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Reviews tagging 'Transphobia'
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
6 reviews
savage_book_review's review against another edition
I saw the musical 'Wicked' a couple of months ago and, while I did enjoy it, I wanted a little more depth of story so I did have half a mind to read the book. It was therefore a no brainer to add to my Audible library when I spotted it was included with my membership. At this point, I am incredibly glad I didn't pay for it! I will give credit to the people who wrote the musical... how they managed to extract their inspiration from this is something I will never understand!
First and foremost, my goodness is this slow going! It takes 3 hours for the book to do what the musical does in, oh, 10 minutes max and actually get Elpheba and Galinda to their first day at university. And in the 8 hours I listened to, I couldn't really tell you about any major plot points that happened - they were just heading off to the Emerald City when I gave up. It's like the author kept getting distracted and going off on unnecessary tangents; in fact, his writing reminds me of the dull professors he talks about! There was just NOTHING to keep you engaged as a reader/listener.
I also found the tone of the writing very odd. Now, I'll admit that I haven't read the original Wizard of Oz books, so my thoughts here could be a result of the gap in my knowledge. But I couldn't get my head around the semi-frequent swearing, allusions to sex and various instances of more 'adult' material, all of which feels completely at odds with some elements which feel very childish and simplistic. I was expecting more on the YA end of the spectrum, if I'm honest, so while I'm by no means a pearl-clutcher, the grown up stuff just threw me for a loop! It's like the author couldn't pick his audience, so we've got a random mashup of everything.
I also remember being slightly disconcerted by the seemingly racist, sexist and trasphobic undertones, all of which made an appearance within the first hour. There are also questionable depictions of disability (physical and mental), and I got really bored with the repeated assaults of thinly veiled religious theology. It's not a new book, I know, but it was still published within my lifetime and so with each instance it just felt less and less comfortable.
The characters were all pretty bland too. Galinda is your mean girl with her back up b*tches, Boq is the geek in love with the popular kid, Fiero has apparently been given one hell of a glow up in the musical, and Elpheba is actually quite unlikeable. There was just no character I felt a connection with or able to root for.
While the narrator was fairly easy to listen to and had plenty of animation in his voice, I just felt that it would have been better if the story had been narrated by a woman. I felt like I might have been able to connect with the main characters more if I could hear their voice, rather that (in my head at least) the Wizard speaking on their behalf. I'd also say that the sound quality was not the greatest (lots of swallowing, loud breathing etc), and his timing was really odd in places, with large pauses where there was no need, and no pauses where there should have been.
All of this ties up in the moment I decided to DNF. The gang of secondary characters have just held a wake for a minor character and decide that the most appropriate thing to do thereafter is go to a sex club. After drinking and dancing, they get taken into a 'special room', where one of their number is pulled onto the stage with a sentient Tiger and a woman on her honeymoon. The woman is tied up by her hands, our secondary character is wrapped around the Tiger koala style, they're all blindfolded and it's inferred that the evening's entertainment begins with the Tiger performing oral sex on the woman. And then, without a breath, suddenly we're with Elpheba and Galinda on their way to the Emerald City.
Yup, at that point my brain went 'we're DEFINITELY not in Kansas anymore!'
First and foremost, my goodness is this slow going! It takes 3 hours for the book to do what the musical does in, oh, 10 minutes max and actually get Elpheba and Galinda to their first day at university. And in the 8 hours I listened to, I couldn't really tell you about any major plot points that happened - they were just heading off to the Emerald City when I gave up. It's like the author kept getting distracted and going off on unnecessary tangents; in fact, his writing reminds me of the dull professors he talks about! There was just NOTHING to keep you engaged as a reader/listener.
