Wicked by Gregory Maguire

A Wicked Read
First published Hampshire Chronicle, 25th May 2006

IN ONE of Winchester's local bookshops, a sizeable black hardcover book caught my attention. There was a green metallic face embossed on the cover and the pages were edged in green, so the book appeared to be green on the inside as well.

I'd just picked up the latest edition hardcover by Gregory Maguire, called Wicked, subtitled The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.

Originally released in 1995, it was now the basis for a new Broadway hit play.

This isn’t yet another story jumping on the latest prequel craze. It’s retelling of the existing story of Oz, from the perspective of the Wicked Witch and those involved in her life.

Maguire looks into many issues; most significantly that wickedness is formed through ill-fated attempts to do what one believes is truly right. Elphaba, before she became the Wicked Witch of the West, was fighting against political strife in the land of Oz, brought on by the Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz.

Maguire covers all of this and more with beautifully developed characters, locations and situations. He touches upon family issues, social values, terrorism and even animal rights.

The book goes deep in many directions.With explicit sexual content, it’s certainly no longer a children’s bedtime book.

Wicked has a gothic appeal, with dark humour reinforced by a flawed heroine who you read on to identify with in many aspects. The book has a rough, difficult to follow beginning, but as it flashes forward in years, you can't help but be amazed at how well Maguire captured the tumultuous challenges of youth and the point at which a young adult has to choose for themselves the difference between right or wrong.

It’s a political satire chronicling the untold story of the Wicked Witch of the West, from the cradle to her watery grave.

It’s a story of the difficulties of becoming an adult, sexual maturity, and the sadness of lost love. L. Frank Baum created an entire series of Oz books. Gregory Maguire's version is proof that there are always two sides to a story. He shows how interesting things become when we find a new perspective on something we thought we were familiar with.

Wicked, by Gregory Maguire, is definitely one to keep on the bookshelves for years to come.

–Tina Hulme

Tina Hulme's Column in the Hampshire Chronicle

First published Hampshire Chronicle, 5th May 2006

I WAS welcomed into the UK with open arms by British Immigration. Nearly two years ago, I walked into the British Embassy in New York City to obtain my Further Leave to Remain visa, the visa which is preemptive to permanent United Kingdom citizenship.

I waited in the queue for 15 minutes, and then the immigration officer looked at all my documents and accepted my $494 fee.

“Come back in two hours and you’ll have a stamp in your passport guaranteeing temporary UK citizenship for two years, ” he said.

It was as easy as that. I was treated decently and with respect at the British Embassy in New York. I wish with all my heart that I can tell you that my English husband was treated equally well by the US Immigration Service as I had been by the Government of the United Kingdom.

He is not allowed to even visit the USA until his marriage visa is completed and his passport is stamped, because of a minor previous violation where he overstayed a tourist visa by 29 days.

After spending $2,500 and waiting more than two years, we are still waiting for his interview for a visa that has been approved for over a year.We spent the first eight months of our marriage apart, under the impression that our temporary visa should have been secured within the first six months after applying.

My husband’s temporary visa expired while we and our lawyer tried to have it transferred from the US Embassy in the Bahamas, where we were married, to London, where we settled in order to be together, before moving to Winchester.

After we requested the transfer, the US Government mislaid the paperwork.We thought fortune had smiled upon us when our permanent visa was approved at nearly the same time as they lost our temporary one, but that was a year ago.

When last we heard, the US Embassy in Paris had our visa paperwork. Even though we sent proof of our residency and work history in the UK, the US Government still saw fit to send it to Paris, because that is where my husband was living at the time we filed our paperwork.

Immigration queries are directed to a telephone number, which charges a 14.50 euro fee simply to pick up the phone, fully admitting that they may not be able to provide answers to your questions. My husband and I are exhausted and financially strained, because we both had to move countries to be together, so the United States Government would see fit to deem our marriage legitimate.

I have not seen my parents or siblings in two years. My letters to US officials went unanswered. I just wonder what might happen when I have children.

What certainty do they have of getting to know their family and roots if their father cannot even visit the country of my birth with me?

-Tina Hulme

Fortunate Discovery: The Penultimate Peril, by Lemony Snickett

Fortunate Discovery
First Published Hampshire Chronicle, 1st May 2006

What better way to entice readers than to warn them, before each volume of your epic, that: “I would advise you to not continue."

Those might not be Daniel Handler’s exact words when he writes under the pseudonym Lemony Snicket, but it’s certainly a theme that’s consistent throughout each of his twelve (soon to be thirteen) volumes of A Series of Unfortunate Events.

The first, The Bad Beginning, came out in 1999. The most recent, The Penultimate Peril, was released in October, 2005.

The books chronicle the unfortunate lives of the Baudelaire orphans, three children sadly left alone after their parents perish in a tragic, and suspicious, fire.

The books themselves are more then a fantastic fictional story, they are a series of unfortunate lessons. Each one ruminates on the tough life lessons faced by children growing up in an adult world, and contain enough sharp literary allusions to entertain readers of all ages.

As you read each volume in the series, you learn, through the experiences of the Baudelaire’s, that life doesn’t always deal you a fair hand. But you also learn that, despite all life's terrible hardships, our three heroes persevere, stay together and find sanctuary in a world that constantly does not make sense.

Handler also manages to throw in little lessons on words, what they truly mean and humorously uses their definitions through each book.

Some people have criticised the books for being a bit repetitive in theme.

In each book the Baudelaires find themselves in the care of yet another incompetent guardian. Inevitably, Count Olaf turns up, desperate to get his hands on their fortune. On the surface, each story sounds quite similar… But, as a whole, the epic is a brilliantly written plot. And, as the series progresses, so do the lives of the orphans.

In the later stories, the children have grown up, and have learnt that, sometimes, one must act like a villain in order to do the “right thing”.

In the most recent book, The Penultimate Peril, the children find themselves sailing away with the enemy they so desperately tried to elude.

One of my favourite discoveries in the entire series of books was the dedication by Lemony Snicket (Handler) to a beloved, deceased, Beatrice. It reminds me of Dante in his Divine Comedy, who also had a beloved, deceased, Beatrice.

I thought The Penultimate Peril was an exciting read and it will be interesting to see how Handler will ultimately end the series.

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events is published by HarperCollins at £6.99.

–Tina Hulme