Son of a Witch
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Son of a Witch is a sequel to Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, and the fifth revisionist novel written by Gregory Maguire. The book was released on September 27, 2005 in hardcover format.
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[edit] Reasons for writing
In an interview that is included with the Son of a Witch audio CD, Gregory Maguire gave two reasons for writing the book: the volume of letters he received from young readers asking what happened next, and the viewing of the Abu Ghraib torture photographs which were reminiscent of Nor's imprisonment. <ref>[1] Barnes and Noble (Publishers Weekly review)</ref>
[edit] Book information
The official summary from gregorymaguire.com:
"When a Witch dies — not as a crone, withered and incapable, but as a woman in her prime, at the height of her passion and prowess — too much is left unsaid. What might have happened had Elphaba lived? Of her campaigns in defense of the Animals, of her appetite for justice, of her talent for magic itself, what good might have come? If every death is a tragedy, the death of a woman in her prime keenly bereaves the whole world.
Ten years after the publication of Wicked, bestselling novelist Gregory Maguire returns to the land of Oz to follow the story of Liir, the adolescent boy left hiding in the shadows of the castle when Dorothy did in the Witch.
A decade after the Witch has melted away, the young man Liir is discovered bruised, comatose, and left for dead in a gully. Shattered in spirit as well as in form, he is tended by the mysterious Candle, a foundling in her own right, until failed campaigns of his childhood bear late, unexpected fruit.
Liir is only one part of the world that Elphaba left behind. As a boy hardly in his teens, he is asked to help the needy in ways in which he may be unskilled. Is he Elphaba’s son? Has he power of his own? Can he liberate Princess Nastoya into a dignified death? Can he locate his supposed half-sister, Nor, last seen in shackles under the Wizard’s protection? Can he survive in an Oz little improved since the death of the Wicked Witch of the West? Can he learn to fly?
In Son of a Witch, Gregory Maguire suggests that the magic we locate in distant, improbable places like Oz is no greater than the magic inherent in any hard life lived fully, son of a witch or no."
The official summary from Publishers Weekly:
"The death of Elphaba Thropp, the Wicked Witch of the West, brings about spectacular changes in this masterfully imaginative sequel to Maguire's 1995 blockbuster Wicked—most notably, the startling possibility that Elphaba had a son. Scattered among the ruins of great portions of Emerald City, many residents have been skinned and bloodied, supposedly by the barbaric Yunamatas. Travel caravan leader Oatsie Manglehand stumbles upon the body of an unknown young man, badly beaten but still alive. She presents him to the wise Superior Maunt, who recognizes the hurt boy as Liir, rumored to be the dead Witch's secreted son. A mute waif named Candle revives him with her haunting, ethereal music and hidden affections. Meanwhile, Maguire supplies alternating chapters of extensive, mesmerizing backstory of Liir's boyhood, from the witch's watery demise, to the trek to the Wizard's Castle with Dorothy and company, his search for the imprisoned princess Nor, and a long stint in the Munchkinland Army, all while donning his mother's black cape and clutching her magic broom handle. Along the way, a headspinning cast of vividly described, eccentric characters emerges, but nothing prepares Liir for Candle's shocking surprise announcement. Tucked into Maguire's enchanting fable are carefully calibrated object lessons in forgiveness, retribution, love, loss and the art of moving on despite tragic circumstances. Ten years after Wicked (which is still on Broadway), fans will once again be clicking their heels with wonderment. "
[edit] Summary and interpretations
In interviews, Macguire calls Son of a Witch a "companion book," though he said he has no objection to the term "sequel" – except that Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, doesn't exactly make a reappearance. Rather, the book centers on Liir and chronicles his search for his half-sister, Nor.
Wicked recap: Liir is (probably) the son of Elphaba and her lover Fiyero, who is royalty among a small mountain tribe. Fiyero is killed in Wicked. In grief, Elphaba lives in a mauntery (or nunnery) for a while. She eventually brings Liir to Kiamo Ko to try to make peace with Fiyero's wife, Sarima, and their children. She is cold and distant towards all the children all the way to her death. But before that, government forces kidnap Fiyero's wife and children.
After Dorothy kills Elphaba, Liir accompanies her to the Emerald City, carrying Elphaba's broom and cape. There, he finds Glinda, who helps him in his search for Nor. Along the way, he meets Elphaba's brother, Shell, who eventually becomes the Emperor of Oz.
