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beastreader's review against another edition
4.0
We are all familiar with the story and movie of Alice in Wonderland but have you ever wondered how Alice’s adventures related to real life? Well you can get all your questions or curiosities answered in Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy: Curiouser and Curiouser.
This book is edited by two professors of philosophy but this book does not read like a boring college text book. All the different characters and situations Alice encountered while in Wonderland is dissected and broken out into mini chapters. Chapters like Jam yesterday, jam tomorrow, but never jam today: On procrastination, hiking, and…The Spice Girls? Or Reasoning Down the Rabbit-Hole: Logical Lessons in Wonderland.
I found the topics and the discussions very interesting. I thought this book also showed that fairy tales and movie characters still have to deal with the same issues we do in real life, only you don’t see the behind the scenes. This book would make a good book club selection to discuss with fellow readers. Check this book out but be warned as you will journey down the rabbit hole but you may not want to know how deep it really is.
This book is edited by two professors of philosophy but this book does not read like a boring college text book. All the different characters and situations Alice encountered while in Wonderland is dissected and broken out into mini chapters. Chapters like Jam yesterday, jam tomorrow, but never jam today: On procrastination, hiking, and…The Spice Girls? Or Reasoning Down the Rabbit-Hole: Logical Lessons in Wonderland.
I found the topics and the discussions very interesting. I thought this book also showed that fairy tales and movie characters still have to deal with the same issues we do in real life, only you don’t see the behind the scenes. This book would make a good book club selection to discuss with fellow readers. Check this book out but be warned as you will journey down the rabbit hole but you may not want to know how deep it really is.
rosetyper9's review against another edition
5.0
This book came out right around the time the newest 'Alice in Wonderland' movie came out, I doubt a coincidence but it is still a welcome book. This book is a collection of stories, or essays if you will because of the non-fiction pieces, the delve into the minute details of the well loved story, 'Alice in Wonderland'.
The essays are each vastly different all taking on elements of the original story and giving different insights, historical facts, and other various tidbits. After reading this book I want to re-read the original story just so I can get a truly see with my own eyes what each of these writers were saying in their pieces. If you like 'Alice in Wonderland', please pick up this book, you won't regret it!
P.S. I also think the cover is very well done, and super cute.
The essays are each vastly different all taking on elements of the original story and giving different insights, historical facts, and other various tidbits. After reading this book I want to re-read the original story just so I can get a truly see with my own eyes what each of these writers were saying in their pieces. If you like 'Alice in Wonderland', please pick up this book, you won't regret it!
P.S. I also think the cover is very well done, and super cute.
gitanita's review against another edition
4.0
Philosophy (as a discipline) and I have never really seen eye to eye. I've always found it rather boring, and I counted minutes until the class in high school finished. But when you mix it with beloved themes from pop culture, it gets so much more interesting.
Alice in Wonderland is a peculiar book, and one that is mistakenly considered a children's book, just because the main character is a 7-year-old girl. In Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy, a few, quite funny, and I should think, a tiny bit crazy philosophers, try to address the many peculiarities featured in "Alice stories" and connect them with the world we live in. Thus, you have the feminist view of Alice as a rebel against social conventions, procrastination, the relativity of time, our perception of reality (and if it really is reality), drug use and hallucinations etc.
Some of the essays were very interesting, and some less interesting, but for being a collection of philosophical essays, the book reads very easy, almost like a story. Reading the short CV's of the contributors was a special treat because it gave me another perspective of the whole project.
Although, I'm very fond of "Alice stories", I have to agree with Robert Arp, one of the contributors, when he says:
When I was young, I loved the Alice stories, like any other kid. But now that I'm older, I can't help but think to myself: "What was this Lewis Carroll dude smoking when he wrote this?"
Alice in Wonderland is a peculiar book, and one that is mistakenly considered a children's book, just because the main character is a 7-year-old girl. In Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy, a few, quite funny, and I should think, a tiny bit crazy philosophers, try to address the many peculiarities featured in "Alice stories" and connect them with the world we live in. Thus, you have the feminist view of Alice as a rebel against social conventions, procrastination, the relativity of time, our perception of reality (and if it really is reality), drug use and hallucinations etc.
