Fairy Tale Spotlight: What I Learned From Gregory Maguire

I felt kind of bad not really talking much about Gregory Maguire's book "Wicked." I just didn't feel right talking about much of any of it at all. But every time I went to go add to or alter it, I just felt like I had said enough, because I did not want to spoil the plot. I always feel like that when I review books from active authors.

I do want to point out, however, that Gregory Maguire did make certain points in "Wicked" that meant a lot to me as an author. You have to understand what this author does as a regularity. He takes old fairy tales that everyone knows and gives them a dash of realistic fantasy.

Let me ask you a question. What was the name of the Wicked Witch of the West? Where it was true that she was named much later in the series (like seventy books later), she didn't really have a name in the original book. She was just the Wicked Witch of the West and that was all. We knew Glinda's name and that she was a good witch, but we didn't actually know anything about her past or what she was like she was.

When we read "Wicked," we learn that the main antagonist had a name and a story. She was a real person who lived a life, had dreams, wanted thing, strived for things, and only then did she become a wicked witch. And she had a name, Elphaba Thropp. Same thing happened for Glinda, who apparently was originally named Galinda Upland. She also had a story that we never got to hear about in the original story.

My point is this: Gregory Maguire takes old children's stories which had just enough information to make a child satisfied, and then fills and flourishes them with new and pertinent information for an adult audience. He does this a lot. And honestly, I respect him a lot for his work. This is something that is entirely worth doing in literature. We need stories like this, and not just as children. They expand our minds and make us hope and wonder.

I may not agree with some things Gregory has done in his life, but I respect him for what he did with "Wicked" and possibly other books of his. It's something I can honestly learn from and incorporate into my own works. We, as a people, need fairy tales at all ages. We need fantasy. We need fiction. We need exactly what Gregory Maguire is doing right now.

This blog was written on June 20, 2024.

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