The magic of Oz is alive and well.
Author:
L. Frank Baum
What They Say
Set shortly after Dorothy’s return to Kansas, The Marvellous Land of Oz follows the adventures of a young boy named Tip, who, for as long as he can remember, has been under the guardianship of a witch named Mombi in the Land of Oz. One night he uses Mombi’s magic to bring to life the extraordinary Jack Pumpkinhead, and makes his escape. They arrive at the Emerald City just in time to see King Scarecrow overthrown by General Jinjur’s fearsome Army of Revolt, and together they travel to the Winkie Kingdom to seek help from its emperor, the Tin Woodman.
Along the way they meet new friends—the Wooden Sawhorse, the Highly Magnified Woggle Bug, and the extraordinary flying Gump. Can they escape Mombi and restore the Scarecrow to his rightful position?
Nearly a hundred years after the books were first written, the vast, peculiar world of Oz continues to fascinate children and adults alike. Full of weird and wonderful characters, the incomparable L. Frank Baum’s stories are still as magical as ever.
The Review:
As is often the case with children in fairy stories, Tip is an orphan. His foster parent (for lack of a better term) is Mombi, an evil sorceress that uses Tip as a beast of burden, most often to gather wood for her fires. One day Mombi leaves to go shopping in town, leaving Tip alone for two days. Bored, he gets the idea to scare her with a fake man he’ll make. Having nothing but time and a boy’s penchant for mischief, Tip goes about creating this caricature, complete with a smiling, Jack-o-Lantern head. He dresses the dummy and leaves him on the road to scare Mombi on her way back home. Mombi catches wise to his trick, though, and decides to play one on Tip, using magic powder she just acquired to bring the Jack-o-Lantern headed dummy to life. Then, as punishment for his misbehavior, she concocts a potion to turn him into stone. Being no fool, Tip takes his new friend Jack Pumpkinhead and leaves in the middle of the night for the Emerald City. Once there they become embroiled in a coup d’état lead by General Jinjur and her army of needle-wielding girls who desire to ransack the King’s coffers and make the men do the cleaning and cooking. What follows next is a globe-trotting adventure to restore the Scarecrow to power that ultimately uncovers one of the Wonder Wizard of Oz’s most closely-guarded secrets.
Although his first book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, is the best known thanks to the movie, L. Frank Baum returned to this world many times, spinning new and amazing yarns about it and its inhabitants. Baum wrote in the fairy tale tradition, and thus his stories are often whimsical, magical, and absurd (in a good way). His characters are little more than caricatures embodying one specific trait, making them highly allegorical. The Scarecrow is defined by his brains (read: wisdom), the Tin Woodman by his heart (read: compassion) and the Highly Magnified Woggle Bug by his credentials (T. E., for Thoroughly Educated) (read: education). These traits drive everything they say and do. The Tin Woodman, and the Scarecrow for example, constantly bicker good-naturedly about whether heart or brains is better.
They are also ruled by fantasy logic. When Jack Pumpkinhead meets the Scarecrow, he assumes that they speak different languages because they are from different lands. Despite the fact that they perfectly understand one another, the Scarecrow summons a translator, who “interprets” every word they say as insults to each other. She eventually reveals that they are speaking the same language and the two get on swimmingly afterwards, but their complete devotion to this absurd logic made from one of the funniest scenes in the entire book—which, I can assure you, is full of many.
Typically stories are driven by dramatic tension, but in this case there really isn’t any. The characters move from one situation to another with no real fear or alarm, and everything wraps up together in a neat little bow, but that’s to be expected with a fairy tale. The charm lies with the setting and the characters, and Oz is so full of whimsy and absurdity that it possesses charm by the truckload.
In Summary:
I was thoroughly enchanted by this book. The wordplay, the absurd characters, the fanciful situations, and the allegory all made for a delightful read. At a certain point in some reviews there comes a time when the reviewer can say no more than “I really enjoyed this.” Whatever strange alchemy comes together to make for a good read at some point defies description and categorization. The particulars of the novel resonate with some part of the reviewer in a way that goes beyond the ability to analyze. By which to mean I say I really enjoyed this. I recommend starting with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reading these in chronological order (Hesperus Press has also released that along with The Emerald City of Oz and Glinda of Oz), but it’s well worth your time to stay in Oz for a while and enjoy the weird, wonderful show. Highly recommended.
Content Grade: A+
Published By: Hesperus Press Limited
Release Date: April 1, 2013
Official Page: The Marvellous Land of Oz
MSRP: $12.95