BOOK REVIEW: "A Lion Among Men" by Gregory Maguire

A Lion Among Men, written by Gregory Maguire, is the story of the life of the “Cowardly Lion” named Brrr. It was a little slow going in the beginning and at first seemed overly written for my own tastes. But as the story progressed, the style was very fitting in reflecting the life and mannerisms of Brrr. At first glance A Lion Among Men seems to be about the political on goings of the different lands in Oz. Things are in turmoil with the death of the Wicked Witch of the West and the quick exit of the Wizard of Oz.

Brrr is on assignment as court reporter to the Emerald City Magistrates and he has sought out an oracle named Yackle to question her about her knowledge of a certain Madame Morrible. Yackle is an ancient human who is trying to die but has not yet been released from this life. It takes her a while to “warm up” to conversation with Brrr, first demanding to know his history before sharing any of her memories.

He at first tries to brush off her requests but soon is sharing the story of his life, how he became famously known as the “Cowardly Lion” and the events that happened up until the point of the interview. I wanted to feel sympathy for Brrr, given his beginnings as an abandoned lion cub. He learned to protect his own life by cowering down in the face of danger and playing dead. While this worked the first time he encountered danger, he continued to employ this same technique to every situation he encountered, thus entangling himself even more deeply than he ever wanted. What began as sympathy turned to just pity as his difficulty with facing challenging situations kept recurring. His ideals were enacted in his head, but he never went further than that, letting fate control him.

There is also a side story going on about a special clock being guarded by a dragon and a small group of attendants. They are also traveling through the land and eventually cross paths with Brrr, but I won’t give away the reasons why as this is a turning point in the story.

Overall, A Lion Among Men is not an easy read, but it pulls you in and gives you the chance to understand how early events can shape someone’s (in this case a talking lion’s) future life.


---Christine Moss
imagineatrium.com