Summary and Reviews of Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire

Media Reviews

People Maguire's captivating, fully imagined world of horror and wonder illuminates the links between good and evil, retribution and forgiveness.

The New York Times Book Review - Sophie Harrison Maguire clearly feels most comfortable when inventing freehand, and most of his novel is set after the original Oz story ends. Dorothy's presence in the text causes difficulties. She belongs too frankly in someone else's fairy tale; her arrival strains Maguire's own confident production in an unhappy way...Once he's freed himself from Baum's tenacious apron strings, Maguire begins to enjoy himself, and the story picks up.

The Washington Post - Katherine A. Powers Though Wicked was not simply a reverse image of Baum's book or the famous movie, it depended on their depictions of Oz as a foil for its own maverick reshaping of the narrative. Those for whom potty humor is the acme of wit and foul decay is horror sublime will be happy to know that Son of a Witch is as well-supplied with those articles as the earlier book was. What it has lost, however, is the shaping vigor gained by pushing against a well-known story.

Booklist - Paula Luedtke This is no lightweight fairytale--entertaining, to be sure, but also complex and multilayered in plot and meaning, thought-provoking, and unforgettable.

Library Journal - Starr E. Smith A tale that adroitly mixes drama, humor, and political satire into a well-knit examination of good and evil-and leaves several doors open for future journeys over the rainbow into this cleverly constructed dystopia.

Publishers Weekly Tucked into Maguire's enchanting fable are carefully calibrated object lessons in forgiveness, retribution, love, loss and the art of moving on despite tragic circumstances. Ten years after Wicked (which is still on Broadway), fans will once again be clicking their heels with wonderment.

Kirkus Reviews The book works too hard to dazzle us; it's considerably more cluttered and strained than Wicked.....but few readers will fail to stay its magical course. Once again, the myth of Oz proves its enduring power.