that’s not totally untrue, but what I learned is that’s not bad! Lots of Disney movies are very good and well-written and have huge emotional payoffs, and Wicked truly is all that and more. It really is a perfect musical. But the book is also a perfect book! There’s a lot of really valuable stuff in there that is lost in the streamlining and simplifying of the musical to be a musical. For example the entire inspiration of the book, exploring the nature of good and evil, and asking “If you tell someone they’re evil, that they’re wicked, their whole life from birth, do you create a self-fulfilling prophecy?” That question in particular, the central question of the book, is pretty much completely lost in the musical because Elphaba doesn’t really change in that direction. Instead she has positive character growth, she only gets more self-assured and powerful. And I understand why! In a musical we aren’t privy to her thoughts, so if they showed brusque, hardened, not-particularly-kind later-in-life Elphaba we wouldn’t be inside her head understanding that she’s not truly evil, she’s just been failed by everyone and everything and has barely even known kindness. Instead, the musical makes her Wicked Witch persona entirely a performance, her just puffing up to frighten people away. But that’s why the book is so powerful in its own way, because we ARE in her mind, we do understand who she is and why. It can be so much more nuanced and allow her to actually become less kind, more hardened by life and the things that have happened to her, to actually explore questions about good and evil more effectively. The book is a treatise on the nature of evil. Why does it happen? Where does it come from? Is it like a bird that lands on someone’s shoulder and they do the evil and then maybe it flies off? (This is Stephen King’s view). Or is it something inherent to a person, and if so are evil people born or made? Some serial killers had unthinkable trauma that clearly made them that way, but there are people who have the same trauma and don’t become serial killers. So where did the evil come from? Surely a baby can’t be evil, but are some a sort of time bomb of evil that can be set off by the right events while others aren’t? The musical kinda asks these questions verbally, (“are people born wicked or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?”) but it can’t explore them in any depth, that’s just not what musicals do. And the fact it knows that is why it’s a perfect musical! And the book is a perfect book. And that’s my essay lol😂
The point behind Fiero’s death was that The Wizard knew Elphaba was a threat to him and was part of a subversive group to overthrow him. He knew she was his daughter even though she didn’t know she was his. The Wizard had been tracking her since college, using Madam Morrible, knew where she lived, and was planning to kill her. Fiero was collateral damage.
When did The Wizard find out Elphaba was his daughter in the book? (I need context for what he did in the book while/after Knowing she was his daughter) 😰
No. The book makes it clear he didn’t know Elphaba was his daughter until after she died. Dorothy brings him the green vial, he pales and runs away from the city.
The religions and politics in the books were also present int the original Oz books. If you’ve read L. Frank Baum’s original series the overall framework is there. Maguire has made a successful writing career of imagining the story from the perspective of what is seen as the antagonist in the original stories. I loved reading the Wicked series and have read most of his other books. The musical took a while to grow on me because it diverges from the book so much.
As someone who read half of it in 9th grade with most of it going over my head, i am very excited to watch this video and see how the novel actually ends
I read the book maybe 14 years ago. Nessarose really stuck to me. 12 years ago I had a daughter with a similar disability but with a finger on both shoulders. I had to reread parts of the book with Nessarose to remind me that its going to be alright because Nessarose is defiant and even beautiful hiding the absent arms beneath a shawl. She is the original owner of the shoes. It made me wonder if Gregory McGuire knew someone without arms. That the disability was apart of her but didn't define her. Nessarose was my first and only introduction to that difference when my daughter was born. After my girl was born, I watched a few other youtubers who described their lives without arms to be almost proud at how motivated and adaptive everyone seemed to be with the challenges. That Gregory McGuire may not have known anyone without arms because he would note that her feet would be used often to apply makeup, eat, drink, or write.
I didn’t realize that there were more books…I thought it was just the one book! Please do another video on the next one! You did an amazing job on this one it actually made the book seem good!
I was so entertained and got caught up, listening to your description. I am glad I didn’t actually read the book. I think it would be too awkward! So many of the details of this are needlessly specific. Very TMI. What a weirdly terrible way for Fierro to die! And just generally so many creepy descriptions !
I read the book as a teenager before I knew there was a musical. I just remember thinking, how light the musical was and how the roles of Fiyero and Boq were so different. I grew to love it, but I had a similar shock about how different they were when I first saw the musical. It's been many years since then and I thank you for the primer of being able to read it again and move on to the other books.
I wish the broadway adaptation had the moment in the book where Elphaba and Galinda are in their room and Galinda asks what she’s always reading and Elphaba goes on to explain what she likes to read and Galinda starts to get visibly tired and bored and lies on the bed, covering her eyes with her arm and says something so smart, Elphaba gets so excited and shouts !now you’re thinking! And Galinda just yawns and goes to sleep and Elphaba is left just smiling. This interaction did a lot for their relationship for me. It was the beginning of Galinda accidentally saying something incredibly smart and Elphaba never calling her stupid or shallow or anything like that. Smart people get so excited when others are curious and start out thinking themselves. It filled my heart
So I saw Wicked in 2005 and immediately went to go read the book. The only thing I remembered about it now that the movie has come out was thinking it was really dark, WAY too sexual, and that I had decided not the read any of the other books. I did go ahead and buy the book again and had started reading it before I found your video. Now I don’t have to keep going because you did such a good job reminding me of the story. Thanks for that! SERIOUSLY, thank you!! To answer your question, I like the Broadway play better and excited to see the movie.
I literally just finished this book yesterday and when this video scrolled across my suggested page I RAN to watch it because one of my favorite things is to compare my thoughts on books to someone else's so thank you for making it!!
I am so impressed with this video and the way you formatted everything. Your explanation is perfect and ugh, just such a great job. I hope you do more summaries on weird books in the future lol!!
Wow, what an incredible summary, this is my first time seeing your channel and you're very good at this. I'll share it and hope you'll get those 100,000 views.
@@AmyAstridd Yess you are great at this. And sorry but there's more than 150.000 in only 9 days so maybe you can read the other books to do more for us! You are really good at it! Thank you
this summary was literally so good, i'm not even wholly interested in the book, and if it weren't for your delivery I wouldn't have kept coming back to finish! so surprised you don't make content like this usually!
I read the book before I saw the musical, and I actually prefer the book. The musical does one thing incorrectly - which is to make everything 'less bad' for elohaba. One of gregory maguire's points I think in the book is for someone to be driven to be the way elphaba became, to be wicked, bad things happen. I found her journey through the moral ambiguity of oz to be incredibly intriguing.
This comment section is so disappointing. I was beginning to think I was the only one who likes the book. The musical is too watered down. It has no teeth & musical Elphaba has no grit. I can't stand Glinda's redemption in the musical. She's a nazi! Anyhow, I'm glad I'm not the only one.
@@theirreverentreader6970 i am rereading the book now because of this comment section. i will not lie- there is a lot of weird sexual stuff in the book that doesn’t add to the plot and is super uncomfortable to read, but outside of that the point still stands !! and i couldn’t agree more with your take on glinda because wtf 😭
Yes, thanks for taking one for the team!! I barely made it through chapter 1 and threw it away…something I never do!!! And now, after your hard work, I’m even more thankful I did!!!!
This is amazing, thank you for curating this long beautiful recap. Ive never been more intrigued and entertained by a book recap, you did so so so soooooo AMAZING GIRL 🤩
can’t thank you enough for this video analysis of the original book 😅 you saved me hours of reading it/ researching myself! and you earned yourself a new subbie 😊
As a newbie Wicked fan, THANK YOU. I'm a big reader but couldn't fathom the 4 book series just for the lore. You speak so clearly and eloquently and gave all the details needed. You've made my day ❤
These kinds of story telling and recap deep dive vids really suit you and are really engaging! Would love to see more!! Like, another theatre deepdive topic could be the mayhem of the spiderman musical?? The plot of cats??
Wow you did such a good job telling this story. I read it in high school (way too young) and I feel like I started the second one but never finished. But yeah it’s been a long time and I don’t remember. I could listen to your retelling like a hundred times though! You have such a great voice for it and broke it down so clearly. Seriously thank you!! This was fantastic. I’m subscribed-can’t wait for more storytelling like this
When I read this, I thought that I was suffering from some kind of mental decline that was affecting my reading comprehension. Thanks for letting me know it wasn't just me. It's just a weird book.
