BookToker Asia Lin quickly recognized that the book “Wicked,” written by Gregory Maguire, would be vastly different from the musical she had first encountered months prior.
Lin recalls a scene in which Dorothy and her companions discuss a rumor that Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, is intersex when she tells TODAY.com, “It was the first page.” “I was like, ‘Hold on. Hold on. This was not included in the musical at all.
Sara Ribeiro, a content creator who was raised in a musical theater-loving family and grew up listening to “Wicked,” encountered a visceral shock while reading the book this year.
“(The book) proved to be significantly more sinister than I had anticipated.” I would say that my jaw was on the floor on multiple occasions within the first 10 to 20%. She states, “I was not anticipating it to be so graphic.”
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
TikTokers such as Lin and Ribeiro are discovering the novel and sharing their experiences in real time, from astonishment to admiration, as the first part of “Wicked” debuts in theaters on Nov. 22 and the second and final part is set to release in 2025. “Why was I not forewarned?” In a TikTok video, Lin poses a question that is echoed by numerous other admirers.
Maguire’s “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West,” a revisionist retelling of L. Frank Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” was initially published in 1995 and was subsequently followed by numerous additional books to form a series. In 2003, the musical “Wicked” premiered on Broadway.
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The book and musical could be reduced to a single narrative summary: Behold, the unexpected backstory of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda the Good. However, the two are distinguished by the manner in which the themes of injustice, identity, and friendship are communicated in the book and musical.
“They are both about a young woman named Elphaba, but they are vastly different.” I can best illustrate this by comparing it to the time when your parents would conceal vegetables in your food, and you would not be able to detect them. “That’s akin to what they did with the musical,” Meredith Ammons, a content creator, informs TODAY.com.
Ammons asserts that the book “hits you over the head with it,” in contrast to the musical, which conceals its political message behind “fluff.” She continues, “It is akin to the experience of reading a children’s Bible for the first time versus the actual Bible for the first time, and the tones are vastly different.”
The book emphasizes the plight of conscious creatures, as well as Elphaba’s activism. The Wizard is not merely a minor character; rather, he is a fully-fledged dictatorial force that is accumulating power and committing massacres in the hinterlands of Oz. The primary narrative of Maguire’s book is political allegory, which is the B-plot of the musical “Wicked,” which is centered on the companionship between Glinda and Elphaba.
Maguire’s “Wicked” lacks the musical’s signature elements, such as a union between Glinda and Elphaba reminiscent of “Popular.” However, it includes lengthy explanations of religious sects, descriptions of terrain that are not mentioned in the musical, and a significant amount of R-rated content, which the musical would not normally accommodate.
For instance, Elphaba bites off a midwife’s finger as an infant; her parents are engaged in a loving triad with a Quadling man named Turtle Heart; Fiyero is a child groom who is married off at the age of seven. Additionally, there is the incorporation of politics, racism, bestiality, murder, and sexual assault.
“Trigger warning for all.” Eryn Kieffer, whose multipart read-along of “Wicked” has garnered millions of views on TikTok, stated in a video, “If you can think of it, it’s in here.”
Kieffer’s series delves into the graphic scenes that she was not anticipating, such as the Clock of the Time Dragon’s puppet performance and the Philosophy Club scenes, which have become synonymous with the book’s unexpected sexual sidetracks.
The content of the book is a topic of contention among aficionados of “Wicked.” Kieffer stated that the sexual content “muddles the plot.”
Ribeiro expressed her admiration for the “shock value” of the books and stated that the unexpected sections were her preferred reading experience. However, she ultimately concluded that the “point” of the book was compromised.
“I believe that the political aspect of the situation was overshadowed by the bizarre events that were occurring,” she explains.
Meanwhile, Aynsley Broom, a TikToker, is concerned that the book’s more impactful sections on the rise of authoritarianism are being overshadowed by the emphasis on salaciousness, which she perceives as a “mirror” of the news. In the novel, the Wizard of Oz is a despot who marginalizes and ostracizes entire classes of Ozians, as well as animals.
“I saw a video that stated, ‘(The book) explicitly describes (Elphaba’s) pubic hair.'” I responded, “Not really.” She states, “The book simply stated that it was purple and then proceeded.” “I believe that the subject matter that is being prioritized is missing the point entirely.” The message should be discussed more extensively than the shocking aspects, which, in my opinion, were not that alarming. I must admit that I also read a significant number of romance novels.
The book is perceived as a more substantial offering than the musical by her, as she compares the former to “a great dinner” and the latter to “cotton candy.”
Broom is one of the readers who prefers a more accurate adaptation of Maguire’s “Wicked” to another retelling of the more saccharine musical. She asserts, “I believe that individuals desire fluff, and we do not require additional fluff.”
Maguire appears to be content with the adaptation. In a 2020 interview that coincided with the book’s anniversary, he stated that Stephen Schwartz, the composer of the musical, shared his vision with him during a stroll in Connecticut. He believed that Schwartz comprehended the moral universe in which the book is situated.
“I returned home and told myself, ‘I am going to allow this to happen; I am not concerned with the money.'” He stated to Broadway World, “This is significantly more consistent with the reason I wrote the book than the movie scripts I have read thus far.”
Maguire expressed his satisfaction with the manner in which Schwartz and book author Winnie Holzman presented the narrative.
“They made the story choices that they did because they were efficient, economic, and narratively sound, and I fully support their decision.” In certain respects, the play is less subtle than the novel. He stated, “I desired the novel to be more ambiguous because that is the nature of the way I was attempting to tell my story.”
However, TikTok users generally concur that “Wicked” the book is not as kid-friendly as “Wicked” the musical.
TikToker Sal Currie and other creators are reflecting on their childhood experiences with the books and are cautioning parents who may be influenced by the newly rebranded cover.
“My primary concern is that it is not suitable for children.” It is genuinely not suitable for children. This operetta is entirely appropriate for children. Kieffer informs TODAY.com, “I would not describe this book as anything.”
According to Ammons, her mother acquired the volume when she was a child. She inquired as to whether it was possible for her to read it.
“She replied, ‘Certainly not.'” I responded by asking, “Why not?” She also stated, “You will comprehend the situation when you are older.” Ultimately, Ammons refrained from reading Maguire’s novel until she was 22 years old. “My initial response was, ‘Yeah, I’m glad I waited to read this, because my mother was correct,'” she explains.
Some individuals believe that reading “Wicked” and being bewildered by it is a rite of passage: One comment on Currie’s post reads, “It is a canon event for the majority of ‘Wicked’ fans.” “We must refrain from interfering.”