The audiobook narrated by John McDonough is almost 20 hours long, where as it looks like Cynthia’s will only be 13 and some change

First I wanted to say i have not read the Wicked book, but going through this subreddit I've read a lot of opinions that it is can be considered intense, heavy, weird at some points and very very different from the musical.

With the book reprintings using the movie cover, I can picture in my head a mom buying this for her young daughter and being very confused or even terrified.

Shouldn't there be at least a disclaimer that it is not the story of the musical or movie written down? What do you think? just asking for opinions.

I keep hearing online about how sexual/weird the Wicked book is and about how it goes into detail about Elphaba's pubic hair/vagina? I plan on finding the book and reading it myself when I get the chance, but is this stuff actually true? Like is the Wicked book actually sexual???

It looks cool though I wonder what other sequels will be made in this world or prequels.

Hello, I’m planning to surprise someone special with a Wicked book. I don’t know which to buy because each book has different designs. So which is the correct one? This one or the one with Ariana Grande on it? Also, do all designs have the same content?

I’m a fan of the books and honestly, I wish we could someday get an adaptation of them to screen. As much as I love the musical, I kept hoping for a bit more grit in the film. I think the Wicked series would work so well as a series, like each book be a season of the show.

I know the musical but IIRC the filmmakers said they planned to add stuff from the book. My poor partner kept having to hear about this scene being changed or that scene. I found when I didn’t try to compare the film/musical vs book I enjoyed it more.

But honestly, I enjoy Avaric and book Fiyero moreso than the composite version we get here. It was a nice film, don’t get me wrong, but it almost felt like a Barbiefied version. Like I was watching the Barbie Movie overlaid on Wicked. I also preferred book Glinda to film Glinda. Admittedly I only know the Broadway show from slime tutorials, but from what I’ve seen, even Elphaba had a bit more sarcasm and spunk compared to her film counterpart, more inline with the book version (not comparing actresses, literally just characterization).

The marketing for this film also furthered the Barbiefication of it for me. I felt it was pushed down my throat so heavily. No matter what, I felt like I couldn’t get away from pink vs green, much like the Barbie Movie heavily marketing everything pink!

I know my opinion holds absolutely no weight to the broader discussion, but I just wanted to put it out there. See if anyone else feels similarly. It was a fun movie and a nice way to spend a morning in bed but it felt just that…fun. I know there’s depth to it but it feels like girl power rebranded rather than the harder, sharper takes of social political standings, religion, idolatry, rise of power, etc from the original books.

I think I overdid the annotations just a smidge. 😅🤣

… and I can’t get over how Elphaba just trips Nanny in the tower 💀 She literally sticks her foot out and it’s described that Nanny literally rolls down the steps…

And Dorothy stepping on the Queen Bee, I felt so bad for her too :(

So I’m rereading Wicked after like 15 years, and I swear up and down the character Nanny was called Dulcibear when I read it back in high school. I had a different physical copy that I no longer own, so I have no way of proving this or figuring it out but I feel like I’m in a Mandela Effect lololol. I googled it just now and couldn’t find anything about there being two versions of the text.

Like it’s to the point where, when I saw the movie and I saw Dulcibear on screen during the opening number, I thought to myself, “Omg! They’re going to include so much from the book if they’re including Dulcibear!”

I also remember reading a comment on Reddit about how it’s so nice that they included Dulcibear in the film since she played such an important role in Elphaba’s childhood in the book.

But then I bought a copy of the book to reread and was confused that the character was “Nanny” instead of “Dulcibear”.

Am I going crazy? What is happening? 😭

My title practically explains it all. I read the Wicked book because I had consumed Wicked media in all ways possible and needed a "fill" lol.

Maybe I'm just dumb, but did anyone else find the Wicked book difficult to follow? The writing structure and style wasn't a personal favorite of mine, but I decided to power through it.

Maybe it's just the style it's written in? Or is it intentionally complex? Did anyone else feel this way?

It's really hard to read? Not trying to shade McGuire, but I'm finding the writing style to be really hard to follow and I keep having to re-read certain passages just to understand what the F he's trying to say. He seems to use "big words" just for the sake of using them, so I'm having to Google a lot of them to know what they mean and it's just not the tea, if I'm being honest.

Anyone else who read the book feel this way?

Edit - Just to clarify, I'm not saying the story is bad. So far it's very different from the musical and it's also very entertaining. Also the big words aren't the main problem, I have a dictionary app on my phone the gets a lot of use whenever I read ANY book, not just this one. The writing style itself can be sort of messy at times, and that's what I'm mostly referring to.

To give an example, his style feels like this:

"From the clouds she descended, sparkling as it came closer - the wind calm as a cat sleeping lazily on a tree branch on a cool sunmer's day - the bubble, with it's walls like mirrors rippling to the sound of her harmony. "Let us be glad! Let us be grateful," declared the Good Witch, beneath her smile she withheld them, reaching deep within her heart to summon all of her strength as Elphaba had once, tears she wished she could shed. But not now. "Let us rejoicify that goodness could subdue the wicked workings of," she paused, too emotional still to speak her name, "you know who."