Thank you for analyzing this book. It’s my favorite book of all time. With that being said, I still very much enjoy the musical. But what I love about the book is how it makes us reflect on our own real world. the political unfairness, philosophical questions, and with all its corrupt morals it forces the reader to reflect on. When people say this book is uncomfortable I kind of feel like it’s meant to be uncomfortable. That’s what I love about it. real life is uncomfortable. The world at large is uncomfortable. Our friends, families, the celebrities, and our politicians are all uncomfortable. The book is meant to make you reflect on uncomfortable situations that go on in our own real world. The musical is more of a feel good musical with a decent amount of social commentary. It’s not without its complexities, but it doesn’t hit hard as the book. And it doesn’t have to. The musical is perfectly fine the way it is. I’ve seen the movie twice and it’s very enjoyable. Also, I really enjoy that it’s a bit debatable if she is good or bad. To me that’s more interesting. One of my big complaints in the musical is that she never really becomes wicked. I’m not a fan of its just a big misunderstanding. Still a really good show, still a really good movie.
@@muggleintheupsidedown The book was published in 1995. The musical debuted 2003. I think OP has actually thought about what they're saying for a while and not just talking about a movie that came out last week. That being said, it would be difficult to incorporate the depth of despair that Elphaba reaches in the book with what the first movie has already set up- but it would be nice if they pulled it off
@@25meip I would say the musical has depth to it. It’s not without its complicated moments, or social commentary. However, I just understand the musical is meant for families. I do think they have fleshed out a lot of things from the musical to the film and for that I applaud them
Maguire wrote about a lot of the political and Socio-economic leanings that Baum whispered through Easter Eggs in his "children's" books. One big Easter egg is The Yellow Brick Road. Always follow it to be safe! Frank L Baum saw that banks didn't have enough gold per gold backed dollar, and that the government had no back up plan if there ever was run on the banks. He was warning people to stay on the path of keeping your money as gold. In another words, follow the "yellow brick road". Sad thing was Baum was right. I know you guys probably know this, but just incase let me (attempt to), explain the huge beginning of The Great Depression. A bunch of people, like Baum, realized paper money wasn't safe under the current laws. People ran to banks to exchange their paper money for it's gold counterpart. You used to be able to go to a bank to exchange a paper dollar for the same amount in gold. Now one day everyone freaked out, ran to the banks to exchange their money for gold. There wasn't enough gold to go around. So it was first come first serve. After the gold was gone, all the paper money was worthless. This destroyed everyone, including millionaires. Many millionaires famously killed themselves to avoid the shame of being poor. This is just one of many of Baum's dark adult themed beliefs that were slipped into the book series. Please look this up. I'm having trouble explaining this concisely. I'm not going to even try to explain what a Straw Man is. Google Frank L Baum and how he slid his very adult beliefs into children's books. When Googling Baum, please be careful not to get sucked into the groups that still try to use the Straw Man theory and other conspiracies. These crazy groups prey on people promising things they can't do.The modern groups are usually called The Sovereign Citizens, The State Nationals, and The Moors. There are two groups of Moors. The "real" ones are disgusted by the other Moors group's fanatical teachings. Back to my original point. I think Gregory Maguire tried to write the dark whispered parts out loud. As far as my opinion goes, I think there is room for all of the many adaptations of the World of the Wizard of Oz. Thank you if you made it through my exhausted rambliing tangents. Please, look into Frank L Baum and how his books, much like Dr Seuss also had political and moral hidden agendas. I am going to copy this as a main comment too so you may see this comment twice minus this little caveat. Yes, the Maguire books aren't meant for kids, but they are closer than you think to the original series. Thank you again. 💖💚
I'd love to watch your recaps of the rest of the series, if you can bring yourself to read them lol and I am sorry to tell you, that there are three newer books as well, for a total of 7. I cannot think of anyway to describe them that doesn't include spoilers, even just mentioning the main character gives away parts of books 2-4. that being said, this was such a great video and I'd be happy to watch any book recaps you make in the future! thank you!
You filled in so many things I overlooked and also didn’t understand in this book. There were way too much questions that didn’t get answered and many things that just got glossed over and thrown in. I’m torn between wanting to know what happens in the next three books but also not wanting to read them if it’s anything like the first. I was disappointed. Thank you so much for clearing up what I read though.
As a life-long Oz nerd, I think it's important to point out that Maguire borrowed certain aspects of the original ("Canonical") Oz series and remade them in his image. Like Oz _is_ divided into the four quadrants: Munchkins, Winkies, Gilikins, and Quadlings + Emerald City in the center; but the distinction between them and their peoples are not really spelled out by Baum. Also in Baum's originals, it's established fact (not a "religion") that the fairy Queen Lurline enchanted Oz into a fairyland, and was it was then ruled for centuries by her descendants, a succession of Kings named Oz and queens named Ozma, until the Wizard arrived and deposed the then-current king, who is also known as Pastoria. After the Wizard leaves, Glinda discovers the long lost daughter of Pastoria and daughter/descendant (depending on who you ask) of Lurline, and she becomes the current (and permanent, because she's immortal and benevolent) ruler of Oz, the final and ultimate Ozma. There are also those who regard Dorothy (who later returns to Oz to live there permanently) as not only Ozma's closest friend (which she undoubtedly is), but also her literal consort... Though that bit is considered more controversial in Oz circles, as some hardcore "Oz Purists" (largely older fans from bygone, more puritanical eras) believe Ozma must remain forever asexual and childlike. (In spite of John Neill's numerous drawings of Ozma in the original books showing her looking like a supermodel.) End Ozzy history lesson. :)
Addendum: Also, Dr. Nikidik _is_ a character in the original Baum books, and he does invent an "Extract of Biological Intent," though in Baum, it's called by the more kid-friendly name, "The Marvelous Powder of Life." (If you've seen the Disney movie "Return to Oz," you may remember it.)
You did an awesome job of summarizing the book. I was trying my best to finish it but it dragged on so unnecessarily. But the way you told it was much more engaging.
Loved, loved, loved this. Your story telling is impeccible. I thought I wouldn't be able to get through this whole video but you had me from the beginning. Please review more books!
No, it was the writings of a gay man who was living through the unfair AIDs scare of the '80s (during which, LGBTQ+ people were being persecuted & being brutally harmed, because stupid, homophobic assholes assumed they were the cause of the AIDs problem; This is why the Philosophy Club scene & Tibbett contracting OZian AIDs happened in the book) and other trials LGBTQ+ people were facing because heteronormative society refused to care about or bother to understand them.
Respectfully disagree. It’s a treatise on the nature of good and evil. He wanted to ask, if you tell someone they’re evil, that they’re wicked, from the day they’re born, do you create a self-fulfilling prophecy? And I think his explorations of that are very coherent. The musical rightfully has to jettison this question to make it a musical, so it doesn’t ask that, Elphaba never really gets any less kind-hearted in the play. So the result is that they’re just two totally different beasts. But I wouldn’t call the book “the ramblings of a madman.” It asks really interesting questions about the nature of evil, where it comes from, what it is. Many serial killers had horrific childhood trauma that clearly broke them and made them that way, but at the same time someone somewhere suffered the same trauma and didn’t become serial killers. So that implies there was something innate to them, but surely a baby can’t be evil. But if not, are some of them then a sort of time bomb who will become evil under the right circumstances? That sounds uncomfortable. But again, the same trauma doesn’t make everyone a serial killer. Stephen King thinks evil is more like a bird that lands on people’s shoulder for a while. Maybe a very long while, maybe just one day and they do something horrific, but he sees it as external. Anyway that question may or may not interest you, and you may or may not feel he explores it effectively, but I think his ruminations on the question are very coherent, hardly a madman’s ramblings at all.
A fishwife is a woman who sells fish (often used as a term for a loud, vulgar woman -- "yelling like a fishwife" -- probably because, as a vendor, she would yell for people to come buy her fish).
As a book lover, I ordered the book this morning and decided to watch your review. My initial reaction: 😱. But your fun storytelling turned it into an enjoyable Sunday afternoon! 😅 I'll definitely treasure the book now. My favorite part was your comment about the damage to your digital imprint-🤣 I laughed out loud and hit subscribe immediately! Thank you, and I’m already looking forward to more!
I agree with what many in the comments are saying about the order in which one sees the musical vs. the reading the book. I read the book before the musical had been written, and I loved it. I found it a fascinating take on the original OZ books, and I also loved what Maguire was doing with the politics in the book. Though it was written in the early 1990's, much of the politics in the book felt very akin as commentary to the political scene in the u.s. with what was then the current Bush/Cheney administration. This is when I read WICKED, around 2001/2002. The post 9/11 political feeling in the u.s. was one of terror and terrorism. Bad guys. The war on terror. Color codes as to how big the terror threat was at that time. Spying. Scary. (And isn't it sad-as frightening as that time was, it seems almost rosy in comparison to what we have right now. What I wouldn't give for a Bush/Cheney administration right now. Even with the disagreements and value differences-at least one felt you were still a human being in the room with them. They never threatened to "mass deport" any of us. Or close down public education. Omg. Though we thought they were the worst villains going at the time-little did we know.) Anyway, then when I first saw the musical in 2004, I fell in love with it as well. It felt so totally different to me from the novel, that I almost didn't think of it as the same thing really. Like the different OZ Baum books. I know the same characters are in many of them, but they all feel so totally different from each other. I have seen the musical about 20 times. And I have read all of the Maguire OZ books. And I love all of them. They are totally all different from each other, and that is fine with me. I take each one where it is, and really love each one as its own piece. But I might not have had this experience if I had encountered the musical first. I think that the progression and the differences between the two pieces is much less jarring if you encounter them with reading the book first-seeing the musical second. Thanks for posting.
