Was: A Novel, reprint ed.
by Geoff Ryman

Penguin (New York): 1992. Trade paperback: xii, 372 pages. ISBN-10: 0-14-017872-4 Suggested retail price: $11.95 (US) Tag: Mainstream Tactical strength: [7/10]

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Ryman retells the story of Dorothy Gael from L. Frank Baum's Oz stories, but Ryman takes a completely opposite perspective -- that one should escape from "home", people only find happiness in childhood fantasy, and we spend our entire lives trying to overcome the tragic day when someone crushed our fantasies.

The narrative calls into question the many cultural myths we accept -- and that seem to be based largely on the Oz movie: the effects of television, the relationship of parents and children, actors and their material.

Some that I have talked to found the text too realistic, but for me this made the questions the text put forth more visible.