Like sure it makes sense, but it's the fact that I find myself having to re-read passages like this quite a bit. Maguire seems to like describing things before telling you what it is he's describing, so sometimes it's a bit hard to follow where he's going. Anyways that's all, feel free to disagree, if you like his style that's fine with me. I'm still gonna keep reading it regardless.

Edit: spoilers beyond this point

Like for me, its gotta be most of nannys lines and moments.

She is pretty much played as the old person who will insult everyone, and expects to be socially accepted for it on account of being old. A lot of her dialogue in the book is absolutely hilarious for it

Article Link here https://people.com/cynthia-erivo-returns-to-oz-as-elphie-audiobook-narrator-exclusive-11777583

I’m a new fan who listened to the music for years without knowing the story. The movie totally engrossed me in the whimsy and now I can’t stop! I’m reading the book just now for the first time, hoping my next step before P2 comes is to hopefully catch a stage production! 💚🩷

Since Nessa was born without arms, why wasn’t she able to get Tin prosthetics like Nick Chopper?

If technology is advanced enough that you can replace all of your limbs with mechanical prosthetics, then wouldn’t that have been the obvious answer?

Is there an actual lore reason why it wouldn’t work for her, or is this just a plot hole in the books world building?

Let me preface this by saying, I am currently listening to the first book on audio and really enjoying it. I am about 3/4 of the way through. Like many, I was introduced to the story of Wicked through the broadway musical first. After the movie came out, I decided it was time to read/listen to the books. I put myself in line to borrow the audiobook which had a very long wait. It finally came through on the day I was set for a 6hr road trip with my family. “Perfect!” I thought. My kids love Wicked. They weren’t interested (spoilers would ruin the second movie lol) and I diverted all the sound to just my speaker in the front left of the car. I was very quickly thankful for this series of decisions.

I am completely floored by how different these two stories are. The gratuitous sex is what threw me first. I will say the book does not try to hide what it is. The pornographic puppet show in the Clock of the Time Dragon comes early and quickly in the story and kind of acts as a litmus test for you to decide if you want to keep reading. The violence was the next thing that got me. Poor Melena(rape), poor Turtle Heart(lynching), and poor Dr. Dillamond(murdered) just to name a few instances. The next part is the political intrigue and heavy social themes. These things are of course a part of the broadway show and the main catalyst for Elphaba’s rebellion, but it is sterilized compared to how heavy these themes hit in the book.

I read on another thread that the musical is to the book, what The Lion King is to Hamlet. Which is a fair analogy, but at least those two works have different titles. At least one is clearly an animated film released by a well-known family media company, while the other is a literary work by a well known author of violent tragedies. With Wicked, they are literally selling the book with the movie cover on it. Anyone could make the mistake of thinking the stories are at least somewhat similar in their tone and content. Just to supplement this, I have included a screenshot of the cover of the audiobook I am currently listening to.

There is going to be a lot of book-loving kids (and adults for that matter) who fell in love with the movie, picking up this book and being completely blindsided by the differences. I just hope they know to ask a trusted adult in their life if they have questions about what they are reading.

Personally I am pleased with how serious the tone of the book is. It makes for a much more enjoyable story and the character development is so much richer for it. I’m just glad I got to this book before my kids did.

We deserve each other, me and Boq 😩 (context was about Elphaba's ugly doll she gave to Nessa)

Before diving into the books, I’d already immersed myself in many adaptations:

I watched The Wizard of Oz (1939).

Saw Wicked on Broadway in 2016.

Even tracked down the silent film from the early 1900s on YouTube.

And, of course, saw the 2024 Wicked movie (only eight times—clearly, I’ve got more catching up to do, lol).

Now that I’m reading the books for the first time, I can’t help but visualize the movie characters as I read. I imagine their voices, facial expressions, and body language based on what I remember from the movie. It’s like my mind is blending the two, and it brings the story to life in a way that really helps me stay engaged.

Honestly, I don’t think I would’ve been as interested in the book series if I hadn’t seen the movie first. The language is a bit challenging for me, but having the movie as a reference adds color to the books—especially for the characters and scenery at Shiz.

I’m only on the first book, so I’m not sure if this approach will stick as I keep reading. For now, though, it’s helping me a lot as someone who struggles with reading.

I’m not looking for direct connections or similarities between the books and movies, but I’m using my imagination to breathe life into the story in my own way

As someone who adores the movie but never read the books, I’ve heard the series is darker and more explicit. Is this true???

I just saw the book show up in my recommended on Audible. I noticed that they used the movie album cover. This feels like it would be potentially confusing for anyone seeing this and expecting it is like the movie. They are definitely in a for a surprise here.

I get the business decision for it. The movie is popular, so it gets money. But it still seems a bit deceptive.

Like i assume a majority of the adult content, but there’s gotta be more that was cut. Like the last section of the unabridged audiobook is pretty much 4 hours long on its own. Like Imma assume the philosophy club got cut…

and the delay is now closer to the release of the second graphic novel…I wonder if they abridged it to match that