You’re such a real one for this 😅 In all seriousness, INCREDIBLE recap! The story may have been unhinged (understatement to the 1000th degree) but your video summary was actually pleasant to listen to 😊
the fact that there is SO much sexual/piss stuff and almost all of it is glazing at young women when the book is written by a man is so outlandishly gross to me it's no wonder no one really talks about how bad it is that he's like this and so attached to this series he wrote spinoffs of it LAST YEAR
Maguire is a gay man, for starters, so has zero interest in women young or otherwise. Secondly, you clearly don't read anything but sanitised mythology and fairy tales. He is using age old tropes well established in these kinds of tales. In multiple world mythologies, the world coming into being has to do with one or another god or godlike animal taking a piss. So do some real research and broaden your reading and knowledge before you make assumptions about things.
And yet when women do the something to the opposite gender characters it is totally okay. Highly recommend to not over think thing and some grass for once
The author is a gay man so I don't think he was perving on women. The sexual content isn't really that explicit, and it's never really titillating either. The book seems to enjoy its own ick factor. I don't think it works super well, but it's an artistic choice to make the world kind of grotesque, and I think the book treats Elphaba seriously and respectfully. You can criticize the result without psychoanalyzing the author. Personally I don't like the book very much, but a lot of the more extreme reactions to it come from unfair expectations based on the musical. It probably shouldn't have got a movie tie-in cover, but none of that's the author's fault.
PLS I need a pt.2 at least, I can totally understand that the book wasn’t really a pleasant reading, but I feel like you really are a great story-teller, very dedicated and punctual, thank you so much!!
The entire Wicked series is amazing. I highly recommend everyone to read all 4 of the books in the series as well as any of Gregory Maguire’s other books. I also really enjoyed Mirror, Mirror.
I find it interesting how a lot of people who watch the musical first tend not to like the book. I read the book first when I was in high school, and then I saw the musical. I love both, but they are very different.
I came here to make the exact same comment read all 4 books before ever having the chance to see the musical when it came to town and loved the books for how deep they are in social commentary and philosophy. I love the musical for how it keeps the basic themes and ideas while giving us a feel good musical with some great songs
I haven’t even read or watched either- but I still don’t find it surprising at all. The musical was aimed to be more of a crowd pleaser, is kid friendly and in general seems to be more cinematic. Movie or theater adaptations tend to draw in larger crowds as opposed to novels in the first place, and Wicked the musical and movie sets more wholesome and (cheery?) expectations. Novels like Wicked, which are really raunchy and dark are definitely going to deter a large portion of people from wanting to even give it a chance. That being said, I kind of have the itch to read and watch both now lol.
I think what's scary is that the books have been sat up on a display with children's shoes and dresses in our target making it seem like it's a book catered to young girls x.x
Best of video of 2024! Thank you so much for all the work that you put into this, I'm fascinated, and can't wait for your essays about the other books!
You’re a intriguing and entertaining storyteller. I have a young child and just don’t have the time to read the books. I also feel like so much would just go over my head. I always read my son bedtime stories but I found someone who could tell me a story and I loved it! Please do the rest of the books! You’re taking 4 for the team! May you be blessed with monetization!
13 year old me read the first book after a girl in my class (also 13 and probably having no business reading it either) read it and said it was good. Maybe she was a more emotionally advanced individual than me at the time. Half of it went over my head and the other half gave me the ick. With the movie out, I went back and read it again, and weirdly enough I loved it even though it’s a lot different from the musical and in a writing style that takes some work to vibe with. This was an amazing video and you’re super talented to condense such a bonkers book into two hours :)
Wow this is a great summary! I have adhd and the changing of locations and makeup/outfits somewhat kept me focused for once! I really hope u read and summarise the other books so I don’t have to read them 😂❤
I loved your summary! I don’t usually like book summaries but I would look forward to the summary of the next one if you’re still up for it! What a wild ride.
Thank you for this!!! I’ve read the book twice and I was wondering if I missed something because I was still so confused, but your summary was impeccable and perfect! And just solidifies that the confusion is in the major plot holes of the book🤦🏻♀️
A bit like when they do a “play” to recap the story in game of thrones … it makes sense that the conventions of the storytelling would be softer, more theatrical, stage managed symbolic and easy to grasp vs the detailed history and actual narrative
Please, do the other books in this series ! This was so entertaining, I didn’t think I would have spent 2 hours in one sitting listening to this. You have a way to explain what is going on and to keep it moving without seeming boring. I wish you had gone into more detail about how Elphaba smashed Madam Morbil’s head in when Morbil was already inches away from death or may have already been dead, but Elphaba wanted to take credit for it either way, but alas you can’t go over every aspect of the book in this time frame. Props to explaining how nanny bathed her in milk, I always tell people about this and they are like, isn’t she allergic to water? It’s a book, guys, this is what you have an issue with and not the Animal orgy? 😂
thank you for this video!!! i read the book for the first time when i was 15, and i actually really loved it. it was an incredibly intense book, though, and i remember it took me a long time to finish. but i do think it is one of my favorite books still, and props to you for making this summary because . it is actually so crazy. amazing vid!
I read this book yrs ago. For the life of me, I could not remember much of it at all. Now I understand why. Too many characters and not enough actually happens. The storyline seems very convoluted. Thank you for taking the time to do this recap for us. My goodness, what a job!!!
I was obsessed with the show after seeing it when I was 14. My poor innocent grandmother bought me the book for my birthday. I found out VERY quickly that the book was quite different, lol.
I have tried to read this book, listen to the audio several times and it makes me feel dumb. It’s a hard read. Thank you for your patience, time, and due diligence on this video. You are the real MVP!
I tried to read the book in high school and couldn’t get past the biting off someone’s finger part. I did not expect to actually finish a two hour video on this but you are so interesting to listen to and really help water down the nastiness that before I knew what happened I totally did watch the whole thing!!!!
I have read all the books and you did a great job. Book is sooooo different then the musical. Seen to many young readers think that the book is like the musical, yeah no.
I definitely think the musical really neatly wrapped up a lot of the plot holes by making everything fit together and tie back into the original, and also by taking out a lot of the really creepy sexual undertones...and overtones...that the book had. I do like that the book explored the differences between capital A Animals and animals and their treatment. You get a bit of that in the stage show, but not too much.
I read the book first but I couldn't finish. It's too disturbing to the point that I didn't want to see the musical. But then I fell in love with the music, and realized that they changed the plot for the stage. So, safe to say I prefer the musical. However, thank you for telling me the ending, because I don't think I'll ever be able to re-read and finish the book (and based on your video, I'm glad I didn't).
Thank you! I stumbled down this rabbit hole, and let’s just say this video should have been the first. I tried giving a couple others a try but oh my gosh! You have a great accent to listen to, it’s so different since you use…inflection. Thank you for saving me several maddening hours.
It's kind of funny how the musical's subtitle is "the untold story of the witches of Oz" as it keeps the source material untold due to how dark it ended up being. 😂❤
So glad you made this video. I normally watch videos explaining books I've read to compare my reactions. To my surprise it did not exist, for YEARS! You are a hero.
Hey guys! It's Amy here... Thank you so much for the love on this video. I've officially started reading Son of a Witch (book 2)!!
I've made this brand new channel to upload more video essays and story recaps so subscribe here to see brand new videos coming soon. Also if anyone has any requests for other stories/topics you'd like me to cover, feel free to send them my way 😊💕
!!! So excited! Can’t wait to see what other books you read
Very excited for the recap of the other books!
I read the book in 2005. A year later I saw the musical and was gobsmacked at the difference. Now, that I saw the movie I wanted to revisit the book. Thank you for your recap bc it spared me all the gory details!