I also found the tone of the writing very odd. Now, I'll admit that I haven't read the original Wizard of Oz books, so my thoughts here could be a result of the gap in my knowledge. But I couldn't get my head around the semi-frequent swearing, allusions to sex and various instances of more 'adult' material, all of which feels completely at odds with some elements which feel very childish and simplistic. I was expecting more on the YA end of the spectrum, if I'm honest, so while I'm by no means a pearl-clutcher, the grown up stuff just threw me for a loop! It's like the author couldn't pick his audience, so we've got a random mashup of everything.
I also remember being slightly disconcerted by the seemingly racist, sexist and trasphobic undertones, all of which made an appearance within the first hour. There are also questionable depictions of disability (physical and mental), and I got really bored with the repeated assaults of thinly veiled religious theology. It's not a new book, I know, but it was still published within my lifetime and so with each instance it just felt less and less comfortable.
The characters were all pretty bland too. Galinda is your mean girl with her back up b*tches, Boq is the geek in love with the popular kid, Fiero has apparently been given one hell of a glow up in the musical, and Elpheba is actually quite unlikeable. There was just no character I felt a connection with or able to root for.
While the narrator was fairly easy to listen to and had plenty of animation in his voice, I just felt that it would have been better if the story had been narrated by a woman. I felt like I might have been able to connect with the main characters more if I could hear their voice, rather that (in my head at least) the Wizard speaking on their behalf. I'd also say that the sound quality was not the greatest (lots of swallowing, loud breathing etc), and his timing was really odd in places, with large pauses where there was no need, and no pauses where there should have been.
All of this ties up in the moment I decided to DNF. The gang of secondary characters have just held a wake for a minor character and decide that the most appropriate thing to do thereafter is go to a sex club. After drinking and dancing, they get taken into a 'special room', where one of their number is pulled onto the stage with a sentient Tiger and a woman on her honeymoon. The woman is tied up by her hands, our secondary character is wrapped around the Tiger koala style, they're all blindfolded and it's inferred that the evening's entertainment begins with the Tiger performing oral sex on the woman. And then, without a breath, suddenly we're with Elpheba and Galinda on their way to the Emerald City.
Yup, at that point my brain went 'we're DEFINITELY not in Kansas anymore!'
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
rebeccafarren's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Sexual harassment
thenonmouse's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Transphobia
fancyfroggie's review against another edition
It's ok but it's very obvious that it was written by a white man and there's a lot of filler. just watch the musical, it's way better
Content Warnings
Minor: Transphobia
gayghostprince's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment
Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and War
Minor: Drug use, Homophobia, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Dementia, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, and Colonisation
I never finished this book when I was younger but I was immediately struck by how vile all the adults in this book are upon rereading it. there are no assault scenes, but people do mention r*pe. the descriptions and implications about specific groups in this people are racist and stereotypical, but not often aggressively malicious. a LOT of the treatment of children in this book is upsetting. content warning for family baggage and child neglect. in addition, late in the book a child is pretty relentlessly bullied by his peers. I added a minor homophobia warning because the way people describe the two obviously gay characters is often homophobic. just coincidentally describing them as simpering or whatever. the equivalent of calling a gay man a fairy, you know? the sex scenes in this book are not detailed or graphic but they are also not well written. take that as you will.oliviamnsnll's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I used to really like this book, and have enjoyed the musical based on it a number of times. Unfortunately during our last read though, my wife and I realised that Maguire hates women. There is not a single woman in this story who is described in remotely sympathetic terms, and the second you get to the area of "Oz" where the African inspired peoples live, it's just full of racism. I recognise that talking animals are a thing in this world, but maybe he didn't have to make the Princess of one of the Tribes in the Vinkus a literal fat elephant.
I used to like Elphaba, Glinda, Nessarose, and even Morrible, but now I can't help but wonder if this book didn't become "popular" in part due to the unique kind of misogyny prevalent among cis gay men.
I used to like Elphaba, Glinda, Nessarose, and even Morrible, but now I can't help but wonder if this book didn't become "popular" in part due to the unique kind of misogyny prevalent among cis gay men.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, and Stalking
Minor: Sexual assault, Transphobia, and Kidnapping
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