Finding Dorothy

I didn’t particularly care for Finding Dorothy, but I had problems figuring out why. First though, let’s talk about the book. Like so many others right now, this book is set in both the protagonist’s past and future, flipping between the two time periods every chapter or so. To be very honest, I’m getting tired to this fad. The main character is Maud Baum, wife of the late L. Frank Baum who wrote the book The Wizard of Oz. Maud is concerned when she finds out they are making a motion picture of the book and wants to make sure they “do it right.” To that end, she talks her way into the studio where they are filming and meets several of the actors in the film, including Judy Garland. While all this is taking place in Maud’s present, she is also reminiscing about her and Frank’s life in the past and how he came to write the book. All very interesting, but I found myself getting bored and skimming most of this book. And I couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t getting into it the way it seems many other readers do.

I’ve really thought about this, and I think I’ve figured out two reasons why: first, it comes down to the story. I am not that fond of Dorothy. Or maybe I should say, I’m ambivalent toward Dorothy. She’s just a young girl who like so many others in fantasy tales goes on an adventure and meets interesting characters. To me, she herself is not interesting; it’s the other characters around her that are. The Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion. But my favorite has always been the Wicked Witch of the West. Green-skinned and scheming, she’s the character with the most depth to me. And then came the musical. Oh, the musical! Yes, I have read the book by Gregory Maguire, but that is one of my rare exception where the movie (or musical in this case) is much better than the book. Wicked is one of my favorites! Well, my second favorite to be precise (sorry, my heart will always belong to Hamilton). It’s my sister’s #1 so I’ve seen it several times with her. I recently introduced the soundtrack to my kids, and now I’ve proud to say they can recite the lyrics to Defying Gravity almost word-for-word. That’s good parenting right there.

But I digress…back to Finding Dorothy. My ambivalence toward the character is only part of the reason I was bored with this book. Second, I’m not sure what the point of this book really was, other to tell the story of L. Frank Baum and how he came to write the book. And that’s fine! But then why introduce this storyline with his wife and the movie? Maud keeps saying her mission is to “help” Dorothy, but to what end? She doesn’t help Judy Garland, other to say that young Judy needs help which no one is providing. And she doesn’t help Dorothy as a character, other than making sure the song Somewhere Over The Rainbow makes the final cut into the movie. So what was the point?

Overall, I didn’t like this book and wouldn’t recommend it, but based on my fellow book clubbers and Goodreads reviewers, I am definitely in the minority. If you read it and love it, let me know! I’d be interested to hear what drew you in and what I was missing in this novel.