Review: Was, by Geoff Ryman

The land of Oz has haunted the American psyche for over a century. L. Frank Baum’s fairy stories with American pluck and grit not only spawned numerous books authored by Baum himself, they were also “sharecropped” by other authors who had to adhere to the strict guidelines set up by the Baum estate. Of course, people are familiar with the classic 1939 movie, The Wizard of Oz, but fewer people know that there was an earlier, non-musical version made in the 1920s. The novel Wicked, a dystopian tale about the life and times of the Wicked Witch gave rise to the lighter hearted Broadway musical, resurrecting interest in all things Oz. Even the SciFi Channel added their own spin on the trend, the grim Tin Man. Before Gregory Maguire mined Baum’s legacy, there was another novel, Was, by Geoff Ryman, that examined the mythology.


Was is a mosaic novel that weaves together disparate stories connected to Oz. One of the characters is the ‘real’ Dorothy Gael—a young girl growing up in 1880’s Kansas in poverty, with her cruel, put-upon Uncle Henry and Aunt Emily. Another thread follows the life of child vaudeville actress Frances Gumm during the 20s and leading up to the Depression. Yet another thread follows a gay actor in horror movies, who has an obsession with all things related to The Wizard of Oz. Even L. Frank Baum himself appears in the novel. Ryman creates a seamless blend of history and fiction that, in other hands, would seem pretentious and mawkish. The themes in the novel are heavy—about the role fantasy plays in our lives, the importance of cultural touchstones, and the healing power of stories. Was is a dark but ultimately uplifting novel. It was included in The Gay Canon: Great Books Every Gay Man Should Read. You’ll never look at the Wizard of Oz the same way again.