This is honestly so upsetting and you’re a trooper😂😭 I guess Wicked musical is semi-fanfic of Wicked book which is semi-fanfic of wizard of oz book/movie and this is all just so much information😂😭 I almost bought the book because they have a pretty edition out now so thank you for saving me money and time and sanity. You’re legit so fun to watch and listen to and if you’re brave enough to read the other books I guess I’m brave enough to come along the video journey with you because now I’m so curious about where the heck the story could go from here to be relevant to much anything else after the wizard of oz story unless they dive into the lore you talked about maybe? Idk it’s absolutely nuts and I salute you on this journey😂😭♥️
This is honestly so upsetting and you’re a trooper😂😭 I guess Wicked musical is semi-fanfic of Wicked book which is semi-fanfic of wizard of oz book/movie and this is all just so much information😂😭 I almost bought the book because they have a pretty edition out now so thank you for saving me money and time and sanity. You’re legit so fun to watch and listen to and if you’re brave enough to read the other books I guess I’m brave enough to come along the video journey with you because now I’m so curious about where the heck the story could go from here to be relevant to much anything else after the wizard of oz story unless they dive into the lore you talked about maybe? Idk it’s absolutely nuts and I salute you on this journey😂😭♥️
Not there being so many trigger warnings it looks like the Star Wars title sequence 😭
There’s almost one for every letter of the alphabet
When I tell you I screamed
@@AmyAstridd and several for some letters 😰
Trigger warnings: all of them. 😂😭 All present and accounted for.
@@legalregal7298 trigger warnings: yes
How someone was able to sit through every single word of this absolutely unhinged story and turn it into the blockbuster Broadway musical we all know and love today is BEYOND MEEEEE 💀💀💀💀
Facts
RIGHT!!!
That someone is Stephen Schwartz lol, he’s a genius
My thoughts exactly!!
Exactly what I kept thinking.
I love how the book just kind of glosses over the fact that the munchkins offered up a sacrifice to some diety out of desperation because they were trapped in a long drought and actually went through with unaliving that sacrifice with no apparent care or moral panic about their actions. 😅
One of the sacrifices was Melena and Frexspar’s lover, Turtle Heart.
@@arc7375Yeah, I found that so upsetting.
@@arc7375 It also kind of comes out of left field leaving the reader even more baffled to why it had to be a thing.
@@disgruntledmoderate5331 A lot of things happen in this book that make you wonder why they had to happen other than shock value or something.
1:30:44
I read the book as a teenager right after the musical came out and I now lovingly refer to the novel as “Fifty Shades of Green,” due to its mature tone. You did a fantastic job recapping! I do hope you’ll consider recapping Son of A Witch - as it is a decent continuation of Liir’s story!
This is literally an entirely different story, i am so shocked!! like sorryy??? thank you for taking one for the team and reading it so we don't have to!!
I'd heard it was different but can't believe HOW different!!
The book had some great ideas with mixed results on the execution. I haven't seen the musical or movie, and want to, but they basically just ripped off the book and white washed it by changing the story to an extremely kiddie version
I’m glad it’s NOT like that book. 😝😁
@@AmyAstridd
You don’t need to put literally there
I’m not sure how much you enjoyed making this video or the idea of making more like it, but this summary was PHENOMENAL. If you’re someone who enjoys books and you liked making this video you have serious talent for this. I was hoping the rest of your page would have videos like this but I’m still subscribing for the off chance you do other work like this. Thank you!!
Seriously! She’s adorable & I love her accent & the way she speaks 🧡
& the looks & the change of scenery?! 😍
Agreed!
Came to say the same thing!!! 🥰
I was bragging on her to my mom this morning. This lady seems like a natural storyteller. Smooth, no verbal tics or fillers, no "Oh, wait--I forgot to mention...." She's a keeper!
the way someone made a successful musical with this source material is impressive. like they condensed it into a story that showed a lot of the...other...stuff was uh...maybe not that necessary for the plot
Yeah, I feel like it was not necessary to get the rights to adapt it. My thinking is that someone read the book and got the idea to make their own version of Wicked witch story but maybe was afraid of comparisons and bringing sued so they just decided to get the rights and loosely adapt it. This book sounds awful😅
@@stardroplet9499 that sure is an opinion. not a good one, but it is one.
Thank God they have the sense not to put all that gross crap in it
Ooh, goodness! Thank you.
@@marriethesassycrafter6324Yikes.
1:29:03 “Dying of exposure” usually means dying of hypothermia, or a lowered body temperature, due to exposure to cold temperatures.
Yeah, and get this there are parents giving this book to children for Christmas because they haven’t realized that the book is actually mature🤣🤣🤣
Especially now they’ve released it with the movie cover too!!
This is how I discovered the book 😂 I LOVED the musical as a teen so my mum got me the book for Christmas when I was 14.
This is actually exactly how I fell in love with the book and spent years trying not to hate the musical lmao, I got it for Christmas at like, 10… . My mom heard about the musical and that there was a book and thought it was perfect for her book worm theatre kid daughter. I understood so little of it until I reread it as a teen but it still sorta grafted itself onto my brain forever and now I write political fantasy tabletop games and do activist theatre!
@@AmyAstridd wait, they released the original novel with the movie cover?? I thought the movie was based on the musical - why not use the movie cover for a novelization of the musical or movie?? 😵💫😵💫😵💫
I bought my copy at the London show when they were selling it with the merchandise, I was only about 12/13 years old at the time 😅
OMG! You have to do the rest of this book series. First of all, THANK YOU for taking the time and effort to put this together. This book has been on my reading list since Wicked's original cast.
I’m one of the few people who have read Maguire’s book and never have seen the musical. Thanks for making this video!
That’s me!
Same. Read the book, found it fairly awful,, won't be watching the movie or the play
I read the book first and honestly the amount that is going over peoples heads is heartbreaking
@@tjkasgl want a cookie?
@ there’s a lot changed too so I can’t blame them
I wasn't ready for such an abrupt ending 😅 thank you for putting the work in. I'm not sure if I'm intrigued or horrified.😂
Well... there are more books after this so it makes sense.
Yup. The book is just about her. It's a biography of her life. So when she dies... that's it.
"And there the wicked old Witch stayed for a good long time."
"And did she ever come out?"
"Not yet."
I feel I should thank you for your service. Also make parents listen to this before buying the book for their teens.
@@calebgoodman3028I meant the video 😂 I was swept up in Amy's commentary. I'm looking forward to her series on the further books. 😊
Please do a part 2!! You are so great at storytelling and all the effort you put into editing and dressing up was definitely appreciated
I'm one of the ones who read the book before seeing the musical, and I have to agree I found myself thinking there was a lot of detail included purely for edge value. I know that adapting existing stories and adding a darker tone is something Maguire's gone on to do (he's done Cinderella and Snow White to name two), but this one was a bit much.
I remember feeling quite annoyed at how much they were going to change for the musical (not because I wanted to see all the dodgy stuff of course, more along the lines of "if you have to change that much why even bother adapting it?"), but I started to love it as soon as I heard some of the songs.
Oh, and some of your end questions are answered in later books. I won't say which ones in case you do go on to read them though!
I actually found Maguire via Mirror Mirror in like *eighth grade* which was just the right time for the edge of it all.
"If you have to change that much why even bother adapting it?"
An excellent, 'age-old', and LOADED question I find myself asking about a lot of Oz adaptations...
Having read the Novel AFTER seeing the Musical for the first time, I was astounded by HOW DIFFERENT the Musical was from it.
Having read the original Oz Books, I'm surprised that I didn't read Wicked the Novel back in 1995 when it first came out, BUT, I was in college back at that time, and I didn't have a lot of time to read recreationally as I was reading a great deal on what I was studying.
There wasn't a great deal of publicity about the novel back when it came out initially, but when the musical came out eight years later in 2003, it revived interest in the novel, and I went out and bought it after I saw the Musical for the first time with the Original Broadway Cast.
I wasn't shocked by how much darker the Novel was, because the Musical gives you a MERE HINT of those darker themes, but what did surprise me was that both Elphaba and Fiyero were more decidedly ethnic, with Fiyero being a man of color and Elphaba being more "demon-like" than a Witch.
Seeing the trigger warning was like oh my god. Did he forgot any horrible topic it seems he put them all in the books
Literally every single possible crime and unethical act
I mean I don't think cannibalism was in there but then again I don't really remember
Dude really went through the Wikipedia of horrific crimes and treated it like a bucket list for his book
@@amberr3662there is some cannibalism in Lion Among Men and Out of Oz
@@amberr3662she did try to eat off her own hands as a child, so pretty close.
I appreciate this retelling and a key part is missing from the first chapter. Frex and Turtle Heart lose track of Elphaba toward the end of the chapter because they’re preoccupied with each other.
An important note that’ll come back later in the book.
I read this book before I saw the musical, and the only things I remembered from it were the goat professor, the sex orgy and the tiger, and that Fiero was not the scarecrow. Also that I did not like the writing style and the author had somehow written a crazy off-the-rails story that was somehow really boring to read. Thank you so much for doing this so that I remember the book but don't have to read it again.
