Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

It's a bit like being at the tail end of a horrible prophecy, reading words written fifty-odd years ago and getting the creepy crawlies. Sure, things haven't gotten quite as bad as the dystopian future presented in Bradbury's masterpiece, but as far as allegory goes, we're soaking in the world of Fahrenheit 451.

Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to start fires, not put them out. He is a government appointed agent, sent to burn seditious texts and artwork (ie - anything remotely thought-provoking). Guy's life is slowly slipping down the tubes, a point brought home all too clearly when he's walking home from work (walking is a rarely enjoyed activity here, left to the crazies and loners) and he runs across Clarisse, a seventeen year old girl full of questions and curiosity. Her inquisitive nature plants a seed in Montag's brain, one that grows into an obsession. Who is she? Why does she ask so many questions and care about so many things? Why does she talk so much? Worse yet, why does she listen for replies and expect conversations?

Guy begins to question his life, his work, his reason for being. And the more he questions, the more he wants to learn what else is out there. But the only way to do that is through books, and he'll have to dabble in the black market to satiate his needs. He soon becomes a fugitive from the law as the world around him falls apart. Society prepares for war by insulating themselves in pop culture, while Montag plots to overthrow the government. The culmination of his efforts is a harrowing, white-knuckle run for survival that stands out as one of the best in modern literature.

Ray Bradbury, friendly author, curmudgeonly social observer, wry wit, makes astounding use of the written word to provide a text that seems timeless. His speculative fiction becomes more frightening as time passes. He gives us examples of bluetooth earpiece cell phones, large flat screen TVs, virtual reality, walkmans, supercomputers, and manipulative news media. Each of these little devices serves as a marker to remind us that the farther we get from Bradbury's fiction, the closer we seem to draw to his reality.

Wicked: The Life & Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire

History is written by the winners. And the accounts you have heard of Dorothy's adventures in Munchkinland may be greatly exaggerated. What happened before she got there? How did the Witch become legend? When did the Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz arrive?

Wicked follows the life of Elphaba, a little girl born mean, green, and surly. Her mother is a trust fund baby who's married below her class. Her father is a religious zealot. Elphaba grows up neglected and ignored until she leaves home for college in the city of Shiz, where she finally begins to socialize and make friends. She meets Galinda, a social-mobile snob who becomes her grudging roommate.

Social unrest is high in the land of Oz. There are class struggles, race struggles, and religious disputes. The rights of Animals (sentient creatures capable of speech, unlike animals) are slowly being stripped away by an increasingly oppressive government. The ruling class has been deposed in a coup thrown by a powerful man who arrived in a balloon. He's thought to be a Wizard, and he's ruling with an iron fist. Murder and intrigue about at the University, and Elphaba is slowly awakened from an angry, angst-ridden youth, into an angry, angst-ridden but socially conscious young woman. Elphaba joins an underground resistance movement in an attempt to strike a blow for Animal rights. She wants to assassinate the person she feels is responsible for the murder of one of her Animal Professors. During her time in the underground, she meets a boy she had gone to school with, now married and a prince. They begin a torrid affair that becomes increasingly strained as Elphaba's group nears completion of their master plan. On the day of their grand revolution, Elphaba is unable to kill her target. She is forced to go into exile, and her lover is taken away by the guards for execution. She stays for a few years with the Maunts (sort of like nuns) and keeps a vow of silence. Her personality doesn't mesh well with their ways, and she is eventually asked to leave. She travels west, seeking to make amends with the widow of her murdered lover. Forgiveness is hard to come by, but Elphaba remains persistent. She is unable to move forward with her life until the weight of guilt is removed from her. In the meantime, Galinda (now Glinda the sorceress) has risen to affluence in the South, while Elphaba's sister Nessarose has become a tyrant ruler of Munchkinland in the East. The whole world is thrown into chaos when a tornado brings a house that happens to drop right on Nessarose's head. Inside is a girl claiming to be from another land. Elphaba must now decide between revenge and forgiveness, and seeks closure to her life's torment.

Wicked is now a Broadway musical with the apt catchphrase "So much happened before Dorothy arrived..." Gregory Maguire has created a complex world full of rich characters and social issues. While some of his prose veers too far into forced philosophical banter, the story itself is amazing. There is no true good or evil, and no easy answers to the hard questions.