Son of a Witch

Ding dong the witch is dead, but legends never die. Ten years ago readers embraced Wicked, the retelling of the wizard of oz tale from the point of view of the Wicked Witch of the West. Two years ago Wicked debuted on Broadway as a musical. Amidst this popularity Gregory Maguire returns to Oz to pick up his story where it left off with Son of a Witch.

Liir may or may not be the son of Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West. As far as anyone can remember the boy has always been around the Witch but she never showed much affection towards him. When Dorothy melts the Witch, Liir finds himself alone in the world and sets off with Dorothy and her friends to visit the Emerald City. Liir hopes to find his half sister Nor who was kidnapped by the Wizard, but his search is constantly interrupted. He finds himself lost in the vast underground prison city of Southstairs where he meets Shell the disreputable brother of the Witch. Liir spends years as a soldier of an occupational army in the hinterlands of Oz. Eventually Liir takes on a secret mission for the birds of Oz to eliminate the new flying weapon of the Emperor Apostle, the new yet familiar leader of Oz.

In Wicked, Maguire included many allusions to Nazi Germany and he continues to explore political themes in Son of a Witch. After the Wizard disappears the Scarecrow is installed as leader but is only a puppet of the bankers. The Scarecrow is eventually replaced by the Emperor Apostle who claims that he rules in the name of God and creates a theocracy. During this time, armies are raised against an unknown enemy, and when no enemy appears these armies begin burning cities to incite uprisings that can be crushed to consolidate the power of Oz. Patriotism becomes a religion and more and more government ministries are created to control all aspects of life.

The audience for Son of a Witch is obviously those who enjoyed Wicked, but those of us who enjoyed Wicked already accepted the premise that the differences between good and evil are not always clear, so that aspect of the story provides nothing new. Son of a Witch tries to encompass multiple genres. It is a mystery in the search for Nor and also in uncovering who or what is disfiguring the faces of innocent missionaries. It is a coming of age novel and adventure story following Liir from confused country boy to seasoned soldier. Overall it is a transition novel as many of the storylines remain unresolved and set the stage for the coming conflict that can be anticipated in Maguire's next book. However, Son of a Witch is more than that.

The novel explores the theme as to whether being the offspring of a great leader implies a propensity for greatness. Liir not only struggles with determining whether he is the Witch's son but whether he will ever equal the skills of the Witch in power, magic, and intelligence. Those who believe him to be the Witch's son expect much of Liir and are constantly placing expectations on him to complete tasks meant for the powerful Witch and not for a boy still discovering himself and his abilities. Liir's search for his identity does not involve him trying to follow in his mother's footsteps, but circumstances keep pushing him in that direction and he keeps trying to hide from that destiny. Maguire leaves open the possibility that in his next novel the savior of Oz will not be Liir but another. If Liir proves but a footnote in the history of Oz and not a gifted leader, then Son of a Witch will rise above being a disappointing sequel to become a much more inspired and original book.