Also, my goodness, are those goldfish-in-pet-store-bag earrings? Those are absolutely adorable! Subscribed.
Yeah, lol my dad actually read the series around the time the musical came out, I got a bit older and was really into listening to broadway soundtracks and asked what the book was about and could I read it? He said "hm... no, when you're older." because I was like 12 lmao.
I sure hope to god no 12 year old wicked fans are stumbling upon this book though. I read it when I was about 17, and I had a really similar impression as you "how can a book with objectively batshit events all over the place be such a slog prose-wise?" Ah well. I don't blame some folks for liking it, everyone's got their own style, but it just really didn't gel with me much at all.
This is literally an exact summary of what I remember and how I reacted after checking this out from the school library when we did the songs for my eighth grade choir class.
Ditto. I have very few memories of the book, but I remember HATING the writing style.
Probably because it points out a lot of social points you don't like to talk about...but they exist. Doesn't "gel" because you can't relate. @@Zanyotaku
@@supshaw5752what exactly is the writing style the discussion of social issues like racism and animal cruelty?
I read this in HIGH SCHOOL and it probably explains a lot mentally ngl 😭😭😭 I went in thinking “oh there’s a book for my favorite musical0”
I really hope you do the next book. I've really, really enjoyed watching you... you've made some rather horrifying content extremely entertaining! You are a joy to watch!
What a lovely comment. Thank you so much! ❤️
Please read son of a witch@@AmyAstridd
I really enjoyed your video, which caught my eye because I, too, just re-read Wicked in preparation for the movie. But I would never tell someone that I read it "so that they don't have to," because it's one of my favorite books I've read. But it is interesting because I'm a bit older (38 but who's counting), so your reactions remind me how I responded to the book back when I was in college, and read it for the first time because I loved the musical so much. Like you, I was shocked (SHOCKED I say!) by all of the sex, vulgarity, and traumatic imagery, and really focused on the narrative journey, which you covered so well in this video. But back then I just wanted to find more musical nerds who would dissect the musical vs book changes with me :)
Now, 10 years later (eek), I really saw the book from a completely different lens. I'm older and jaded now, so the sex stuff didn't shock me anymore (just seemed like sadly repressed imagery of an author trying to write a book about young women, when he himself was an older man and had gone through college in a hormone-laden frenzy and thus made EVERYTHING about sex). I really connected to the deeper levels of the book this time -- the social and political conversations about Lurlinism/paganism vs Unionism/Christianity vs Pleasure Faith/modern atheism. I especially connected to the philosophical musings on good and evil -- where do each come from, is someone destined to be one or the other, do our choices matter or are we puppets of an Unnamed God, etc etc. These occurred mostly during the parts that you noted were "and then they talk to each other for a long bit", and I think I similarly thought of them as "painful" and "boring" back then. When Elfie goes to tell Avaric that she killed Morrible, the dinner party must have lasted 10 pages or so, but this time I actually appreciated all of the different opinions people brought forth, both serious and ironic. I think it's really taken these extra years of seeing so much suffering in the world, and trying to find answers myself, and getting more comfortable with "grey" spaces (instead of black and white) and ambiguity. I agree with the questions you listed at the end of the book and find it to be a fascinating discussion with others about what the answers "might" be, because I don't think there really is one "right" answer that McGuire came up with. Who is Yackel? Is she human or god-like? Is she on the sidelines of Elfie's life, or is she helping to shape it? Is she good or evil? And then, of course, there's also yet another lens to the book, which is a sort of treatise against authoritarian regimes, and shows the warning signs from as early as possible. I guess I'm saying, hold on for the chance to re-visit the book because I agree that it is NOT for children, but it was sold as a "young adult" novel, and I really wonder if it was just hard to put a label on it, because I think it's a pretty solidly "adult" novel, and even falls into a more philosophical, what's the meaning of life and/or suffering kind of book, using the fanciful land of Oz as a back drop. It definitely takes an open mindset to read and enjoy.
One thing we DEFINITELY agree on, though, is that the musical is so much happier and lovelier and just makes you feel better about the world (as a musical should). I basically hold book-Fiyero and musical-Fiyero as completely separate people in my head, because I love Fiyero as the cocky book-Averic character singing "Dancing Through Life," but I also love the book's version and how he and Elphaba developed in their love story. I think Stephen Schwartz is an absolute genius and I think that the changes he and others made to streamline the plot, helped open it up to be more accessible to a wider audience. It's a shame, though, that there's not much there for a sequel since there is no Liir. Even so, the musical *briefly* touches on "Are people born Wicked? Or do they have Wickedness thrust upon them?", but I think the goal of the musical is a more basic lesson in learning to question our assumptions and look for "the other side" of the stories we've been told. Which is always a good place to start. :)
Excited to see what you come up with for Son of a Witch; I'm only about 1/3 of the way through, and it's already just as twisted as Wicked is. I think the success of Wicked translated in McGuire's mind as "thumbs up! Keep up with the depravity and folks will keep coming!" Lol
Thank you so much for defending it ❤ I truly think both the book and musical are as perfect as they can be for their form. The book is a perfect book, the musical is a perfect musical. They’re just vastly different art forms.
I read the book first, and when the musical first came out I had HUGE doubts about it. I thought turning Boq and Fiyero into the Tin Man and Scarecrow had corny George Lucas vibes (the way he’s obsessed with turning everyone you meet into someone you already know or connected to them, for no good reason), but now I think it’s brilliant, No Good Deed is my favorite song and it makes me sob. It’s beautiful and so emotionally affecting, her trying to save him and cursing him to this strange pseudo life.
Similarly, the first time I heard Defying Gravity out of context I hated it, I thought all the “I hope you’re happy” drama was cheesy, maudlin melodrama compared to the book’s more understated, realistic parting (before Wicked I didn’t fully get musicals in general). But now I love that song and it also makes me cry (I don’t think I really have to explain that one 😂)
Basically, before I saw it I thought it sounded horribly Disneyfied. And that’s not totally untrue, but what I learned is that’s not bad! Lots of Disney movies are very good and well-written and have huge emotional payoffs, and Wicked truly is all that and more. It really is a perfect musical.
But the book is also a perfect book! There’s a lot of really valuable stuff in there that is lost in the streamlining and simplifying of the musical to be a musical.
For example the entire inspiration of the book, exploring the nature of good and evil, and asking “If you tell someone they’re evil, that they’re wicked, their whole life from birth, do you create a self-fulfilling prophecy?”
That question in particular, the central question of the book, is pretty much completely lost in the musical because Elphaba doesn’t really change in that direction. Instead she has positive character growth, she only gets more self-assured and powerful.
And I understand why! In a musical we aren’t privy to her thoughts, so if they showed brusque, hardened, not-particularly-kind later-in-life Elphaba we wouldn’t be inside her head understanding that she’s not truly evil, she’s just been failed by everyone and everything and has barely even known kindness. Instead, the musical makes her Wicked Witch persona entirely a performance, her just puffing up to frighten people away.
But that’s why the book is so powerful in its own way, because we ARE in her mind, we do understand who she is and why. It can be so much more nuanced and allow her to actually become less kind, more hardened by life and the things that have happened to her, to actually explore questions about good and evil more effectively.
The book is a treatise on the nature of evil. Why does it happen? Where does it come from? Is it like a bird that lands on someone’s shoulder and they do the evil and then maybe it flies off? (This is Stephen King’s view). Or is it something inherent to a person, and if so are evil people born or made? Some serial killers had unthinkable trauma that clearly made them that way, but there are people who have the same trauma and don’t become serial killers. So where did the evil come from? Surely a baby can’t be evil, but are some a sort of time bomb of evil that can be set off by the right events while others aren’t?
The musical kinda asks these questions verbally, (“are people born wicked or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?”) but it can’t explore them in any depth, that’s just not what musicals do.
And the fact it knows that is why it’s a perfect musical! And the book is a perfect book. And that’s my essay lol😂
Thank you both for these thoughtful commments!
The point behind Fiero’s death was that The Wizard knew Elphaba was a threat to him and was part of a subversive group to overthrow him. He knew she was his daughter even though she didn’t know she was his. The Wizard had been tracking her since college, using Madam Morrible, knew where she lived, and was planning to kill her. Fiero was collateral damage.
When did The Wizard find out Elphaba was his daughter in the book? (I need context for what he did in the book while/after Knowing she was his daughter) 😰
@@whyiamafs He most likely knew since her birth since he slept with her mother and gave her the green potion.
I thought he didn’t know until Dorothy returned with a green bottle towards the end of the book.
Yep
No. The book makes it clear he didn’t know Elphaba was his daughter until after she died. Dorothy brings him the green vial, he pales and runs away from the city.
