This book is replacing the other for the bookray that has gotten stuck. I am hoping that this book does not get stuck somewhere. I realize that things happen and their is a delay in passing a book. If that happens please let me know or if I PM checking on the book please reply.

The order is as follows. This is subject to change.

Mom-of-One Pennsylvania no responce
phillycarol Pennsylvania Mauling 1/17 received 1/31/04
jengif Virginia received 2/13/04
Sejent Kentucky Received 3/30/04
Moogytee California Mailing 10/9/04
sgscarcliff California

From this point this copy is hitting the international readers on the bookring. For U.S./Canada readers of the bookring Click here


fflloorr Portugual
colettem UK
Jackshome UK
shelbycat UK received 5/6/05
GlitterLover UK
YowlYY - UK
Jolanda Netherlands
Atenea-Nike Spain
puppymummy Australia
OzChick Australia
disyc Australia

After finnishing the international rounds, this book may come back to the states to finish any domestic readers that have not read the other book making its rounds.

Received in the mail sometime in the past week (sorry I haven't been home to check my mail!). It's next on my TBR pile. Thanks!

This was an excellent book! Very imaginative! I really never thought about what made the Wicked Witch wicked but this changes the whole Wizard of Oz story for me. I have to admit that the first section of the book moved a little too slowly for me but the story really picked up when Elphaba went to Shiz. I anxiously awaited the end to see how the story was spun even though I already knew what the ending was. I'm now sorry that it's over and I have to pass it on to the next person.

I plan to get to the post office before the end of the week to mail this to jengif.

The timing of this book couldn't have been worse. I just started Wolves of the Calla so it's going to be two weeks before I can start reading Wicked.

Just letting everyone know!

Update: Today March 4th, I have finished Wolves. Tonight I'm finally starting Wicked.

Update: March 11, page 146. Here's a quote from the last sentence I read, "I don't mean this in an insulting way, but you've nearly gone white with passion."

Update: March 20, page 365. Almost done! To continue with my theme, Here's a quote from the last sentence I read, "To the best of her recollection she had never lied before in her life."

Remember the song Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead? Well, let’s sing it this way:

Ding Dong! The book is done. Which old book? The Wicked book!
Ding Dong! The Wicked book is done.

I want to apologize for everyone involved in this bookring for keeping Wicked for so long.

Gregory Maguire developed quite a creative mixture of fantasy and literature in his modern day fairy tale of the Wicked Witch of the West. I liked parts of it and disliked other parts. I enjoyed Elphaba’s school years in Shiz; the section served to humanize her. Near the end though, Elphaba appeared to descend into madness and book followed by rambling on about the nature of evil. While I’m not perfectly happy with the book, I’m glad that I had a chance to read it. I may feel differently about Margaret Hamilton’s Wicked Witch in the 1939 movie the next time I see it. I now see the witch as a fully dimensional character with both good and bad characteristics.

Released on Tuesday, March 23, 2004 at Fellow BookCrosser in Postal release, Postal Release Controlled Releases.

Mailed to Sejent in Kentucky

Received in today's mail...will start reading soon and will journal again when I have finished.

A spellbinding (!) remarkably written story. I enjoyed this much more than Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister.

So sorry for the delay, but it took me a long while to find someone willing to be the next reader!! I PM'd moonglow18 several times with no response. avanta7, Marinaw, and Valkyrie119 all wanted to be skipped, so now I am sending to Moogytee in Sacramento, CA.

Received! Thank you to Sejent. I'll get started on this as soon as I finish my other bookring book. We're having our first *really* hot spell of summer so I'm sure I'll be spending plenty of time reading. ;)

Just a quick update! I am a little more than halfwayu through this book. Sorry it is taking me so long; I am really enjoying it but it's a thick one! Rest assured it isn't stuck and will be on the road again soon.

I AM FINALLY DONE! I am so sorry for keeping this book for so long; it's really bad of me and I apologize profusely. My only excuse is just not making the time for reading.

