Alas! The ever classical Wicked Witch of the West is regurgitated for a whole new spin on the epic tale The Wizard of Oz, in the guise of an angsty, piquant Elphaba.
Rivaling along the same Beowulf vs. Grendel motif (the proclaimed righteous vs. the seemingly unrighteous), Elphaba is not the nonsensically evil character she is depicted as in the original children’s tale. She is however, a misunderstood philosopher and political rights activist who is merely misconstrued by what the society of Oz perceives as radical.
Reader Beware! Though the tale is ever fruitful in narrative, imagery and the same characters and cosmology we grew to love in The Wizard of Oz, the moral perspectives conveyed in this story tend to stab the stigmas associated with modern religion (which are cleverly guised in a new terminology, though they are seemingly obvious at who the stabs are directed too.)
On the same note, the tale is no mere fractured fairytale contrived for the entertainment of children. No--indeed, the tale is quite licentious in regards to sexuality, murder, espionage, religious evangelism, etc etc. Consequently, these minor fractures do not derive from the overall essence of the tale; and it is a must read!