Wow witches, am I surprised.
Am I glad to have given this book another chance after so many years.Maybe I'd unfairly compared it to the iconic 1939 film adaptation (incidentally my second favourite film of all time) when I was a younger reader. I knew whilst reading L. Frank Baum's original 1900 fairy tale in the current day that I found it hard not to picture Dorothy as looking like Judy Garland. I gradually got over this compulsion as I read further on, invested as I was in its own unique brand and flavour of whimsy, but at the beginning I had to keep reminding myself that Dorothy is a little girl of eight or so. Like, focus only on the book and use your imagination, Artemis, for you are a reader!
Overall, I read 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' in one day, and it is rather smashing (not in the breaking people made of china kind of way). It is entertaining, creative, clever, relatively random, and delightful. It is the ideal wondrous fantasy book to read to children. It is an adventurous fairy tale with a female child lead, from 1900 - then there's Toto, her cute dog, and her loyal, supportive, grateful, brave, quick-thinking, and oddball companions and friends, with their own goals, by her side.
The real journey is the friends we make along the way, indeed!
As well as the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion, there are characters who turn up randomly and, after a couple-to-a-few-pages, disappear just as quickly; such as a Stork, field mice (led by their Queen), other talking animals, the Good Witch of the North, Boq the rich Munchkin (my jaw dropped when I saw his name in this book, as I'd thought he'd been invented only for the 'Wicked' novel and musical, but nope! he's here in the very first 'The Wizard of Oz' story!), people made of china, Hammer-Heads, and a few authority figures in the Emerald City. The Munchkins, Glinda, and even the Wicked Witch of the West only appear in one chapter each. And those poor Flying Monkeys who are slaves to a Golden Cap.
Wild, magical, inventive, funny, witty, and literally colourful and bright, with a few plot holes and plot blunders (*ahem*), the classic 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' is indeed a classic. A beloved, treasurable children's tome for anywhere that has a bookshelf. I am happy to have a newfound look at and appreciation for it, as its own thing, separate from all its media adaptations and the impact it's had on the cultural osmosis for over 120 years now.
So, here it is: the original, the wonderful 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz', will finally have the honour of sharing space on my bookshelf, along with 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'...just as soon as I buy my own copy and return the one I read to my local library (another thing to be glad of, since that copy unfortunately has a terrible and ugly cover).
Iconic and fantastical. Love you, Dorothy, and all you Witches who deserve so much better! Especially away from the selfish, cowardly, scheming, greedy, manipulative, murderous, insecure, fragile and small
Final Score: 3.5/5
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