Reviews

After Alice by Gregory Maguire

labunnywtf's review against another edition

Dear Gregory Maguire:

JUST SHUT UP.

FFS. I can't with this.

ceealaina's review against another edition

4.0

What a weird and wonderful book.

I'll admit, I wasn't super into it at first; it felt too much like a redo of Alice in Wonderland with just a separate character swapped in. But I kept going, and I'm so glad I did. The Victorian scenes were some of my favourite parts, and I loved the contrast between England and Wonderland. Lydia was fantastic. Maguire really captures that confusion and frustration of being stuck between childhood and adulthood.

I liked reading about Ada's adventures too. I'm not going to lie, Alice in Wonderland always left me kind of wanting, because at the end, nothing really happens. It's like a weird dream, and then Alice wakes up and everything is exactly as it was. Ada's adventure has a different outcome, and I loved that.

jacobra5's review against another edition

4.0

In Gregory Maguire's normal style, he takes a well known tale and manages to work an outstanding amount of political (and gender, class and race relations) commentary into it. This book is somewhat of a combination of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.

beillumined's review against another edition

3.0

This book was a struggle for me to read quickly, even though I enjoyed many parts of it. On one hand, I do enjoy Gregory Maguire's flowery, descriptive writing, which, in this book, does mimic Alice Carroll's Alice in Wonderland quite well. On the other hand, it can be a struggle to muddle through. I often wanted to put the book down and walk away for something lighter and more modern. In the end, though, I do feel like I enjoyed the book, but maybe I need to give it another read sometime when I am not so distracted.

mcearl12's review against another edition

1.0

I've enjoyed many of Gregory Maguire's books but not this one...perhaps I'm just not clever enough but this book was impossible for me to get into.

shaykeretz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

thestoryowl's review against another edition

3.0

A strange take on Alice in wonderland that lacked heart. I disliked pretty much all the characters.

emma_thereader08's review against another edition

adventurous emotional lighthearted reflective relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Perfect audio book for before bed.

gwalt118's review against another edition

3.0

I definitely didn't think this was up to par with Maguire's other books (all of which I read and loved). It was good, but not great. I enjoyed the writing once I got into the book. At first, I thought it was cumbersome, but it grew on me. The ending is extremely abrupt, and there isn't much closure about quite a few of the characters. If you like childhood tales, you'll probably enjoy this book -- although, don't expect it to be anything like Maguire's other masterpieces.

rlwaite's review against another edition

1.0

I really love the original Alice books, and re-read the annotated versions on a regular basis. Thus, I thought I would enjoy this followup. Wrong. This book is wordy, boring, not the least bit interesting, and the writing has none of the spark and wit that I would have expected from anyone trying to write anything relating to Alice.