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Out of Oz: Volume Four in the Wicked Years Audiobook
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(3.00) - 6,023 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
“Maguire’s work is melodic, symphonic, and beautiful; it is dejected and biting and brave. How great that people flock to these magical novels.”
—Los Angeles Times Book Review
Bestselling author Gregory Maguire’s remarkable series, The Wicked Years, comes full circle with this, his fourth and final excursion across a darker, richer, more complex landscape of “the magical land of Oz.” Out of Oz brilliantly reimagines L. Frank Baum’s world over the rainbow as wracked with social unrest—placing Glinda the good witch under house arrest and having the cowardly Lion on the lam from the law as the Emerald City prepares to make war on Munchkinland. Even Dorothy makes a triumphant return in Maguire’s magnificent Oz finale—tying up every loose green end of the series he began with his classic Wicked, the basis for the smash hit Broadway musical.
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"Fun addition to the Wicked series. I appreciate the winks throughout to the Wizard of Oz books/movie as well as a throw away line from the musical Wicked. I have grown quite fond of this cast of characters and hope that Maguire changes his mind and revisits them soon."
— Lhymowitz (4 out of 5 stars)
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“Hilarious, heart-wrenching, and extremely poignant in its ending.”
— Washington Post -
“The language and imagery are rich, and the sense of love, loss, and regret palpable. For fans, this will be a revealing and satisfying end to the layered tale begun in Wicked.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“A worthy conclusion to an imaginative and emotionally searing cultural phenomenon…Everyone who has ever known, loved, or even been frustrated by Maguire’s creative, myth-bending reworking of the Oz saga will eagerly hop onboard to find out exactly how the journey ends, because nobody does fractured fairy tales better than Maguire.”
— Booklist -
“Maguire excels at creating multidimensional characters that rise above their many flaws…This engrossing, complex novel continues to flip the world of Oz on its head while answering new and old questions about Oz and its denizens. Highly recommended.”
— Library Journal -
“[A] pensive but action-filled capstone…All is chaos, swerve, and swirl: the once cowardly lion now has moments where he sounds like Sean Connery, people fire up cigarettes and mount grim battles of resistance, and Maguire pays subtle homage to Tolkien and Rowling and even Frank Baum while having a grand old time in the fantastically complicated world he has created.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Awards
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A New York Times bestseller
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A USA Today bestseller
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A Los Angeles Times bestseller
Out of Oz Listener Reviews
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" Even though I loved the book. It left a feeling of "wanting more". I wasn't satisfied with the ending. It just doesn't end. So, many questions left unanswered.... What is over the rainbow? Guess there will be a book after out of Oz? "
— Tom, 2/16/2014 -
" Liir, the Lion, Dorothy, and Rain are all back. Characters from throughout the series make an appearance. As always, I was captivated by Maguire's wonderful use of language, and while I enjoyed the book for the most part, there were areas that I felt were a bit convoluted and difficult to follow. I'm not sure that this book could stand alone without having read the others in the series. Will go back and reread the final chapter or so at some point as I feel as though I missed something somewhere as the ending was less than satisfying. "
— Sharon, 1/24/2014 -
" I have read all Gregory Maguire's books on the Oz characters and this is 2nd best after Wicked. I can't wait to see how it ends. "
— Angie, 1/23/2014 -
" really good, though not sure how i felt about the ending. i hope there will be another book eventually. "
— Allyson, 1/17/2014 -
" I was disappointed at the ending. After all the twists and turns, it felt like it rushed to a somewhat dissatisfying conclusion. "
— Dale, 1/15/2014 -
" Great end to the series! "
— Sharon, 1/7/2014 -
" I am finding it difficult to get through this one. It is not easy to read in small bites such as on the commute to/from work (the only time I really have to read). "
— Daniel, 1/5/2014 -
" I donated the copy I won to my local library! "
— Jamie, 12/22/2013 -
" Some fantastic moments but lacked the some quirky charm in the first two books "
— Lianna, 12/21/2013 -
" A good 3.5, but I will round up. Starts a little slow, but by the second half there is so much satire and creativity that I loved it. Maguire's abundant tongue-in-cheek comments remind me of Jonathan Swift. "
— Nan, 12/21/2013 -
" Richly developed storyline, great twist at the end. Wish I had more of an attention span for this depth of writing these days! "
— Brenna, 12/7/2013 -
" It was better second best to Wicked in this series. Did not like the ending, though I guess that is to be expected. Again, I did the audio version which I think made it bearable. "
— Janna, 11/13/2013 -
" A good ending to the series. "
— Aoife, 9/17/2013 -
" The best of the series since Wicked. Would give it 4.5 if I could. "
— Barb, 9/7/2013 -
" Really great. I like how he incorporates the characters and creatures of L. Frank Baum's books. I wish the Thropp family could have a happy ending. Maybe in the future. The Ozmists will find that out. "
— Darren, 4/22/2013 -
" I am a huge fan of Wicked and Son of a Witch, and I couldn't event finish this book. Maguire's writing is superb, but his storytelling is totally lost in this one. Was very disappointed. "
— Mark, 4/1/2013 -
" In my mind's ear, all Glinda dialogue is in Kristin Chenoweth's voice. (A good thing.) "
— cassie, 2/26/2013 -
" Out of Oz was everything I hoped it would be. Every loose end of the series tied up, but in a way that keeps you guessing and thinking. The world of Oz is alive and well in our imaginations. "
— Philip, 1/7/2013 -
" I enjoyed this final book. It was a little long but I feel all the questions I had were answered. I have read all the books in the Wicked series and have grown attached to the characters and am happy to see where they all ended up. "
— Renee, 10/8/2012 -
" As I got through the series I continued to be less and less into the books. I don't know if it's just that the story got samey or if the writing was just running out of as interesting a story line. I will say that I felt this one dragged the most out of the four. "
— Bonnie, 9/12/2012 -
" Let me just say I am so glad to be Out of Oz! This book rambled on and on and on and seemed to go absolutely nowhere. "
— Tammy, 9/9/2012 -
" Not aa good as Wicked but I enjoyed. I would say by rating it goes the 1st book, the 4th (this one), the 2nd and then the 3rd. "
— Natalie, 7/15/2012 -
" I kept hoping it would get better... and it didn't. I was very disappointed and wish I hadn't wasted my time. Oh well. "
— Sheena, 6/23/2012 -
" I loved reading this. I am still processing the ending though... "
— Ginger, 2/12/2012 -
" A satisfying ending to the Wicked series. "
— Charlotte, 11/7/2011
About Gregory Maguire
?Gregory Maguire is an American author of nonfiction and fiction and fantasy for children, young adults, and adults, including the Wicked Years, the first book of which is Wicked—the basis for the major motion picture and Tony Award–winning Broadway musical of the same name. He received his PhD in English and American literature from Tufts University and his BA degree from the State University of New York at Albany. He was a professor and co-director at the Simmons College Center for the Study of Children’s Literature from 1979-1985.
About John McDonough
John McDonough, one of AudioFile magazine’s Golden Voices, has narrated dozens of audiobooks, and won eleven Earphones Awards. He is known for his narrations of children’s books, including Robert McCloskey’s Centerburg Tales and Albert Marrin’s Commander-in-Chief Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. Outside of his audiobook work, he has starred in a revival of Captain Kangaroo on the Fox Network.