Wednesday, June 28, 2023

Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Forbidden Fountain of Oz [Book Review]

[Contains spoilers for a book nobody reads anymore.]

"The Forbidden Fountain of Oz" is the forty-third book in the Oz series founded by L. Frank Baum. It was written by Eloise Jarvis McGraw and Lauren Lynn McGraw. The book was published in 1980. Oh, how far I've come.

The story here details how a lemonade accident causes Princess Ozma to drink from the Forbidden Fountain which contains the Waters of Oblivion. Anyone who drinks this water ends up losing all of their memories. They can't even remember who they are. Once this happens, she ends up fleeing the Emerald City and changes her princess outfit for a shepherd boy's. Interestingly enough, this ends up making her look just like Tip which was a boy she had once been transformed into.

Once she goes missing, everyone thinks she has been kidnapped, including Kabumpo the elephant. A rescue attempt is made by Kabumpo which ends up leading to one of his best adventures yet. I really do love that character, and this was a great representation.

Ozma also makes two new companions. She finds Toby who is a witless highwayman who turns body guard. She also finds a white lamb named Lambert who would rather be any other color than white.

From here, we have a hilarious story with a comedy of errors and misconceptions. Kabumpo thinks Ozma has been kidnapped and enchanted by Toby and has to try and kidnap her back, while the senseless Ozma thinks the elephant is trying to capture her and steal her away from her friends. Nobody quite knows what is going on, and that is what makes this story so much fun. The only person who truly gets it is the reader.

This is the very last canon Oz story that was written before I was born, and it is a huge recommend. Everything about it was satisfying. There was even a creepy toymaker that captures people and turns them into clockworks. Really good stuff, and I liked everything about it. A must read.

This blog was written on June 5, 2023.

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6 comments:

  1. Interesting. It was published in 1980. The misunderstanding theme was popular as comedy at the time. These book seems to have mastered it but with in an older style.

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  2. That's a bad mistake to make, not that you would remember it haha. The comedy of errors was always a fun theme. The reader being the only one in on the joke is always fun.

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    1. I don't remember another Oz book that did that. It was a blast to read.

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  3. Comedies of errors are especially amusing. People readily assume they know what is happening and are often mistaken. We must be attentive to get a better understanding.

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