The religions and politics in the books were also present int the original Oz books. If you’ve read L. Frank Baum’s original series the overall framework is there. Maguire has made a successful writing career of imagining the story from the perspective of what is seen as the antagonist in the original stories. I loved reading the Wicked series and have read most of his other books. The musical took a while to grow on me because it diverges from the book so much.
Thank you for sharing this! That context helps understand why Maguire wrote it this way
As someone who read half of it in 9th grade with most of it going over my head, i am very excited to watch this video and see how the novel actually ends
Oof you're in for a ride
I read the book maybe 14 years ago. Nessarose really stuck to me. 12 years ago I had a daughter with a similar disability but with a finger on both shoulders.
I had to reread parts of the book with Nessarose to remind me that its going to be alright because Nessarose is defiant and even beautiful hiding the absent arms beneath a shawl. She is the original owner of the shoes. It made me wonder if Gregory McGuire knew someone without arms. That the disability was apart of her but didn't define her. Nessarose was my first and only introduction to that difference when my daughter was born.
After my girl was born, I watched a few other youtubers who described their lives without arms to be almost proud at how motivated and adaptive everyone seemed to be with the challenges. That Gregory McGuire may not have known anyone without arms because he would note that her feet would be used often to apply makeup, eat, drink, or write.
Thank you. Been searching for this exact kind of video! Your speaking voice is very pleasant as well
Omg thank you
1:56:31 ok so let’s do it!! Let’s get the other books broken down 🥹🫶🏽
I didn’t realize that there were more books…I thought it was just the one book! Please do another video on the next one! You did an amazing job on this one it actually made the book seem good!
The second book is about her bisexual son and it’s pretty decent.
I was so entertained and got caught up, listening to your description. I am glad I didn’t actually read the book. I think it would be too awkward! So many of the details of this are needlessly specific. Very TMI. What a weirdly terrible way for Fierro to die!
And just generally so many creepy descriptions !
I read the book as a teenager before I knew there was a musical. I just remember thinking, how light the musical was and how the roles of Fiyero and Boq were so different. I grew to love it, but I had a similar shock about how different they were when I first saw the musical. It's been many years since then and I thank you for the primer of being able to read it again and move on to the other books.
I wish the broadway adaptation had the moment in the book where Elphaba and Galinda are in their room and Galinda asks what she’s always reading and Elphaba goes on to explain what she likes to read and Galinda starts to get visibly tired and bored and lies on the bed, covering her eyes with her arm and says something so smart, Elphaba gets so excited and shouts !now you’re thinking! And Galinda just yawns and goes to sleep and Elphaba is left just smiling.
This interaction did a lot for their relationship for me. It was the beginning of Galinda accidentally saying something incredibly smart and Elphaba never calling her stupid or shallow or anything like that. Smart people get so excited when others are curious and start out thinking themselves. It filled my heart
So I saw Wicked in 2005 and immediately went to go read the book. The only thing I remembered about it now that the movie has come out was thinking it was really dark, WAY too sexual, and that I had decided not the read any of the other books. I did go ahead and buy the book again and had started reading it before I found your video. Now I don’t have to keep going because you did such a good job reminding me of the story. Thanks for that! SERIOUSLY, thank you!! To answer your question, I like the Broadway play better and excited to see the movie.
the movie is great! great act 1 adaptation of the musical in my opinion (i saw it on broadway a couple years ago with the newest cast!)
I also saw the play in 2005 and then read the book. What a crazy wild turn that was 😅
Me too!
I literally just finished this book yesterday and when this video scrolled across my suggested page I RAN to watch it because one of my favorite things is to compare my thoughts on books to someone else's so thank you for making it!!
I am so impressed with this video and the way you formatted everything. Your explanation is perfect and ugh, just such a great job. I hope you do more summaries on weird books in the future lol!!
Wow, what an incredible summary, this is my first time seeing your channel and you're very good at this. I'll share it and hope you'll get those 100,000 views.
Thank you so much! Now I need to think of more video essay ideas haha
@@AmyAstridd Yess you are great at this. And sorry but there's more than 150.000 in only 9 days so maybe you can read the other books to do more for us!
You are really good at it! Thank you
Can’t believe in 10 days she is close to 200k viewsss
@@harrywotter7120 exactly! She is really good at it!
this summary was literally so good, i'm not even wholly interested in the book, and if it weren't for your delivery I wouldn't have kept coming back to finish! so surprised you don't make content like this usually!
also iconic styling the whole video???? loved the fish shirt and i used to have the earrings!
Thank you so much!! There’s more coming 🫶🏼
I read the book before I saw the musical, and I actually prefer the book. The musical does one thing incorrectly - which is to make everything 'less bad' for elohaba. One of gregory maguire's points I think in the book is for someone to be driven to be the way elphaba became, to be wicked, bad things happen. I found her journey through the moral ambiguity of oz to be incredibly intriguing.
saw the musical first but just finished reading and feel the exact same way!
thank you for this very reasonable take 😭 sounds like you understood the book !!
This comment section is so disappointing. I was beginning to think I was the only one who likes the book. The musical is too watered down. It has no teeth & musical Elphaba has no grit. I can't stand Glinda's redemption in the musical. She's a nazi!
Anyhow, I'm glad I'm not the only one.
@@theirreverentreader6970 i am rereading the book now because of this comment section. i will not lie- there is a lot of weird sexual stuff in the book that doesn’t add to the plot and is super uncomfortable to read, but outside of that the point still stands !! and i couldn’t agree more with your take on glinda because wtf 😭
AGREE
Yes, thanks for taking one for the team!! I barely made it through chapter 1 and threw it away…something I never do!!! And now, after your hard work, I’m even more thankful I did!!!!
Congrats on 100k, sorry for your fate but I can’t wait to watch 💚
This is amazing, thank you for curating this long beautiful recap. Ive never been more intrigued and entertained by a book recap, you did so so so soooooo AMAZING GIRL 🤩
can’t thank you enough for this video analysis of the original book 😅 you saved me hours of reading it/ researching myself! and you earned yourself a new subbie 😊
So glad it was helpful!! ❤
As a newbie Wicked fan, THANK YOU. I'm a big reader but couldn't fathom the 4 book series just for the lore. You speak so clearly and eloquently and gave all the details needed. You've made my day ❤
10:22 thank you for being the first video to mention this... this is what made me put the book down the first time LOL
These kinds of story telling and recap deep dive vids really suit you and are really engaging! Would love to see more!! Like, another theatre deepdive topic could be the mayhem of the spiderman musical?? The plot of cats??
Wow you did such a good job telling this story. I read it in high school (way too young) and I feel like I started the second one but never finished. But yeah it’s been a long time and I don’t remember. I could listen to your retelling like a hundred times though! You have such a great voice for it and broke it down so clearly. Seriously thank you!! This was fantastic. I’m subscribed-can’t wait for more storytelling like this
When I read this, I thought that I was suffering from some kind of mental decline that was affecting my reading comprehension. Thanks for letting me know it wasn't just me. It's just a weird book.
Thank you for analyzing this book. It’s my favorite book of all time. With that being said, I still very much enjoy the musical. But what I love about the book is how it makes us reflect on our own real world. the political unfairness, philosophical questions, and with all its corrupt morals it forces the reader to reflect on. When people say this book is uncomfortable I kind of feel like it’s meant to be uncomfortable. That’s what I love about it. real life is uncomfortable. The world at large is uncomfortable. Our friends, families, the celebrities, and our politicians are all uncomfortable.
The book is meant to make you reflect on uncomfortable situations that go on in our own real world.
The musical is more of a feel good musical with a decent amount of social commentary. It’s not without its complexities, but it doesn’t hit hard as the book. And it doesn’t have to. The musical is perfectly fine the way it is. I’ve seen the movie twice and it’s very enjoyable.
Also, I really enjoy that it’s a bit debatable if she is good or bad. To me that’s more interesting. One of my big complaints in the musical is that she never really becomes wicked. I’m not a fan of its just a big misunderstanding. Still a really good show, still a really good movie.
I think the wicked part will come in part 2, the movie is only part 1! We get another movie.
@@muggleintheupsidedown The book was published in 1995. The musical debuted 2003. I think OP has actually thought about what they're saying for a while and not just talking about a movie that came out last week. That being said, it would be difficult to incorporate the depth of despair that Elphaba reaches in the book with what the first movie has already set up- but it would be nice if they pulled it off
I i
@@25meip I would say the musical has depth to it. It’s not without its complicated moments, or social commentary. However, I just understand the musical is meant for families.
