A Lion Among Men

"The real purpose of books is to trap the mind into doing its own thinking." ~ Christopher Morley

I was disappointed in this book. I had hoped to learn more about what happened next... instead, I read the Cowardly Lion's back story.

Do you agree with the quote above? As an adult, I know I have deliberately used books to trap my mind into doing its own thinking. But, that is hardly the story of my life. I liked and indulged in a lot of fantasy books. I still do. I wasn't always a careful reader. Instead of thinking about what I was reading, I let the author's ideas teach me. When a story's characters, setting, and plot are pure fantasy, it is easy to just enjoy the story and not think too deeply about what is being said. The more fantastical the story, the easier it is not to think seriously about its contents. A Lion Among Men is a story that contains talking Lions, witches, magic books and is said to take place in a place that exists somewhere over the rainbow, Oz. It would be easy to thoughtlessly enjoy the books.

But, like the rest of the stories in this series, A Lion Among Men isn't purely fantasy. There is political posturing, wars and rumors of wars, ethical dilemmas, cultures and conflicts. The author's purpose in writing this series seems to be to educate his readers about the nature of evil, racism, class-ism and religious tolerance. He discusses the nature of man:

"We start out in identical perfection: bright, reflective, full of sun. The accident of our lives bruises us into dirty individuality. We meet with grief. Our character dulls and tarnishes. We meet with guilt. We know, we know: the price of living is corruption. There isn't as much light as there once was. In the grave we lapse back into undifferentiated sameness." (page 8)

In one short quote, the author has "taught" us something about what he believes to be true about the nature of man, the cause of evil and suffering the purpose of history and what happens to man after death. In the vehicle of a fantasy story, I doubt many readers critically examine whether or not the author is right. Does his thoughts agree with my thoughts? If not, upon what do I base my beliefs? Does what we observe about human nature, the behaviors of our own children, significantly agree with the author is asserting? Is my foundation sure?

I recently had a commenter write:

Those people who preface their remarks with, "Well, I'm a Christian and I think..." are officious and repugnant. What they're really saying is "I am worthier than you. My opinions carry more weight because I invoke the name of Christ."

I didn't approve the comment. I have a copy of the words in an email that was automatically sent to let me know someone had stopped by my blog. The same commenter left a series of negative comment on my blog. They all came from the same IP Address. In every case the commenter left a different name. So, I guess the comment was anonymous. There are a lot of very good reasons to write under an assumed name, including Internet privacy. But, if one is to assume a nom de plume, assume the same one. Did the commenter not believe enough in her words to stand behind them?

I do not mind people respectfully disagreeing with me, but the comment didn't add to the discussion. It was mostly just an indictment of me and my beliefs. But...

Well, I am a Christian and I think. I think a lot. Of the nature of man? My Bible, the foundation upon which I determine truth, teaches me that all humans are the crowning glory of God's creation, image-bearers. I am not worthier than you. When I preface my thoughts, it is only because I am communicating the tool I use for determining truth. Gregory Maguire is right, we start identical at birth, but it is our own nature that dulls and tarnishes our character. My history is not an accident; it is part of a divine plan. There is a pure light. It hasn't dulled, become distant or been extinguished. I just don't always choose to walk in it. And, I don't have any intention of spending eternity as an undifferentiated sameness. I don't have any intention of spending eternity as a disembodies spirit either. I plan on being bodily resurrected and spending eternity on this glorious, re-created Earth.

I challenge everyone, Christian or not, to read books thoughtfully.

Wicked

Readers, I have the feeling we're not in Oz anymore!

I will begin my review of Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West with a slight disclaimer. I am already irritated. I had been wanting to read this book series for quite some time. My oldest daughter obsesses over musicals and had downloaded some of the music from the musical. I was intrigued by the idea behind the book. Every story has two sides, Wicked tells the story of Oz from the point of view of the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba. The story is told well. So, why am I annoyed? Well, I had waited and waited until I learned the last book of what I thought was a trilogy was released. I hate waiting until the end of the story! I like to be able to set one book down and immediately pick up the next book. I am one of those irritating people who sometimes reads the very last chapter of the book first. Apparently, the story isn't tied up and put to bed after the third book. There are rumors that there might be a fourth book. Annoying!


This book's plots, its twists and turns and moralizing intrigued me. In fact, as soon as I finished reading it I went to the library to check out the next book in the series, Son of Witch. The themes of the books are related to the nature of evil, the fallibility of man (or beast as some of the Animals in the book talk), discrimination, marginalization, politics, betrayals and courage. These themes are woven into the fabric of the story and result in a meaningful story. Religion plays a central role in the book. When I read of the Unnamed God, I couldn't help but see parallels to Hashem, the Name. The word used to identify the God of Judaism. The God I believe came to Earth as the man Jesus. I don't know what Maguire's religious beliefs are, but I know what he thinks of Christians and Christianity. For the most part followers of the Unnamed God are presented as imbeciles at best. Powerful followers are hypocritical tyrants. Organized religion, far from being a vehicle of salvation, is presented as a means of oppression. Frankly, there are days I cannot muster the strength to argue this point. History records violence, wars and bloodshed all done in the name of Hashem. So many people who identify with Christianity have aligned themselves with the political extreme right and endorse laws decidedly aimed at creating a Christian Utopia. We are no longer known by our love but our politics.

Unlike the The Chronicle of the Imaginarium Geographica by James A. Owen whose books each stand alone as its own story, the books in the Wicked Years do not end when the last page is finished. There were unanswered questions from Wicked that were answered in Son of a Witch. Son of a Witch ended in a cliff hanger. The next book in the series is A Lion Among Men. The librarian put me on a waiting list. And, the fourth book? Unwritten. Unpublished. Not even a hint of a release date. I prefer, much prefer, an ending.

I suspect that many, if not most, of the people who read here identify themselves as Christian. I would guess that many of you homeschool too and might be looking for literature for your children. While this book could indeed be used as a basis for talking about worldviews or even to encourage your child to think about how Maguire's Oz is the different or the same as L. Frank Baum's Oz, I will leave you with a word of caution. If books had a rating system like the movies do, the Wicked Years would come with a parental advisory. There are explicitly described sex scenes, infidelity, drug and alcohol use. There is even an odd scene in which several characters have sex with a talking Tiger in a club while the rest of the patrons watch. The scene is not glorified at all. In fact one of the participants is driven to the brinks of insanity. It is his failing health that reintroduces him to Elphaba. It is through his influence that Elphaba begins to move forward from a traumatic event in her own life. So, while there seems to be a peripheral weirdness to having included a scene depicting bestiality, I suspect there are other ways the author could have brought the two characters together again. The same event also gives us a clue as to the nature of an odd crone who seems bent on protecting or destroying Elphaba (I haven't decided which. She is just around somewhere at every crucial juncture. Her presence is one of the story lines that is so far left unexplained.) Overall, with the exception of those sexual encounters that resulted in the birth of a main character, unless the purpose was to shock and repel readers, I didn't see the point. The book could have stood well without so many adult scenes, too bad really.