Son of a Witch follows the young adult life of Liir - the rumored son of the Wicked Witch of the West (aka Elphaba). Liir faces many challenges after the death of Elphaba. He travels to the Emerald City, joins the Home Guard - a sort of army - runs off and supports some causes close to Elphaba's heart and ends up injured and unconscious in a hosptial-type setting. We get to follow Liir as he is sorting out who he is, and what his past means for his present and his future. It feels sort of like what someone in their teens and early adulthood experiences. This installment has many of the same coming of age themes as the first novel.
One of the great narrative techniques Gregory Maguire uses in this second installment is flashbacks and dreams to tell us the story. Much of what we read is not in "current time", but happened a decade or so earlier. But we experience it as the characters did during the event. There are hints to us that this is a memory or a dream, but the reader can never be sure of what really happened, and what is memory imposing a preferred version of events. I love it.
I'm taking a break so I don't "run out" of Wicked Years novels before November 1st. I'll let you know when I finish the next book I'm reading. It is taking longer now that school is going full swing and I'm gone from the house most of the day. But, life is good and I can't complain!
