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Reviews tagging 'Sexism'
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
11 reviews
copiani's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Sexism
Minor: Racism and Rape
savage_book_review's review against another edition
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!'
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
swhitzel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Toxic friendship
alexandra_salisbury's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
There were very interesting things that happened that would bring you right to the precipice of something happening and then *surprise* - time jump, and it didn't happen. Or maybe it did and you missed it. It was disappointing. Someone needs to write a fan fiction of this fan fiction and do it better- although maybe that's what the musical did
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Slavery, Torture, Excrement, Dementia, Trafficking, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
Minor: Sexism
dezzella's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
That led to me feeling very disappointed, there were a lot of things that you wouldn't expect going in, and a lot of dark stuff (warnings to those who are curious, child marriage, sexual situations mentioned involving children, lots of urination [so often it was weird], consumption of other sentient beings, misogyny/sexism, lots of mentions of cheating/affairs/unfaithful partners, ableism regarding Alfeba's sister).
I also didn't particularly like how it as written, besides many moment where I went 'um what???' the political plot wasn't very interesting to me and this was a struggle for me to finish. For those curious, the musical is supposed to be better so you may want to do that.
Graphic: Ableism, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Excrement, Pregnancy, and Classism
wishbea's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
If you are interested in this book because of the musical be very aware that this is extremely different, it isn't just darker, Fiyero is a side character, Glinda is a minor character, Boq has a larger role and shares only his crush on Glinda with his musical counterpart and Elphaba is no magical prodigy.
If you want a book that explores the mentality of the Wicked Witch of the West, this is for you.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Emotional abuse, and Infidelity
Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Fatphobia, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Miscarriage, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
georginainvisablestring22's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Violence, Gaslighting, and War
Minor: Body shaming, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Pregnancy
gayghostprince's review against another edition
- 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
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.itry's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.25
Also general depressing tone cus its a tragedy through and through
Toto i don't think we're in kansas anymore
So..... i read the book because i liked thw musical and was like hey ill like this
Welll
I didnt dislike it but i have no idea how the musical became so different from this
As a book it was interesting but the pacing felt a bit off and the time skips werent handled the best
Otherwise as a guilty pleasure, it was enjoyable
Im not gonna read the sequels though because this was depressing holy moly
Read through audiobook
Update: literally had through dissociation forgotten my dislike for the book and the,,,,,,,, y'all know what parts bothered me if y'all have read it and if y'all haven't read it, don't. Disgusting. Worse than attack on titan the mangas one horrifying scene that i try to actively block out of my head but that memory stays lol
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Minor: Slavery and Deportation
nothingforpomegranted's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Gregory Maguire's novel introduces Elphaba's parents--a unionist minister and his lustful, unfaithful wife--leading up to the birth of the green, fanged, fearsome infant who grows up with her mother's Nanny and her mother's lover Turtle Heart. As a teenager, Elphaba goes to school at Shiz, where she encounters Galinda, Boq, Fiyero, and a number of other characters who are mostly undistinguishable. Elphaba becomes passionate about the perceived corruption of the Wizard's reign and progresses from Shiz to the Emerald City, a mauntery (something of a nunnery), and the land of the Winkies.
From the outset, the world that Maguire builds is confusing and incomplete, with countless references to deities, histories, and characters that are never clarified or explained. Contributing to the lack of clarity are the time jumps; between each section, Elphaba has aged an unmentioned number of years and become increasingly more reserved and resentful. Her missions against convention (and corruption) are unclear, and the enemy is never clearly defined.
With unlikeable--indeed, unapproachable--characters and such confusion, it was nearly impossible for me to enjoy this book, especially as a high fantasy skeptic to begin with. That someone could have read this novel and written the book for the musical is shocking to me, but I'm certainly grateful for all their work and inspiration.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Sexism, Slavery, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and War