Written Review

Just to preface this review, this book was written in 1900. And this, as you are probably aware, has always been made into a spectacularly popular movie. With that, it was a touch difficult to review this book while ignoring the movie and even the new Wicked movie. I was having a lot of difficulty separating my feelings from each of those other adaptations, however, I still enjoyed what I read. With that, there will be spoilers.

Overall, this was a digestibly quick read. And that is certain, for a near 40,000 word -- what I'd call a novella -- fairy tale. And it was enjoyable for sure. The world felt slightly realized, and a little lived it. I am used to reading some tremendously epic scale fantasy novels. This was not that. And that is not a bad thing!

The world is "slightly realized", as in, the characters seem to be waiting for Dorothy and crew to arrive. Again, not a bad thing. Those fantasy novels I read typically have complex histories with exceptional maps, and political systems that are involved in every aspect of the story; this had certain parts of the world that were different from each part of the world. As I'm writing, maybe this written this way -- maybe this work didn't need to be bogged down by the enormity of Oz, that could be why there are THIRTEEN OTHER BOOKS in Baum's Oz work. Yeah, fourteen books. Ah, I did enjoy this book.

This story truly felt like a fairy tale, which aligns perfectly with the author's intentions as mentioned in the introduction. Mission accomplished! It’s a warm, friendly tale filled with whimsical creatures and a fantastical world, characterized by soft magic and a brisk, engaging narrative.

The plot moved along at a generally good pace, though it did slow down in a few spots. Some of these slower moments were less enjoyable, but thankfully, they were brief and didn’t detract significantly from the overall experience.

I can easily imagine picking up this novella in the early twentieth century and being captivated by its imagination. Its whimsical world and heartfelt narrative would have felt like pure magic, offering an escape into a land of adventure and wonder. Even today, it is enchanting, making it easy to see why readers of the time would have fallen in love with it.

Now, I do have to talk about something I did not like: the last twenty pages. After the Wizard leaves, the ending left me a bit perplexed. It felt like Baum shifted gears unexpectedly, leaving the main story and the plot that was driving the story -- to leave our characters with a totally new end goal. It seemed almost like a bait-and-switch, where the resolution didn’t fully satisfy the build-up of Dorothy’s journey and the promises of the magical land of Oz. While I don’t want to be too harsh on this beloved novella, the ending felt somewhat rushed and left me wanting a more cohesive conclusion that matched the whimsical and heartfelt narrative leading up to it.