There are few stories which have become so deeply ingrained in popular culture as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Somehow, I’d never gotten around to reading it or watching any version of it (other than the Muppet one, which I barely remember), so I was going into this book with what I thought was a relatively blank slate.
For the very few who don’t know, the novel tells the story of Dorothy and her dog Toto, whose house gets caught up in a tornado which transports them to the magical world of Oz. The two of them then set out to try and figure out how to get back home – encountering many iconic characters along the way. I’m sure that most people have heard of the Scarecrow (who wants a brain), the Tin Woodman (who needs a heart), and the Cowardly Lion (who wants courage) who all join Dorothy on her travels. There’s so much of the book that anyone reading today is likely to have picked up through cultural osmosis, that it’s quite nice to see what you recognise without ever having consumed much Oz media.
Some children’s books which feature quite a lot of bizarre, fantastic things, can feel a bit too silly to adult audiences. Sometimes there’s just not enough depth. However, I felt that this was written in such a way that I enjoyed it enough – some things are so ridiculous, but there’s a certain level of self-awareness that grounds it a bit for older readers. It’s also quite shockingly dark at times, with the Tin Woodman hacking up loads of animals and creatures with his axe.
A couple of aspects of the novel also seemed a little deeper than you might expect from something written as a fairy tale for children. The most prominent example, for me, was the fact that the Tin Woodman has no heart and this makes him afraid of doing horrible things without remorse. That felt like quite a nuanced stance and really quite an interesting concern for a character like this to have. The whole thing of the Wizard of Oz himself typically not being seen and what that represents (I won’t spoil it for those who don’t yet know the twist) feels like a cool commentary.
It’s easy to see why this story has been so impactful. In the introduction, the author explains that he wanted to create a new fairy tale and I think he has done that very well indeed. Having Dorothy come from contemporary America also grounds the story in reality to some extent, which makes you feel a little more invested in it (similar to Alice in Wonderland). It also helps makes everything just a little more surreal in the best possible way.
It’s not the best fantasy novel I ever read, but it’s still a great deal of fun. I enjoyed my time in the world of Munchkins and Winkies. It’s a pretty short novel, so it doesn’t overstay its welcome and I suspect most people will want to stay with Dorothy all the way through her journey to Oz and back.
Rating: 8.1/10
