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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland is as popular now as it was 150 years ago, and I’m positive it’ll still be as loved in 150 years. The storyline is so well known, Alice falls down a rabbit hole into a magical fantasy world and meets a variety of unusual and uncanny creatures. Suitable for both adults and children as this whimsical story is of interest to all ages. It’s easy to see why this is the ultimate example for the nonsense genre. Sir John Tenniel’s original illustrations really emphasise this books weirdness - and really are stunning!
I personally enjoy Carroll’s sequel, Through The Looking Glass more than Alice In Wonderland and this edition is perfect including both stories. I love the chess movements through this novel and prefer the range of characters including the red and white queens, the Cheshire Cat, and the Mad Hatter. Additionally I adore the Jabberwocky nonsense poem, I had this on a cassette tape as a kid and would listen to it on repeat!
If you have only watched the animated Disney version of Alice in Wonderland, you'll see that a lot of the characters featured are actually from his sequel novel, Through the Looking Glass, so when reading the original it might not feature characters/scenes that you expect.
I reread this book as I was focusing on reading banned books, I was really surprised with its reasons for being censored. In 1900 it was banned because it ‘expressed expletives and alluded to masturbation and other sexual fantasies as well as diminished, in the eyes of children, the statures of certain authority figures’ (I read the book with this in mind and I personally didn’t feel there was anything to suggest a sexual innuendo of any kind.) It was banned in China by the Hunan province for including talking animals because the governor believed that ‘elevating animals to the same echelon as humans could be catastrophic for society’ (mental) and then the book and film was banned again in America as they feared it ‘encouraged the evolving drug culture with its “overt” allusions to hallucinogenic drug use’ (which is the most understandable reason but still seems overprotective and silly to me).
Finally, I want to discuss the controversy surrounding Lewis Carroll which I knew little about until reading this book’s introduction written by Peter Hunt. Carroll had a frankly unhealthy interest in young girls, frequently drawing and photographing nude images of them. Obviously his relationship with Alice (who the book was based on) has always raised eyebrows, but it is incredibly concerning that a lot of his unpublished letters and at least 4 diaries were destroyed after his death. As readers we can only guess the contents of these personal records - but I dread to think. Still now we try to separate the art from the artist, so please don’t, let it put you off reading these masterpieces!
I personally enjoy Carroll’s sequel, Through The Looking Glass more than Alice In Wonderland and this edition is perfect including both stories. I love the chess movements through this novel and prefer the range of characters including the red and white queens, the Cheshire Cat, and the Mad Hatter. Additionally I adore the Jabberwocky nonsense poem, I had this on a cassette tape as a kid and would listen to it on repeat!
If you have only watched the animated Disney version of Alice in Wonderland, you'll see that a lot of the characters featured are actually from his sequel novel, Through the Looking Glass, so when reading the original it might not feature characters/scenes that you expect.
I reread this book as I was focusing on reading banned books, I was really surprised with its reasons for being censored. In 1900 it was banned because it ‘expressed expletives and alluded to masturbation and other sexual fantasies as well as diminished, in the eyes of children, the statures of certain authority figures’ (I read the book with this in mind and I personally didn’t feel there was anything to suggest a sexual innuendo of any kind.) It was banned in China by the Hunan province for including talking animals because the governor believed that ‘elevating animals to the same echelon as humans could be catastrophic for society’ (mental) and then the book and film was banned again in America as they feared it ‘encouraged the evolving drug culture with its “overt” allusions to hallucinogenic drug use’ (which is the most understandable reason but still seems overprotective and silly to me).
Finally, I want to discuss the controversy surrounding Lewis Carroll which I knew little about until reading this book’s introduction written by Peter Hunt. Carroll had a frankly unhealthy interest in young girls, frequently drawing and photographing nude images of them. Obviously his relationship with Alice (who the book was based on) has always raised eyebrows, but it is incredibly concerning that a lot of his unpublished letters and at least 4 diaries were destroyed after his death. As readers we can only guess the contents of these personal records - but I dread to think. Still now we try to separate the art from the artist, so please don’t, let it put you off reading these masterpieces!
A wonderfully ridiculous tale that makes me smile every time I hear it.
adventurous
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I actually don’t know how I feel about this book.
I know that I enjoyed it and I had a good time reading, but I have no clue what actually happened at any point in the story.
Like, there were points where I was utterly confused. Especially at the beginning. But, then, I just decided to stop focusing on trying to make sense of everything and to just accept what was happening, and I started really enjoying the story. And, I kinda don’t understand why I liked it if I don’t really know what happened in it, but I do.
This story is insanely gripping. I absolutely love the writing style, although it took me a second to get used to. The thing is, you’ve just gotta go with it. Don’t question anything and just let it happen. It’s actually really fun and good to read.
I know that I enjoyed it and I had a good time reading, but I have no clue what actually happened at any point in the story.
Like, there were points where I was utterly confused. Especially at the beginning. But, then, I just decided to stop focusing on trying to make sense of everything and to just accept what was happening, and I started really enjoying the story. And, I kinda don’t understand why I liked it if I don’t really know what happened in it, but I do.
This story is insanely gripping. I absolutely love the writing style, although it took me a second to get used to. The thing is, you’ve just gotta go with it. Don’t question anything and just let it happen. It’s actually really fun and good to read.
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This reminds me of my first short stories then in the end I pulled ,,and then the main character woke up" thing
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book is so crazy and absurd it becomes hilarious. The narrator is great for the tone of the story, to have witty remarks about Alice and all. I love the crazy ambience and how they suddenly throw wise words disguised with madness. It is all amazing. I played this with Alice's theme and it was surreal. My only complaint is that we do not have a clear direction of where Alice is going, therefore we feel a lack of progress, we don't know what she's looking for or what the goal is.