G- "Oz" series
There will always be a special place in my heart for the Oz books. They were some of the first fantasy I every read and I read them voraciously when I could find them. I think I have the whole series on my shelf at home now. These books are pure fantasy with no compunctions about deviating entirely from reality. The sheer creativity in these books is amazing. While I would not say that these novels represent a pinnacle of literary achievement as the best books ever written, they are fun and can be a quick and enjoyable read. They never take themselves seriously and rarely pretend to be more than they are. These books are fun for kids of all ages.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: While not my overall favorite, this original volume must be given credit for starting the whole phenomenon. It is drastically different from the movie (for one thing, the shoes are silver, not red and Glinda is the good witch of the South, not the North) so don't expect the movie version. The original story was a metaphor for the whole scenario of the Greenback Party and the Cross of Gold, but it still makes a great story. I have to admit, however, that some of the characters are a bit flat and one-sided. The ending of the book differs greatly from the movie, but I found it to be a more satisfying conclusion.
The Road to Oz: I must admit, this one is probably my favorite. The plot is fairly thin, but in this case it suffices. The story relates the adventures of Dorothy and the friends she finds along the way as they journey along a magical road to their mysterious destination. Several of my favorite characters are introduced in this book. I fell in love with Polychrome the Rainbow's Daughter the first time I read about her; she was pretty and she was a dancer which was all I needed. This work includes more new characters than any other book in the series that I know of, some of which come back in future books. I found this book to be one of the most imaginative of Baum's series.
The Emerald City of Oz: This book has more plot than some of the other's in the series. There is actually a central story based on the rescue of the long hidden Princess Ozma from her captor Mombi. While it is a bit darker in places than some of the other books, I was intrigued with the magical powers that Baum presents in this work. For days after first reading it, I wanted the powder of life; for days afterwards I pondered all the many things I could do with such a powder. I also spend hours pretending that I was Ozma and dreaming of a life in OZ.
I have only read the first seven Oz books, and most of those only as an adult. I vastly prefer the first three-- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz [#1] is a model example of the quest-type fairy story, The Marvelous Land of Oz [#2] is a pretty good sequel to it, and Ozma of Oz [#3] may be the best of the series. However, Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz [#4] and The Road to Oz [#5] are painfully boring reads, with almost identical plots (what little there is of any). The Emerald City of Oz [#6] is an improvement (it has a point), but it still has too much "filler" to come close to the level of books #1-3. The Patchwork Girl of Oz [#7] is the longest of the first seven; its plot and characters are developed on par with the first three books, and would be their equal if it had been pruned down to their length. My apologies to Sarah for loathing her favorite.
My two cents ^_^. Like all good SciFi and Fantasy, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a social commentary. Specifically, it is an allegory for the greenback movement last century (remember the "Cross of Gold" speech by William Jennings Brian?), which Baum favored. In the book (as opposed to the movie), Dorothy has silver slippers, representing the minting of silver that farmers wanted. The yellow brick road was gold. The Emerald City was Washington, where greenbacks were produced and where the president (the Wizard) argued in favor of the gold standard. Dorothy was from the farming stronghold of Kansas, the good witches were from the strong labor areas of the North and South, and the evil witches were from the banking-controlled East and the gold-mining West. I'm not making this up, and I didn't figure it out first. Apparently, it was known at the time. I'm still looking for an explanation of the poppy field.
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Last Updated: June 21, 1999
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