Grampa in Oz, by Ruth Plumly Thompson – I’ve reread the centennial Oz book, and I have several things to say about it, and there are SPOILERS. First, the book doesn’t have a very good title, but I can’t really say what would have made for a better one. The plot is sort of a rehash of Kabumpo in Oz in a way, as it has the prince of a small Ozian kingdom having to marry a princess to save his country from ruin, and finding that, due to an enchantment, she’s someone he’d already gotten to know and love. While Kabumpo was already not especially serious, this take on the plot is even sillier, with many jokes and absurdities from the very beginning of the story. It starts with King Fumbo of Ragbad‘s head blowing away in a storm, probably borrowed from The Magical Monarch of Mo, and Prince Tatters having to find his father’s head, as well as a fortune and a princess. His love interest this time, Urtha, is just as cheerful as Peg Amy, but less practical and more whimsical and energetic, a lot like Polychrome, who makes an appearance herself as well, her first in a Thompson book.
We learn more about the wizard who enchanted her than we do about Glegg, who just shows up at the end, and there’s a hint of his double identity that readers might figure out before it’s specifically stated at the end. There’s no character in this one as well-realized as Kabumpo, but Grampa is likeable enough, a grouchy old soldier who loves to reminisce. It’s funny in retrospect that Tatters finds his taking snuff to be a bad habit, but not his smoking, which he treats as a hobby. Grampa isn’t actually anyone’s grandfather, at least as far as we know (he’s an old bachelor), but we aren’t told whether that’s a nickname or his parents were just really hoping for great-grandchildren. Times change, I suppose. Bill, the live weathercock with a one-track mind, is somewhat one-note, but I find him amusing. It’s interesting that Grampa gives a chicken the name Bill when that’s also Billina’s name before Dorothy feminizes it, but the name Bill shows up constantly in the series anyway. And Grampa has a wooden leg like another Ozian Bill, although his folds out into a game board, a play on the phrase “game leg.” Percy Vere, the Forgetful Poet, is a more fleshed-out version of a character from Thompson’s word games in her newspaper column. He’s not fleshed out THAT much, as his main thing remains leaving out the last words of his rhymes, but he’s pretty charming. And filling out the cast are Dorothy and Toto, as Thompson probably didn’t think she could get away with using only her own characters at this point. It is, however, the first one that doesn’t even show us what’s going on in the Emerald City until the last chapter. And I’m quite fond of one pretty minor character, the sky shepherd Maribella who herds stars. One surprising thing I found on Tumblr was this picture of Maribella, drawn by someone called Lommy. And that’s not even the only art related to this book that I’ve found on Tumblr, although they WERE drawn more than ten years apart.
I like the thematic nature of the places the characters visit, based on the four classical elements: an underground garden, islands of fire and ice, and a land in the clouds. The other two small communities visited demonstrate the folly of too much work or play. It’s also notable how much Thompson rushes her characters from one place to the next.
Grampa and Tatters go the wrong way on a magical winding staircase, get blasted out of a volcano, turn into crows and fly, and are carried into the air during a storm.
This last part takes place so soon after the flight that I’m not entirely sure why they didn’t just get to the clouds as crows. Crossing between Oz and the neighboring lands also becomes more casual in Thompson, with the Deadly Desert still there but methods of crossing or circumventing it being introduced constantly. They’re usually fun, but often feel like narrative shortcuts. It’s also convenient that the medicine Grampa finds can cure pretty much anything, but it’s put to some very creative uses. A cure for burns, scalds, and heat strokes that can let a person survive a volcanic eruption is really impressive.
John Bell pointed out another bit of sloppy writing that seems like it could have been easily avoided, when Grampa starts turning into a house because he swallows a flower bud, when there’s no reason for him to do so.
John also mentioned how Ragbad is likely a positive portrayal of an old Southern plantation that’s fallen into disrepair. Not that it has slaves, as its workers leave when they aren’t getting paid enough, but there are still unpleasant associations. The economic crisis in Ragbad doesn’t make a whole lot of sense anyway, as Oz had already been established as not using money. And even if there are parts of the land that still do, how would receiving a bunch of gold bricks revitalize the economy, even not taking into account that gold is the most common metal in Oz? Maybe they’re collectors’ items or something. The same issue comes into play with the bandits who capture Grampa and Tatters. I’m willing to overlook it for the sake of an entertaining story, but it proves difficult for the part of my mind that wants to analyze every aspect of Oz.
VoVatia 