Book Review: “The Witch of Maracoor” by Gregory Maguire

The Witch of Maracoor by Gregory Maguire

This is the third installment of the story of Rain, who is the daughter of the Witch of Oz.   In the first parts of the story, Rain has amnesia and has flown across the sea to find herself in the Western continent, in the city of Maracoor.  She has faced dangers and saved the city. She also encountered that strange old man who once was the Wizard of Oz, and more recently, the calling himself the Oracle of Maracoor.

Now, Rain has recovered here memory, at least partially, and she is ready to return to Oz to pick up her interrupted life.  A life that she now remembers as unsettled, if not cursed.  What will she find at home?

She sets off for home, with the faithful Goose Iskinaary and, for the first leg, the smitten Lucikles.  After some final travails, she flies back across the ocean, to land in Oz.

Now it’s time to make up with all the people she left behind when she flew off to Maracoor.

Starting with her father, Liir.  Her mother has left, and Liir now lives quietly with his male partner.  They have been setting a place at the table every day for Rain.  But she cannot stay.

Next, to Kiamo Ko, to tell the flying Monkey’s what happened to their kin who chased after and rescued her.  There she finds some old friends, including one of her rescuers who flew back on her own.  It’s not a happy reunion.

Finally, she must go to Oz, to find princess Ozma.  The key to everything.  Just how do Rain and the person who has become Ozma fit together?  Do they have a future?  And if so, what is it?

Over the course of these travels, Rain continues to grow up and learn about herself and her own strange history. 

What will become of her?  

Stay tuned.

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1. Gregory Maguire, The Witch of Maracoor, New York, HarperCollins, 2023.

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