Book Review: Liir's time to shine...

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

Book Review: For the green witch...

Elphaba...

Fabala...

Miss Elphie...

Fae...

Who is she?...well, we've all seen The Wizard of Oz on TV, right? (I don't know if any of you have read the book -- I haven't). So Dorothy killed the Wicked Witch of the West and everyone was happy. Right?...

This book -- this green book about Elphaba, is about the life and times of the Wicked Witch of the West (yes hon, she has a name). Here you will understand why she wanted Dorothy's ruby slippers. In this book, you'll know more about the Wicked Witch of the East (the witch who died when Dorothy's house fell on Munchkinland), and Glinda the Good Witch of the North. You'll understand that really, Elphaba is human just like the rest of us.

Again, I don't want to give the story away, but this is a great book. I am in love with Gregory Maguire's books. I'll talk about that later on, but anyway, Wicked was turned into a musical -- I have one of their songs in my phone, Defying Gravity. I haven't seen it though. They don't have a production here (like, duh).

So anyway, Gregory Maguire. I'm totally obsessing over this author now. I love the way he has put life to the antagonists, or villains if that's what you want to call them. It's not that I don't love the princesses -- I do! But I also want to know the other side. I mean, they too have their story to tell.

I have two of his books now -- Wicked and Son of a Witch. I'm currently reading the latter. I'll buy more when I have the moolah. For now, I'm content with the two.

That's it for now.

xoxo