Encyclopedia
Son of a Witch is a sequel to
, and the fifth
revisionist novel written by
Gregory Maguire. The book was released
on September 27, 2005 in hardcover format.
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.
Book information
The official summary from :"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 , fans will once again be clicking their heels with wonderment. "
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 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 for a while. She eventually brings Liir to Kiamo Ko to try to make peace with Fiyero's wife and 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.
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 Unknown 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.
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. While on the run, he and Liir develop an affectionate relationship that has homosexual undertones.
Candle saves Liir after dragons attack him and put him in a deep coma. She does this by sleeping with him, which impregnates her. They escape and live together for a little while. Liir later leaves on a few quests, and Candle bears his daughter, who 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.
Most intestingly, 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.
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 who has the same green-hued skin color as Elphaba. It should also be noted that another unanswered question at the end of the book is brought up when Liir lifts his daughter into the rain to wash her off, even though Elphaba had a deadly allergy to water.
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
that suggests 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.