I do think they have fleshed out a lot of things from the musical to the film and for that I applaud them
Maguire wrote about a lot of the political and Socio-economic leanings that Baum whispered through Easter Eggs in his "children's" books. One big Easter egg is The Yellow Brick Road. Always follow it to be safe! Frank L Baum saw that banks didn't have enough gold per gold backed dollar, and that the government had no back up plan if there ever was run on the banks. He was warning people to stay on the path of keeping your money as gold. In another words, follow the "yellow brick road". Sad thing was Baum was right. I know you guys probably know this, but just incase let me (attempt to), explain the huge beginning of The Great Depression. A bunch of people, like Baum, realized paper money wasn't safe under the current laws. People ran to banks to exchange their paper money for it's gold counterpart. You used to be able to go to a bank to exchange a paper dollar for the same amount in gold. Now one day everyone freaked out, ran to the banks to exchange their money for gold. There wasn't enough gold to go around. So it was first come first serve. After the gold was gone, all the paper money was worthless. This destroyed everyone, including millionaires. Many millionaires famously killed themselves to avoid the shame of being poor. This is just one of many of Baum's dark adult themed beliefs that were slipped into the book series. Please look this up. I'm having trouble explaining this concisely. I'm not going to even try to explain what a Straw Man is. Google Frank L Baum and how he slid his very adult beliefs into children's books. When Googling Baum, please be careful not to get sucked into the groups that still try to use the Straw Man theory and other conspiracies. These crazy groups prey on people promising things they can't do.The modern groups are usually called The Sovereign Citizens, The State Nationals, and The Moors. There are two groups of Moors. The "real" ones are disgusted by the other Moors group's fanatical teachings. Back to my original point. I think Gregory Maguire tried to write the dark whispered parts out loud. As far as my opinion goes, I think there is room for all of the many adaptations of the World of the Wizard of Oz. Thank you if you made it through my exhausted rambliing tangents. Please, look into Frank L Baum and how his books, much like Dr Seuss also had political and moral hidden agendas. I am going to copy this as a main comment too so you may see this comment twice minus this little caveat. Yes, the Maguire books aren't meant for kids, but they are closer than you think to the original series. Thank you again. 💖💚
Do Son of a Witch!!!!!! This was so good. You’re super funny
I'd love to watch your recaps of the rest of the series, if you can bring yourself to read them lol and I am sorry to tell you, that there are three newer books as well, for a total of 7. I cannot think of anyway to describe them that doesn't include spoilers, even just mentioning the main character gives away parts of books 2-4.
that being said, this was such a great video and I'd be happy to watch any book recaps you make in the future! thank you!
What are the titles after book 4? This is the first I've heard of them...
what are the 5-7 called??
You filled in so many things I overlooked and also didn’t understand in this book. There were way too much questions that didn’t get answered and many things that just got glossed over and thrown in. I’m torn between wanting to know what happens in the next three books but also not wanting to read them if it’s anything like the first. I was disappointed. Thank you so much for clearing up what I read though.
Not Chappell being shown for chapel😂😂
This video was so great, I would watch if you made a video on any of the sequels
As a life-long Oz nerd, I think it's important to point out that Maguire borrowed certain aspects of the original ("Canonical") Oz series and remade them in his image. Like Oz _is_ divided into the four quadrants: Munchkins, Winkies, Gilikins, and Quadlings + Emerald City in the center; but the distinction between them and their peoples are not really spelled out by Baum. Also in Baum's originals, it's established fact (not a "religion") that the fairy Queen Lurline enchanted Oz into a fairyland, and was it was then ruled for centuries by her descendants, a succession of Kings named Oz and queens named Ozma, until the Wizard arrived and deposed the then-current king, who is also known as Pastoria. After the Wizard leaves, Glinda discovers the long lost daughter of Pastoria and daughter/descendant (depending on who you ask) of Lurline, and she becomes the current (and permanent, because she's immortal and benevolent) ruler of Oz, the final and ultimate Ozma. There are also those who regard Dorothy (who later returns to Oz to live there permanently) as not only Ozma's closest friend (which she undoubtedly is), but also her literal consort... Though that bit is considered more controversial in Oz circles, as some hardcore "Oz Purists" (largely older fans from bygone, more puritanical eras) believe Ozma must remain forever asexual and childlike. (In spite of John Neill's numerous drawings of Ozma in the original books showing her looking like a supermodel.)
End Ozzy history lesson. :)
Addendum: Also, Dr. Nikidik _is_ a character in the original Baum books, and he does invent an "Extract of Biological Intent," though in Baum, it's called by the more kid-friendly name, "The Marvelous Powder of Life." (If you've seen the Disney movie "Return to Oz," you may remember it.)
You did an awesome job of summarizing the book. I was trying my best to finish it but it dragged on so unnecessarily. But the way you told it was much more engaging.
This was just awesome!!! Much appreciated 🧙🏾♀️
Loved, loved, loved this. Your story telling is impeccible. I thought I wouldn't be able to get through this whole video but you had me from the beginning. Please review more books!
This book was literally the ramblings of a madman 😳 thank you for taking the time to do this.
Very good description! 😂
No, it was the writings of a gay man who was living through the unfair AIDs scare of the '80s (during which, LGBTQ+ people were being persecuted & being brutally harmed, because stupid, homophobic assholes assumed they were the cause of the AIDs problem; This is why the Philosophy Club scene & Tibbett contracting OZian AIDs happened in the book) and other trials LGBTQ+ people were facing because heteronormative society refused to care about or bother to understand them.
Respectfully disagree. It’s a treatise on the nature of good and evil. He wanted to ask, if you tell someone they’re evil, that they’re wicked, from the day they’re born, do you create a self-fulfilling prophecy? And I think his explorations of that are very coherent.
The musical rightfully has to jettison this question to make it a musical, so it doesn’t ask that, Elphaba never really gets any less kind-hearted in the play.
So the result is that they’re just two totally different beasts. But I wouldn’t call the book “the ramblings of a madman.” It asks really interesting questions about the nature of evil, where it comes from, what it is.
Many serial killers had horrific childhood trauma that clearly broke them and made them that way, but at the same time someone somewhere suffered the same trauma and didn’t become serial killers. So that implies there was something innate to them, but surely a baby can’t be evil.
But if not, are some of them then a sort of time bomb who will become evil under the right circumstances? That sounds uncomfortable. But again, the same trauma doesn’t make everyone a serial killer.
Stephen King thinks evil is more like a bird that lands on people’s shoulder for a while. Maybe a very long while, maybe just one day and they do something horrific, but he sees it as external.
Anyway that question may or may not interest you, and you may or may not feel he explores it effectively, but I think his ruminations on the question are very coherent, hardly a madman’s ramblings at all.
A book about fascism and it’s nonsense to you lmao
A fishwife is a woman who sells fish (often used as a term for a loud, vulgar woman -- "yelling like a fishwife" -- probably because, as a vendor, she would yell for people to come buy her fish).
As a book lover, I ordered the book this morning and decided to watch your review. My initial reaction: 😱. But your fun storytelling turned it into an enjoyable Sunday afternoon! 😅 I'll definitely treasure the book now. My favorite part was your comment about the damage to your digital imprint-🤣 I laughed out loud and hit subscribe immediately! Thank you, and I’m already looking forward to more!
I agree with what many in the comments are saying about the order in which one sees the musical vs. the reading the book. I read the book before the musical had been written, and I loved it. I found it a fascinating take on the original OZ books, and I also loved what Maguire was doing with the politics in the book. Though it was written in the early 1990's, much of the politics in the book felt very akin as commentary to the political scene in the u.s. with what was then the current Bush/Cheney administration. This is when I read WICKED, around 2001/2002.
The post 9/11 political feeling in the u.s. was one of terror and terrorism. Bad guys. The war on terror. Color codes as to how big the terror threat was at that time. Spying. Scary. (And isn't it sad-as frightening as that time was, it seems almost rosy in comparison to what we have right now. What I wouldn't give for a Bush/Cheney administration right now. Even with the disagreements and value differences-at least one felt you were still a human being in the room with them. They never threatened to "mass deport" any of us. Or close down public education. Omg. Though we thought they were the worst villains going at the time-little did we know.)
Anyway, then when I first saw the musical in 2004, I fell in love with it as well. It felt so totally different to me from the novel, that I almost didn't think of it as the same thing really. Like the different OZ Baum books. I know the same characters are in many of them, but they all feel so totally different from each other. I have seen the musical about 20 times. And I have read all of the Maguire OZ books. And I love all of them. They are totally all different from each other, and that is fine with me. I take each one where it is, and really love each one as its own piece. But I might not have had this experience if I had encountered the musical first. I think that the progression and the differences between the two pieces is much less jarring if you encounter them with reading the book first-seeing the musical second. Thanks for posting.
