Monday, January 21, 2019

Review: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

About the Book
Swept away by a cyclone from the Kansas prairies to the Land of Oz, Dorothy and her dog, Toto, must find their way home. Traveling to the Emerald City with a new band of friends—the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion—Dorothy’s fate is in the hands of a great and terrible wizard. But a wicked enemy stands in her way.

For readers familiar only with the iconic 1939 film, delightful surprises are in store along Baum’s original yellow brick road. Considered “America’s first fairy tale,” The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has found a home in the collective imagination of the entire world.



My Thoughts

Of course I've seen the movie multiple times and if I'm being honest here, it was never one of my favorites. I have read and liked many retellings though.

Wicked was fantastic. I loved the idea that the Wicked Witch was just misunderstood. Dorothy Must Die was interesting because Dorothy was the villain. I mean, I knew it all along, but it was nice to finally have confirmation, lol. Emerald Illusion was a brilliant allegory. Seriously, that book was beautiful.

Despite reading so many retellings, I'd never read the original Wizard of Oz. I thought it was way past time to remedy that.

I enjoyed it, though I do think the first half was stronger than the second. That's where my interest kinda started to waver. I did find it really interesting to see how it differed from the movie.

I'm glad I can finally say that I've read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. And now I want to go read Wicked again.

3.5 Stars

4 comments:

  1. for some reason I have never been super excited about this story so I haven't read or watched it... YET :)

    Now... Wicked... A misunderstood witch... that would be my thing, LITERALLY ;-)

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    1. I LOVED the fact that we got the 'real' story of the Wicked Witch of the West in Wicked. It was quite the interesting read. Thanks for coming by, Daniela! :)

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  2. I read and loved all the Oz books growing up, but I read this one the least, mostly because I'd seen the movie so much, although they are pretty different. I think it's fun that so many other writers are resurrecting Baum's characters and magical land to write stories of their own.

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    1. I was shocked by how different it was from the movie. I had no idea! I do hope to read the rest of the Oz books one of these days. Oz is quite a fascinating world and I'd love to revisit it again. After reading so many retellings it was nice to see Oz in it's original form. Thanks for stopping by, Lark! :)

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