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7.57k reviews for:
Alice in Wonderland au pays des merveilles: Bilingual edition English French
Lewis Carroll
3.83 AVERAGE
7.57k reviews for:
Alice in Wonderland au pays des merveilles: Bilingual edition English French
Lewis Carroll
3.83 AVERAGE
I am an avid Alice in Wonderland collector and that means collecting every little copy I can get my greedy hands on. Even little kid versions like this. If it's Alice? I want it. And OF COURSE I had to have the copy with a little Black girl on the cover. I've never seen Black Alice, or any other POC for that matter. So I got it. What I got was a beautiful copy of Alice that's both embodies the whimsical story but delivers on absolutely gorgeous artwork I am OBSESSED with. I know very little about art, I just enjoy it. And while books are an art form of their own without illustrations, these take it to another level. Gledhill is so amazing. I want to check out their other books with illustrations because I'm excited to see what they do!
I listened to the audiobook in the audible app. I purchased the version performed by Scarlett Johansson and it was phenomenal! First time i ever read the story although i have seen the movies before. The book was peaceful and curious to listen to. Quick, easy read while still being very enjoyable.
4.2 stars. This is,, not what I expected or remembered.
PT: Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge, books that have been on my TBR for too long, children's lit, classics
What I Liked
1) Math jokes. I love that Carroll built this entire story from math jokes. He's a math nerd, and it *shows.* The logical traps and simple *silliness* of so many plot points boil down to some universal math axiom. Things like the Cheshire cat who leaves only his smile behind, Alice's grappling with her reduction and restoration in size (as a pun on the literal translation of algebra: "al jebr e al mokabala" as "restoration and reduction), and the inconsistency of Alice's own memory in recalling her times tables all reflect Carroll's time/context of increasingly abstracting math ideas. In Wonderland, nothing feels solid or sure in the world anymore, nothing can be trusted to remain as itself and *wholly* itself. Brilliant. For more on this, I highly highly recommend this page on the hidden mathematics in Alice in Wonderland: https://www.maa.org/external_archive/devlin/devlin_03_10.html
2) Abstract Math, meet pre-teens. RE previous comment of mabstract math: "In Wonderland, nothing feels solid or sure in the world anymore, nothing can be trusted to remain as itself and *wholly* itself." The same is true of adolesence and growing up. I am AMAZED at Carroll's ability to draw that connection. Again, Brilliant.
3) Sheer creative value. Honestly, Carroll's ability to write such *surreal* concepts is remarkable. I want to understand *how* he managed this. What's his creative process? How did this idea come about? Are his dreams like this? How much of this was simple creative storytelling nonsense that he then applied math concepts to after the fact? I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS
What I Didn't Like/What I Learned
1) Abstraction = Missing Something. This is one of those stories that steps so so far back into the world of abstraction that it loses some of its heart. Alice is defined primarily by her sheer confusion and uncertainty, which, while Relatable TM, creates something of a disconnect between herself and readers. The aura of surrealism forces readers to recognize the absurdity of Wonderland and their own world rather than connect on any real emotional level to the character. This isn't *necessarily* a bad thing and is certainly a feat, but for a children's story, the tone is a little too detached.
PT: Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge, books that have been on my TBR for too long, children's lit, classics
What I Liked
1) Math jokes. I love that Carroll built this entire story from math jokes. He's a math nerd, and it *shows.* The logical traps and simple *silliness* of so many plot points boil down to some universal math axiom. Things like the Cheshire cat who leaves only his smile behind, Alice's grappling with her reduction and restoration in size (as a pun on the literal translation of algebra: "al jebr e al mokabala" as "restoration and reduction), and the inconsistency of Alice's own memory in recalling her times tables all reflect Carroll's time/context of increasingly abstracting math ideas. In Wonderland, nothing feels solid or sure in the world anymore, nothing can be trusted to remain as itself and *wholly* itself. Brilliant. For more on this, I highly highly recommend this page on the hidden mathematics in Alice in Wonderland: https://www.maa.org/external_archive/devlin/devlin_03_10.html
2) Abstract Math, meet pre-teens. RE previous comment of mabstract math: "In Wonderland, nothing feels solid or sure in the world anymore, nothing can be trusted to remain as itself and *wholly* itself." The same is true of adolesence and growing up. I am AMAZED at Carroll's ability to draw that connection. Again, Brilliant.