Along the way, Liir discovers he has the power to fly on the Witch's broom. He also works to free an Elephant disguised as a human and saves the Birds of Oz from government-bred and trained attack dragons.
[edit] Characters and background
There are many religions, folklore and mythical characters in the book. Mother Yackle, seemingly an old, addled maunt, actually plays important roles in both books -- sort of like a hand of fate. The dominant religion appears to be of those who worship the Unnamed God. Everyone celebrates the pagan "Lurlinemas," named after a Fairy Queen/Goddess named Lurline. Dragons also make an appearance in the book.
There are many stories floating in the land of Oz about the rightful heir to the throne. The Wizard left the country in ruins after his dictatorship. Local lore says that that the next heir to the royal lineage belongs to a girl named Ozma. She is rumored to have been frozen in a deep sleep and is waiting an awakening. Realists laugh this off, saying that she was likely murdered long ago by someone who wanted to steal her spot on the throne.
- Candle is a Quadling girl who does not speak except in her native language, Qua'ati (though she understands other speech). She is a novice at the Cloister of Saint Glinda in the Shale Shallows, where Liir is brought after being discovered badly hurt on the road. She first keeps him alive by playing music to him on her domingon, then eventually cures him by having sex with him, which impregnates her. Candle then carries a barely conscious Liir out of the mauntery on the advice of an elderly maunt, Mother Yackle and to a deserted farm. Candle tells Liir that she is pregnant shortly before Liir leaves to continue his search for Nor. After Liir's second return and departure, Candle bears his daughter, whom she leaves behind for Liir to find. Liir surmises that she was trying to throw off the scent of the government forces who are chasing Liir for killing the dragons.
- Shell, Elphaba's brother, gives up a life of sex and crime to rule Oz. He does this by claiming a revelation from the Unknown God that convinces to try and do good. Liir, having seen Shell in his more repugnant days, is skeptical.
- Trism is a male soldier who trains dragons to attack. The dragons feed off human flesh and scrape the faces of their victims. He resents his work and bands together with Liir to kill all of dragons. After killing the dragons, he and Liir flee the Emerald City together. While fleeing, Liir and Trism develop a strong sexual relationship before being forced to part by pursuing forces. Liir tells Trism to find Candle and go into hiding with her. Trism finds Candle but she does not speak to him, and he fails to convince her to flee.
Most interestingly, Liir briefly meets a young boy named Tip, whose grandmother tries to sell him to Liir for the Witch's broom. Liir refuses but later feels guilty. In the sequel to the original L. Frank Baum Oz series, Ozma, the rightful ruler of Oz, is revealed to have been a young boy named Tip. In the original book, Ozma's protectors feared for her safety and decided to disguise her as a boy – Tip. She is freed from this disguise and rules Oz for several of the following books in the original series. Obviously, this leaves the door wide open for Maguire to do a sequel that involves Ozma's awakening, if he is indeed sticking with the original storyline.
[edit] Potential for third book
There are hints that Maguire has left enough unanswered questions to warrant a third book. The book's ending not only clearly links Liir as the Witch's son, but it also introduces a granddaughter (of Liir and his saviour, Candle) who has the same green-hued skin color as Elphaba. It should also be noted that when Liir lifts his daughter into the rain to wash her off, she proves to have the same aversion to water as Elphaba did. Some speculate that this daughter is Elphaba reincarnated (hints at the end of the first book and several interviews with Maguire suggest that a "witch never dies and will always come back").
Liir also realizes that it is his half-sister Nor who has been scrawling "Elphaba Lives" all over the Emerald City, though they haven't been reunited. He searches for her in vain throughout the entire book.
An endnote to the book reprints an excerpt from Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West that suggests (not for the first time) that Elphaba has some kind of scar or odd mark or deformity in her genitalia. This could somehow be a throwback to the disguise of rightful heir to the Emerald City throne, Ozma, who is disguised as a boy named Tip in the original Oz series. Macguire briefly introduces a young boy named Tip who piques Liir's interest in Son of a Witch.
The world of Oz actually spawned an entire series by author L. Frank Baum. Maguire also references the sequel of the original Oz series in his thank yous.
