The Oz series was a book collection that was originally started by L. Frank Baum. It ran from 1900 to 2014. It spanned many authors who all contributed along the way. I am one of the few people who can comment on the series as a whole since I have read every single one of them.
Don't worry, I won't take very long. I am only writing this because I am a completionist at heart.
The whole point of the Oz series was escapism. We all want to imagine a world that is more interesting than the one we got. The fairyland of Oz, with all of its villains and woes, is far more interesting and fun than regular Earth. It's a place we can go to have an adventure.
Everything in Oz is loosely based on our reality. Their strangeness is affected by things happening in our world. That makes it relatable. We can go there and laugh at all the jokes because we understand them. It isn't so alien that we can't understand it.
And although there is danger, there will be plenty of friends made along the way that will surly be there to save us in the end. That's the best thing of all really. Friendship is a major part of the Oz experience. If you prove yourself to be a good person, you will make the friends of every powerful ruler in Oz. They will stand up for you and put everything aside to save you from a terrible fate. Just knowing that is comforting.
People who read Oz read the books to imagine a world that's simply better. Oz still has problems, but the problems don't seem so bad because the power of good is in control. No wonder people dream of escaping to this place.
The books themselves are hit and miss. Some of them have plots that are much too formulaic to be enjoyable, but I personally have no regrets. I still recommend the series as a whole. It was a journey worth making, and I encourage anyone else to take the same path I did. And once you make that journey, Oz will be more than just a fictional land; it will be a real place that you think about from time to time. It will become real to you... and a reason for you to smile from time to time.
This blog was written on April 12, 2024.
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You are an author. You dug for treasure and found it, though like every treasure hunter, you found junk among the gems. You are already investing the treasure as inspiration for writing books that shall inspire as you were inspired... and that proves that the WONDERFUL land of Oz was and is WONDERFUL, indeed.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! I regret nothing!
DeleteI'm glad you enjoyed the journey. Imagining and creating a better world is a wonderful thing. You don't know what effect it will have on those who inspired to do their own thing with it.
ReplyDeleteI think that the Oz series is there mainly to inspire. It is escapism at its finest.
DeleteThis is a broken world, so we tend to dream of a better one. The fantasy can inspire us to make improvements here. By imagining a place with less problems, we can focus on solving those we have.
ReplyDeleteIt's escapism at its finest.
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