You’re such a real one for this 😅
In all seriousness, INCREDIBLE recap! The story may have been unhinged (understatement to the 1000th degree) but your video summary was actually pleasant to listen to 😊
the fact that there is SO much sexual/piss stuff and almost all of it is glazing at young women when the book is written by a man is so outlandishly gross to me it's no wonder no one really talks about how bad it is that he's like this and so attached to this series he wrote spinoffs of it LAST YEAR
Maguire is a gay man, for starters, so has zero interest in women young or otherwise.
Secondly, you clearly don't read anything but sanitised mythology and fairy tales. He is using age old tropes well established in these kinds of tales. In multiple world mythologies, the world coming into being has to do with one or another god or godlike animal taking a piss. So do some real research and broaden your reading and knowledge before you make assumptions about things.
I don't think gender has much to do with this, especially when I've heard somewhere he's a homosexual
He’s gay
And yet when women do the something to the opposite gender characters it is totally okay. Highly recommend to not over think thing and some grass for once
The author is a gay man so I don't think he was perving on women. The sexual content isn't really that explicit, and it's never really titillating either. The book seems to enjoy its own ick factor. I don't think it works super well, but it's an artistic choice to make the world kind of grotesque, and I think the book treats Elphaba seriously and respectfully. You can criticize the result without psychoanalyzing the author.
Personally I don't like the book very much, but a lot of the more extreme reactions to it come from unfair expectations based on the musical. It probably shouldn't have got a movie tie-in cover, but none of that's the author's fault.
PLS I need a pt.2 at least, I can totally understand that the book wasn’t really a pleasant reading, but I feel like you really are a great story-teller, very dedicated and punctual, thank you so much!!
The entire Wicked series is amazing. I highly recommend everyone to read all 4 of the books in the series as well as any of Gregory Maguire’s other books. I also really enjoyed Mirror, Mirror.
I’d add Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister to list.
@ also a very good one!
This was such a cool video to watch!! Surprising, but really cool! This had to have taken a ton of time for you to do. Thanks for your hard work!
I find it interesting how a lot of people who watch the musical first tend not to like the book. I read the book first when I was in high school, and then I saw the musical. I love both, but they are very different.
I came here to make the exact same comment read all 4 books before ever having the chance to see the musical when it came to town and loved the books for how deep they are in social commentary and philosophy. I love the musical for how it keeps the basic themes and ideas while giving us a feel good musical with some great songs
I haven’t even read or watched either- but I still don’t find it surprising at all. The musical was aimed to be more of a crowd pleaser, is kid friendly and in general seems to be more cinematic. Movie or theater adaptations tend to draw in larger crowds as opposed to novels in the first place, and Wicked the musical and movie sets more wholesome and (cheery?) expectations. Novels like Wicked, which are really raunchy and dark are definitely going to deter a large portion of people from wanting to even give it a chance.
That being said, I kind of have the itch to read and watch both now lol.
I think what's scary is that the books have been sat up on a display with children's shoes and dresses in our target making it seem like it's a book catered to young girls x.x
I’m still working through this, 5min here, 20min there. I keep coming back. This is what I love about RUclips!!!!! Thank you friend
Best of video of 2024! Thank you so much for all the work that you put into this, I'm fascinated, and can't wait for your essays about the other books!
I can’t imagine how much time, dedication and care went into this! Thank you Amy!!!!!!!! 💖
You’re a intriguing and entertaining storyteller. I have a young child and just don’t have the time to read the books. I also feel like so much would just go over my head.
I always read my son bedtime stories but I found someone who could tell me a story and I loved it!
Please do the rest of the books! You’re taking 4 for the team! May you be blessed with monetization!
This was amazing, my jaw was dropped by the end, possibly one of my favorite YT videos
13 year old me read the first book after a girl in my class (also 13 and probably having no business reading it either) read it and said it was good. Maybe she was a more emotionally advanced individual than me at the time. Half of it went over my head and the other half gave me the ick. With the movie out, I went back and read it again, and weirdly enough I loved it even though it’s a lot different from the musical and in a writing style that takes some work to vibe with. This was an amazing video and you’re super talented to condense such a bonkers book into two hours :)
I love the cozy bestie vibe ❤ thanks for making this!
Wow this is a great summary! I have adhd and the changing of locations and makeup/outfits somewhat kept me focused for once! I really hope u read and summarise the other books so I don’t have to read them 😂❤
I loved your summary! I don’t usually like book summaries but I would look forward to the summary of the next one if you’re still up for it! What a wild ride.
I’ve been so looking forward to this video! Thank you for taking one for the team! 🫧🧹🩷💚
Ahhh hope you like it!! 💕
Just finished! I loved it. So informative and I loved how you changed the scenery/outfits etc - brilliant! Thank you 🩷💚
Thank you for this!!! I’ve read the book twice and I was wondering if I missed something because I was still so confused, but your summary was impeccable and perfect! And just solidifies that the confusion is in the major plot holes of the book🤦🏻♀️
The musical takes place inside the Clock of the Time Dragon.
A bit like when they do a “play” to recap the story in game of thrones … it makes sense that the conventions of the storytelling would be softer, more theatrical, stage managed symbolic and easy to grasp vs the detailed history and actual narrative
Please, do the other books in this series ! This was so entertaining, I didn’t think I would have spent 2 hours in one sitting listening to this. You have a way to explain what is going on and to keep it moving without seeming boring. I wish you had gone into more detail about how Elphaba smashed Madam Morbil’s head in when Morbil was already inches away from death or may have already been dead, but Elphaba wanted to take credit for it either way, but alas you can’t go over every aspect of the book in this time frame. Props to explaining how nanny bathed her in milk, I always tell people about this and they are like, isn’t she allergic to water? It’s a book, guys, this is what you have an issue with and not the Animal orgy? 😂
thank you for this video!!! i read the book for the first time when i was 15, and i actually really loved it. it was an incredibly intense book, though, and i remember it took me a long time to finish. but i do think it is one of my favorite books still, and props to you for making this summary because . it is actually so crazy. amazing vid!
Great summary!! Thank you for this! ❤
We need a whole series for these books lol. First time watcher and you captured my attention! Lovely work and summarization. 👏
I read this book yrs ago. For the life of me, I could not remember much of it at all. Now I understand why. Too many characters and not enough actually happens. The storyline seems very convoluted. Thank you for taking the time to do this recap for us. My goodness, what a job!!!
I was obsessed with the show after seeing it when I was 14. My poor innocent grandmother bought me the book for my birthday. I found out VERY quickly that the book was quite different, lol.
I have tried to read this book, listen to the audio several times and it makes me feel dumb. It’s a hard read. Thank you for your patience, time, and due diligence on this video. You are the real MVP!
I tried to read the book in high school and couldn’t get past the biting off someone’s finger part. I did not expect to actually finish a two hour video on this but you are so interesting to listen to and really help water down the nastiness that before I knew what happened I totally did watch the whole thing!!!!
The irony that this book is so tangled in infidelity and Ariana grande and SpongeBob did the crap they did
I have read all the books and you did a great job. Book is sooooo different then the musical. Seen to many young readers think that the book is like the musical, yeah no.
Thank you for doing this! I can’t imagine the time and dedication it took
Thank you so much for doing such an amazing breakdown!! I listened to the entire video in bed this morning! Please do the rest!
I definitely think the musical really neatly wrapped up a lot of the plot holes by making everything fit together and tie back into the original, and also by taking out a lot of the really creepy sexual undertones...and overtones...that the book had. I do like that the book explored the differences between capital A Animals and animals and their treatment. You get a bit of that in the stage show, but not too much.
I read the book first but I couldn't finish. It's too disturbing to the point that I didn't want to see the musical. But then I fell in love with the music, and realized that they changed the plot for the stage. So, safe to say I prefer the musical. However, thank you for telling me the ending, because I don't think I'll ever be able to re-read and finish the book (and based on your video, I'm glad I didn't).
Thank you! I stumbled down this rabbit hole, and let’s just say this video should have been the first. I tried giving a couple others a try but oh my gosh!
You have a great accent to listen to, it’s so different since you use…inflection. Thank you for saving me several maddening hours.
this was a WONDERFUL overview/analysis of Wicked. Insightful and hilarious at the same time! ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS! THANK YOU FOR MAKING IT! 😍
It's kind of funny how the musical's subtitle is "the untold story of the witches of Oz" as it keeps the source material untold due to how dark it ended up being. 😂❤
Your effort making this video is HIGHLY appreciated!
Hopefully the other books explains some things lol
So glad you made this video. I normally watch videos explaining books I've read to compare my reactions. To my surprise it did not exist, for YEARS! You are a hero.
Oh you’re well over 100K so we need the next story before the next year and movie!
I’ve read it, and you did an amazing job with this video. The outfit changes are absolutely perfect.