So after some time, I finally finished Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire. It wasn't at all what I expected. I was thinking of something more like Wicked with Liir in it instead of Elphaba. Well, was I in for a surprise! For instance, it lacked Wicked's humor and wit, and although it's still a fantasy book -- having Animals, a flying broomstick, the Grimmerie, dragons, Princess Nastoya and all that jazz -- it didn't strike me as magical enough. Well, Glinda was there, but if you've read Wicked, you know that her magic is really limited than what we were led to believe.
Son of A Witch is a book of revolution. It does not have the romanticism approach of Wicked. Everything in this book is more serious, more bloody, more political, more cruel, and more grim. Gregory Maguire spared no details and I found myself wincing in some of the descriptions. Wicked made me think along with the characters. Son of a Witch made me react against some of the characters.
But anyway this is still a good read. If you're Filipino, think of it this way: Wicked is to Noli Mi Tangere, where Son of a Witch is to El Filibusterismo. I mean, it's not exactly the same, plot-wise and everything. What I'm trying to say -- when you read Wicked or Noli Mi Tangere, it's light and serious at the same time, but there's always this beacon of hope even though someone dies at the end. Son of a Witch had to be grim and serious the way El Filibusterismo had to, because it somehow had to clean up the mess left in the first story. I think...So anyway...
Enjoy!
xoxo
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