Travel to the Magical Land of Was with Geoff Ryman – Was is the fourth novel of the talented Geoff Ryman, a writer from Canada. The novel was published in 1992 and it has gained lots of attention since then. The novel has gained different awards and nominations, and the best thing is that it was adapted as a musical project. Before you get carried away, let’s learn about his novel more here.
Was Plot
The novel is actually divided into three parts, namely Winter Kitchen, Summer Kitchen, and Oz Circle, and each of them has different characters and story that makes the novel unique. The novel begins with the story of Dorothy Gael who lives with her aunt and uncle, Emma and Henry Gulch. The characters are adapted from the characters of The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.
They are depicted as cruel characters who don’t know how to raise a child which makes Dorothy’s life miserable as she grows up. The second story tells about a young man named Jonathan who is dying of Aids. He is very fond of Wizard of Oz and he is very determined to find the real Dorothy. It leads him to track her down, but in the end, he couldn’t find her because of his illness. The novel also tells about another girl named Judy Garland who also lives with a complicated childhood.
Positive Receptions for the Novel
The stories of the novel, despite having different parts, are linked to each other without the characters realizing it. The novel doesn’t sugarcoat the real-life and presents it as it is to make people realize the truth of life. Although the overall story is quite gloomy, it is nominated as a gay book every gay should read and it is also named as one of the best gay and lesbian novels. The novel also gained positive reception shown by the awards and nominations, such as World Fantasy Award, Locus Award, and Gaylactic Spectrum Award. Due to its popularity, this novel is also adapted into musical projects in 2005.
All of the works of Geoff Ryman are unique and so does Was. The novel has three different parts and each of them has different lessons we can always learn from. The novel is very contrast with the story of Wizard of Oz which is very gloomy to teach about reality.