Anyway ... the book! I really liked it. At first I was concerned that I wouldn't, because the first section, "Munchkinlanders," was very off-putting to me. Not that it was bad, it was just that I found the subject matter unpleasant. But the second section, "Gillikin," was much more engaging to me, and that's where I got swept into the story. I think my reading and understanding of the book was hindered by the fact that I haven't read the original Wizard of Oz, and I also haven't seen the movie in ages (but I have, of course, seen it!). So I kept thinking that the story in this book didn't match up with the movie, but I wasn't 100% sure. And then also the original Oz book is probably fairly different from the movie, and there are also all those other Oz books that I never read ... So I didn't quite have the background to be fully engaged in how the author was using/manipulating the source material, and so forth.

But I did enjoy the book, and I enjoyed Elphaba and many of the other characters, especially Dr. Dillamond because I really love goats. I love the portrait of him at the opening of Part 2. :)

This book is off to sgscarcliff. Thanks for letting me keep it for so long.

This has arrived for a temporary return visit to its start. I will read it and send it on it's way for the rest of the journey

This book arrived today but I'm only going to start reading it in January, sorry! I'm going on vacations next week and I don't want to take any books that don't belong to me with me.

It's done! :)
This book was much better than Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister.

RELEASE NOTES:

Sent to Colettem yesterday!

Thank you fflloorr and, of course, sqscarcliff !

I absolutely loved this book. I was a bit put off by his other book, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, which was okay but not brilliant, but I feel this one is in a different league altogether. Some of the allegorical stuff is too much at times (try as I might to ignore it - I like to read for FUN nowadays lol), and I can see how some would have a field day reading into it, but as a straightforward story, it's great. Elphaba is a very likeable character and I had tons of sympathy for her. I did feel the book petered out a wee bit towards the end, but overall I really thought it was wonderful. I love the richness and depth of the story, and the characters are great. I also thought the illustrations were top notch.

Highly recommended - hope Jackshome enjoys it as much as I did. Am awaiting address to send it on .....

No reply from Jackshome, am trying Shelbycat.

Just to say i've received this, it's safe and well and has joined the small community of ring/ray books that all arrived in the past week :)

I reall enjoyed this book, especially the last 2/3's. I found this one much easier to read and get into than Confessions, and i'm hoping the next Gregory Maguire book i read is even better :)
PMing Therea-A for their address

Sent yesterday - 20th July 2005

Great, I have wanted to read this for a while. I have one other book ring to read first and then will get myself immersed in witches.
Thanks all before who have forwarded this on and on!

I enjoyed this in places and in others found it pompous. There is a relaly intereting slant on the wicked witch and I did enjoy that. However the author does overdo the language sometimes - feels liek he reads the dictionary in his spare time just so he can dazzle you with fabulous dahlink words.
Maybe I am just not as well versed!! ;*P

YowlYY is declining - she read it this year already. Thanks

found in the mail earlier this week. I hope to start reading soon.

april 2, 2006
An enjoyable read. Spend most of this sunday afternoon reading this book. Wish there was more to read...

pmed the next person and hope to send it out soon.

I got this in th email a few weeks ago and read it almost instantly. I couldn't journal it the minute I opened the envelope because I was experiencing ADSL problems, and later I forgot about it. It has been lying on my desk ever since waiting to be journalled and sent to the next person, I am ashamed to confess.

The book is very, very good. Gregory Maguire grabs a simple children's tale and turns it into something vivid, real, many-layered, deep and alive, most of all alive. It is a wonderful feat of imagination. Elphaba is a complex creature, one that fills me with compassion and understanding. There's some magic in the tale, but there are also deeper issues raised: what is evil? We know she's the wicked witch, and from Dorothy's point of view she is indeed wicked, but once you get to know her, her life, her choices, she doesn't look wicked at all, only terribly unhappy and unlucky.

Thank you for the chance to read this great book.