Goodbye to Oz
While it's true the month of November is drawing to a close, as months are wont to do, that doesn't mean that Oz is going away! Oz has become part of our collective consciousness. Just the other day I recommended the name Dorothy to a friend for her upcoming baby and she said it was too "Ozzy" (meaning wizard of, not bat biting Osbourne). Over a hundred years later and that name still brings up images of tornadoes and checked gingham. We might not be able to physically get there, but just by opening the pages of a book we will be instantly transported, without the need of a cyclone, typhoon, earthquake or magical accessory. If you've been reading the reviews I've posted, you'll probably notice I'm rather harsh on the failings of the main characters and sometimes the repetition of the plots. The thing is though, while Oz has failings, they do not take away from what has been created here.
Oz is some of the most magical worldbuilding you'll ever read. Baum created a magical fairyland that has spanned centuries! He started writing this books during the reign of Queen Victoria, and to this day we have new adaptations, new books, new satires, all because this world he created is so loved. The few reviews I've written only span about half of the Oz books Baum himself wrote, having written fourteen books and a series of short stories all about that wonderful world. I hope that if nothing else, this month has increased peoples knowledge of Oz, showing there's more than just the one book, and made everyone realize how awesome Flying Monkeys are. How can they not be awesome! You still have a few hours to have one of your own!
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