Title: Great story marred only by the ending.
Review: Despite what other reviewers have written and what the blurb on the back of the book says, I never thought this story had anything to do with determining the nature of "evil." Basically, it's just an extraordinarily beautiful, rich and detailed retelling of the Oz story from a different point of view. I was terribly disappointed with the ending, however, Elphaba loses all her idealism, courage and spirit after her lover is killed. She wastes away to a shadow and all that is left by the end of the book is her guilt, sadness and denial. Elphaba is such a strong, interesting and innovative character full of intelligence, justice, action and fury, it just doesn't make sense to me that she would lose all this and then retreat first to a convent for seven years and then to the outlands of the Vinkus before acceding to her own death. On the other hand, Frank Baum decreed the ending of this book 98 years ago so perhaps there was nothing more Gregory Maguire could do.
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