The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

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Title page of the first edition.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's book written by L. Frank Baum and published in 1900.

Status

I don't own this book, but have listened to an audio book recording.

Review

Good

  • The book is indeed creative featuring all sorts of strange and unusual ideas like people made entirely out of straw, tin, porcelain, etc.
  • Despite Baum explaining in the introduction that the book doesn't have a moral, the fact that each of the companions are searching for something that they already possess is a great moral.
  • The book is so different from the movie that even if you've seen it many times, you'll still get a lot out of the book.
  • The audio book read by Anne Hathaway shows off an impressive vocal talent I didn't know she possessed.

Bad

  • There is too much repetition of some of the main themes. You will hear the scarecrow wanting a brain, the tin man wanting a heart, and the lion wanting courage about 20 times. Each of the four companions has to meet Oz individually and be told the same thing, each has to meet with him again after the Wicked Witch of the West is killed one after the other, etc.
  • The land of Oz, though very chaotic and unusual in appearance, is boringly organized where each race lives in an equal-sized area, each wears clothes and paints their houses in a single color, and each is ruled by a magical dictator. Even in the end, each of the three remaining companions becomes a ruler in their own respect.
  • The book seems padded. The ending takes forever to finish.

Ugly

  • Nothing.

Links