3) Sheer creative value. Honestly, Carroll's ability to write such *surreal* concepts is remarkable. I want to understand *how* he managed this. What's his creative process? How did this idea come about? Are his dreams like this? How much of this was simple creative storytelling nonsense that he then applied math concepts to after the fact? I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS
What I Didn't Like/What I Learned
1) Abstraction = Missing Something. This is one of those stories that steps so so far back into the world of abstraction that it loses some of its heart. Alice is defined primarily by her sheer confusion and uncertainty, which, while Relatable TM, creates something of a disconnect between herself and readers. The aura of surrealism forces readers to recognize the absurdity of Wonderland and their own world rather than connect on any real emotional level to the character. This isn't *necessarily* a bad thing and is certainly a feat, but for a children's story, the tone is a little too detached.
Blurb: Alice in Wonderland is an 1865 novel by English author Lewis Carroll. It tells of a young girl named Alice, who falls through a rabbit hole into a subterranean fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures. It is considered to be one of the best examples of the literary nonsense genre. The tale plays with logic, giving the story lasting popularity with adults as well as with children.
My thoughts: There is a reason that Lewis Carroll’s novel remains a bestseller and a beloved book - a beautifully creative, slightly bonkers, literary classic.
There are so many beloved characters; the Mad Hatter has always been a firm favourite of mine; and now when I read the voice of the Caterpillar, I always read it in the voice of Alan Rickman
My thoughts: There is a reason that Lewis Carroll’s novel remains a bestseller and a beloved book - a beautifully creative, slightly bonkers, literary classic.
There are so many beloved characters; the Mad Hatter has always been a firm favourite of mine; and now when I read the voice of the Caterpillar, I always read it in the voice of Alan Rickman
Read it forward recommended the version illustrated by pop artist Yayoi Kusama. Couldn't find that edition listed in goodreads.
I really loved this story. It's so wonderfully written, and the pictures in my copy of the book brought me back to a time when pictures were in all of the books I read. Still, despite how fun the story was, I think I came into the book with expectations that were too high. I was left a tiny bit disappointed when I finished the book.
Tenía muchas ganas de leer, al fina, el aclamado clásico de Lewis Carroll. Había leído muchas críticas mixtas, lo cual me daba más intriga y curiosidad por leerlo.
Sin embargo, esperaba muchísimo más. El libro se hace llevadero en todo momento, pero nunca hay algo que deje lugar a tener más ganas de seguir leyendo.
Si bien su lectura es fácil y amena, hay muchas partes en las que te hace reflexionar, que te hace pensar y que más de una vez te hace releerlas una y otra y otra vez.
Sus personajes son muy curiosos, pero algunos me han resultado exasperantes, o partes que se hacían demasiado largas sin mucha necesidad (como cuando termina de caer por la madriguera y acaba en la habitación de las puertas, en la cual crece y se hace pequeña reiteradas veces), aunque también lo entiendo por la época en la que está plasmado.
Hay cosas que más de una vez, al analizarlas, nos damos cuenta de que son una metáfora. El hecho de haberse vuelto pequeña y grande repetidas veces, hacen a Alicia preguntarse si es que sigue siendo ella, como ante los cambios bruscos, más de una vez nos seguimos preguntando si seguimos siendo realmente nosotros, si no hemos sufrido (valga la redundancia), situaciones que nos hacen cambiar nuestra personalidad con el pasar del tiempo.
Vuelvo a decir, que aunque me ha gustado analizarlo, no es un libro que realmente pueda gritar a los cuatro vientos que me ha fascinado.
Sin embargo, esperaba muchísimo más. El libro se hace llevadero en todo momento, pero nunca hay algo que deje lugar a tener más ganas de seguir leyendo.
Si bien su lectura es fácil y amena, hay muchas partes en las que te hace reflexionar, que te hace pensar y que más de una vez te hace releerlas una y otra y otra vez.
Sus personajes son muy curiosos, pero algunos me han resultado exasperantes, o partes que se hacían demasiado largas sin mucha necesidad (como cuando termina de caer por la madriguera y acaba en la habitación de las puertas, en la cual crece y se hace pequeña reiteradas veces), aunque también lo entiendo por la época en la que está plasmado.
Hay cosas que más de una vez, al analizarlas, nos damos cuenta de que son una metáfora. El hecho de haberse vuelto pequeña y grande repetidas veces, hacen a Alicia preguntarse si es que sigue siendo ella, como ante los cambios bruscos, más de una vez nos seguimos preguntando si seguimos siendo realmente nosotros, si no hemos sufrido (valga la redundancia), situaciones que nos hacen cambiar nuestra personalidad con el pasar del tiempo.
Vuelvo a decir, que aunque me ha gustado analizarlo, no es un libro que realmente pueda gritar a los cuatro vientos que me ha fascinado.
December 2012:
I found this story kind of weird and hard to keep up with, but the illustrations helped provide a better mental image.
I found this story kind of weird and hard to keep up with, but the illustrations helped provide a better mental image.