What I'm Reading Now

Wicked, by Gregory Maguire.

This is the book the musical is based on. It's the story of how the Witches in The Wizard of Oz came to be witches, good and bad. (According to the musical story, they were college roomies, and the Wicked Witch of the West was just a misunderstoond animal rights activist. I know it sounds crazy, but it works.) I had read that there is much more to the book (there always is).

Gregory Maguire has a lot of books based on the other side of famous stories. Cinderella's Ugly Stepsisters and Snow White are two that come to mind. He has also written a follow-up to Wicked, and might even be working on a third book in the series. This is the first of his books that I've read.

I've only read a few chapters, and so far, I can only say that it's unusual. But that could be a good thing. The Wizard of Oz is a pretty unusual story too, when you think about it.