After Oz by Gordon McAlpine

 

I listened to the unabridged audio version of After Oz by Gordon McAlpine, which is well narrated by Maria Ru-Djen. Gordon McAlpine is a new to me author.

I was initially attracted to After Oz by Gordon McAlpine because of it's association with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. After Oz isn't so much a retelling of L. Frank Baum's classic novel, but a novel that comes up with what actually might have happened to Dorothy and her dog, Toto, after she returns to Kansas from the land of Oz... And what a creative storyline Gordon McAlpine writes in After Oz!

After Oz is a combination mystery/thriller/suspense novel and historical fiction novel set in the late 1890s than it is a fantasy novel. Although, the events of After Oz are centered on Dorothy Gale's life after the tornado and her 'subsequent' visit to Oz occurred,  Dorothy herself isn't really the main character of After Oz. In fact, I would have liked to see Dorothy's character play a larger role in After Oz, but I am getting ahead of myself.

After Oz begins with the tornado and its aftermath. The setting is in Kansas, of course, during the late 1890s in a rural farming community. Dorothy had gone missing just prior to the tornado and is found with her dog, Toto, a few days later disoriented in a neighbor's pumpkin patch.

Physically, Dorothy is unhurt, but her fantastical tale of Oz with its flying monkeys, talking beasts, the scarecrow, the tin man, and both a good witch and a bad witch have the very conservative and religious townsfolk up in arms over Dorothy's mental frame of mind. The fact that Dorothy states she accidentally killed the 'bad witch' while in Oz with water that melts the 'bad witch' only further solidified that her mental health is off.

A few days later, a local woman within the community is found dead in her home. No one in the community liked the dead woman and many people often called her a witch. To make matters worse, the woman's face was melted a way through the use of lye. Due to Dorothy's statement that she killed a bad witch while visiting Oz and the way in which the 'bad witch' was supposedly killed, the locals feel that Dorothy killed the local woman. Long story short, Dorothy is committed to an insane asylum for the crime of murder and she's only eleven years old girl.

It isn't until 28 year old psychologist, Dr. Evelyn Grace Wilford, discovers Dorothy's case and comes to the asylum where Dorothy has been committed and evaluates Dorothy for herself. Dr. Wilford determines that Dorothy is innocent of murder and is set out to prove it by finding the guilty party. This leads Dr. Wilford back to Dorothy's hometown where she interviews the important townsfolk pertinent to Dorothy's case. After Oz becomes more of a mystery/thriller/suspense novel at this time and is primarily told through the point of view of Dr. Wilford and also an unknown narrator from the community. Lots of twists and turn happen within After Oz and an unexpected ending as well.

The storyline for After Oz is intriguing and captivating. The writing was good and the characters were interesting. I enjoyed After Oz quite a but, but the overly abundant religious overtones, some of the narrow minded townsfolk, and what seemed liked some implausibilities here and there with regards to what life might be like during the late 1890s made After Oz a tad less appealing.

Below is the publisher's summary for After Oz by Gordon McAlpine from the Goodread's website:

Gripping and emotionally riveting, this whimsical tale is an empowering and timely retelling of The Wizard of Oz where one little girl is forced to face head-on the prejudices of the Midwest in the late 19th century.

Kansas, 1896. After a tornado destroys the Gale family farm, 11-year-old Dorothy goes missing. As the days pass by, the Gales are increasingly terrified the worst has happened. But when the girl turns up unharmed four days later, the townsfolk breathe in a sigh of relief. That is, until Dorothy herself relates her account of the events that took place after her disappearance.

In vivid detail, Dorothy describes a fantastical land and its magical inhabitants, from the scarecrow, the tin man, and the cowardly lion to the wizard and the witch. Her recollections are not only regarded as delusional, but also as pagan and diabolical in nature, especially when the body of a local spinster is found.

Making connections between the evil witch Dorothy claims to have defeated and the ill-tempered old crone, authorities find what they believe to be incriminating evidence, sentencing Dorothy to the Topeka Insane Asylum.

When 28-year-old psychologist Dr. Evelyn Grace Wilford arrives at the asylum to interview Dorothy, she begins to wonder if Dorothy truly committed the crime or if something unfathomable has really occurred.

In a small town full of insidious secrets, will Evelyn be able to save Dorothy from her terrible circumstances? Or is something menacing lurking just out of sight?

I am giving After Oz by Gordon McAlpine a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!