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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
Today it's a double feature! These books are good examples of how doing the PopSugar Reading challenge affects my reading life. One of the prompts this year is “a book mentioned in another book,” which is a little tricky. So when one of my recent reads mentioned Alice Through the Looking Glass, I thought that would be a good way to meet that prompt. And THEN I realized I could read Alice in Wonderland (which came first) and also complete another prompt (a classic you’ve never read). So down the rabbit hole I went!
I would guess a lot of us are familiar with the general plot of Alice in Wonderland, (girl falls down rabbit hole, has many odd adventures and meets many strange characters). Through the Looking Glass is very similar (swap falling down rabbit hole with stepping through a mirror, add in real-life chess game).
If you enjoy weird animal characters and wordplay/puns in a surreal/dreamlike environment, these books are for you. For me they were just fine. I do feel some satisfaction at having read the original texts and getting the context for lots of pop culture references, which is something, I guess!
It’s not surprising to me that Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and hallucinogenic drugs are linked so closely in popular culture.
Despite the book’s age and the author’s old-fashioned sensibilities, it really feels like it was written using a potent acid trip as tonal inspiration. The story floats along dreamily from moment to moment, with no clear purpose or structure in place. Scenes flow into each other gradually and are punctuated by imaginative settings and characters that don’t seem to connect in any meaningful way. The only consistent thing is a pervasive atmosphere of chaos and nonsense.
This style probably works better for some people than others- not everyone wants to be taken on an acid trip when they read a book. If you aren’t interested in a formless, ephemeral, and overall silly experience, you may not find much to enjoy here. On the other hand, you may appreciate the story’s humor and wit, and the appearance of such timeless characters as the White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat, and the Mad Hatter.
Alice herself is a strange character to be sure- absent-minded, alternatively polite and bratty, and simple yet intellectually curious. She takes all the strangeness she encounters in stride, and engages with it as best she can. She also talks to herself quite a bit, and her monologues are as nonsensical as the rest of the book. It makes sense that a girl like her would dream up a place like Wonderland.
While I didn’t like this book as much as the 50s Disney cartoon (I think the story lends itself better to a visual experience), it was still a fun, short read. Over the course of my life I’ve seen many adaptations and interpretations of Alice in Wonderland across different mediums, so it was a treat to see where it all started. Though the language is a bit dated at times, it still holds up beautifully- plus the original illustrations are gorgeous. I give it 7.5 out of 10.
Despite the book’s age and the author’s old-fashioned sensibilities, it really feels like it was written using a potent acid trip as tonal inspiration. The story floats along dreamily from moment to moment, with no clear purpose or structure in place. Scenes flow into each other gradually and are punctuated by imaginative settings and characters that don’t seem to connect in any meaningful way. The only consistent thing is a pervasive atmosphere of chaos and nonsense.
This style probably works better for some people than others- not everyone wants to be taken on an acid trip when they read a book. If you aren’t interested in a formless, ephemeral, and overall silly experience, you may not find much to enjoy here. On the other hand, you may appreciate the story’s humor and wit, and the appearance of such timeless characters as the White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat, and the Mad Hatter.
Alice herself is a strange character to be sure- absent-minded, alternatively polite and bratty, and simple yet intellectually curious. She takes all the strangeness she encounters in stride, and engages with it as best she can. She also talks to herself quite a bit, and her monologues are as nonsensical as the rest of the book. It makes sense that a girl like her would dream up a place like Wonderland.
While I didn’t like this book as much as the 50s Disney cartoon (I think the story lends itself better to a visual experience), it was still a fun, short read. Over the course of my life I’ve seen many adaptations and interpretations of Alice in Wonderland across different mediums, so it was a treat to see where it all started. Though the language is a bit dated at times, it still holds up beautifully- plus the original illustrations are gorgeous. I give it 7.5 out of 10.
Please don’t think my rating of 2 stars means I think the book was atrocious. It just wasn’t a book that I connected to in any way.
Positives first: I appreciate the thematic application and meaning of the novels and I understand why they have gained such beloved followings. Carrol’s writing style is very fun and I enjoyed several of his descriptions. There are two poems in the novels that I believe were beautifully written. I LOVE the chess plot structure of TTLG. The end to each book is very thought provoking and moving.
Now the Negatives: I HATE the humor. Almost every joke in the book relies on one characters dialogue being misinterpreted by another and it just isn’t amusing or clever. The plot is so incredibly disjointed and confusing and, though I understand this is the point (because it’s all a dream), it made understanding what’s going on at any given moment nearly impossible. The Cheshire Cat was the only compelling character in my eyes and Alice was just ANNOYING.
Positives first: I appreciate the thematic application and meaning of the novels and I understand why they have gained such beloved followings. Carrol’s writing style is very fun and I enjoyed several of his descriptions. There are two poems in the novels that I believe were beautifully written. I LOVE the chess plot structure of TTLG. The end to each book is very thought provoking and moving.
Now the Negatives: I HATE the humor. Almost every joke in the book relies on one characters dialogue being misinterpreted by another and it just isn’t amusing or clever. The plot is so incredibly disjointed and confusing and, though I understand this is the point (because it’s all a dream), it made understanding what’s going on at any given moment nearly impossible. The Cheshire Cat was the only compelling character in my eyes and Alice was just ANNOYING.
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
read this for a workshop in a single setting. Nonsense but truly entertaining.