The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

I was a bit hesitant going into this book due to the fact it was first published in 1900. I was unsure if something that is 125 years old and written for children of that time would: 1. Hold my interest 2. Would be able to easily follow the language of the time.

To my surprise it did both in spades. It was quite interesting from the stand point of seeing how much the story has been morphed and changed with different adaptions over the years. With what they have kept true to the source and what they have changed. It is very clear this was written for young children and reads almost as how a young child would tell a story. Such as giving a four characters equal time to speak their mind when it is not needed, always mentioning who sleeps where, along with the fact always keeping heavy detail as to when and what Dorthy is eating.

If you go into with the mindset of reading a young child's RP adventure you will have a pretty great time. As there is much to take away from this story even if you have consumed some other medium's adaption of the story. I know there is 14 Oz books in the series and I am not sure if I am going to read them all at this point in time, but I am very excited to read the next one to see how it plays out.

I like Baum better as an idea man than as a writer. The characters and lands he created are memorable and worthy of their cultural impact, but things in the story often happen quickly and without explanation. Sometimes explanations are given that don't make sense.

Dorothy is noticeably younger than in the movie version.

It was funny to me how casually violent the book is, except that, when Dorothy kills the Wicked Witch of the West, they explain explicitly through dialogue that it was unintentional.

The movie really tightened up the story and made it better structurally.

I did not think this was an allegory for bimetallism.