Some of the essays were very interesting, and some less interesting, but for being a collection of philosophical essays, the book reads very easy, almost like a story. Reading the short CV's of the contributors was a special treat because it gave me another perspective of the whole project.
Although, I'm very fond of "Alice stories", I have to agree with Robert Arp, one of the contributors, when he says:
When I was young, I loved the Alice stories, like any other kid. But now that I'm older, I can't help but think to myself: "What was this Lewis Carroll dude smoking when he wrote this?"
theverbalthing's review against another edition
5.0
The theories discussed in this book are incredible, and it opens up a whole new set of worlds to explore whenever I re-read Alice (which I do about once a year). I especially enjoyed the feminist and logical accounts of these books, as they're issues I've explored on my own and thoroughly loved seeing from other writers' points of view.
dianafdez's review against another edition
4.0
Taken from my blog.
I hadn't read anything like this so I was excited when I got the chance to read it!
It was very interesting to see how others took the story of Alice and thought of it in so many different ways. At some times they got me thinking in ways that I hadn't before and made me realize so many things. At times I had thought of the things that they said but at others they made me think of a whole different possibility.
Throughout the book many of the writers used terms that I may not have understood but then they explained what it was and how they took that and related it to Alice. Some times they made comparisons which I found helped a lot with understanding what they were thinking and trying to write.
Overall, I think this would be a great book to read if you are trying to read something different for a change. I enjoyed some of the sections more than others simply because at times it may seem as if that's the way that I sometimes think. I think it was an interesting read that I would recommend.
I hadn't read anything like this so I was excited when I got the chance to read it!
It was very interesting to see how others took the story of Alice and thought of it in so many different ways. At some times they got me thinking in ways that I hadn't before and made me realize so many things. At times I had thought of the things that they said but at others they made me think of a whole different possibility.
Throughout the book many of the writers used terms that I may not have understood but then they explained what it was and how they took that and related it to Alice. Some times they made comparisons which I found helped a lot with understanding what they were thinking and trying to write.
Overall, I think this would be a great book to read if you are trying to read something different for a change. I enjoyed some of the sections more than others simply because at times it may seem as if that's the way that I sometimes think. I think it was an interesting read that I would recommend.
lucyjunee's review against another edition
4.0
This collection of scholarly essays was an absolute pleasure to read.
I was given this delightful little book off of my favourite auntie for my birthday last week and was absolutely ecstatic as I am a huge fan of the Alice stories. Utterly obsessed, really.
The entire book was incredibly intriguing and I found it so amazingly unique. I spent the day annotating it also, challenging myself to expand my knowledge and even add my own sociological and psychological perspectives into the philosophy.
My favourite was definitely “Unruly Alice” which questions if Alice is a female icon in literature that young girls can look up to. It was so fascinating! I recommend just reading that one if you’re going to skip the book because it gave me a fresh perspective on the classic. Remarkable.
This book was brilliant and imaginative as well as informative and I recommend to anyone who likes Alice too!
Love, Lucy x
I was given this delightful little book off of my favourite auntie for my birthday last week and was absolutely ecstatic as I am a huge fan of the Alice stories. Utterly obsessed, really.
The entire book was incredibly intriguing and I found it so amazingly unique. I spent the day annotating it also, challenging myself to expand my knowledge and even add my own sociological and psychological perspectives into the philosophy.
My favourite was definitely “Unruly Alice” which questions if Alice is a female icon in literature that young girls can look up to. It was so fascinating! I recommend just reading that one if you’re going to skip the book because it gave me a fresh perspective on the classic. Remarkable.
This book was brilliant and imaginative as well as informative and I recommend to anyone who likes Alice too!
Love, Lucy x
elysareadsitall's review against another edition
3.0
Placing an overall judgement on a collection of essays is always tricky. This book had some excellent essays and some I didn't enjoy. The collection covered a wide range of ideas, and it was really interesting to read.
hyacinth_girl's review against another edition
3.0
I'm sad to say that I didn't enjoy this pop culture and philosophy book as much as "Lost and Philosophy." What I liked so much about the Lost version was that the writers related philosophy to the show Lost, not the other way around. It didn't seem that way for "AIW and Philosophy." Each article alone would have been quite interesting. In fact, I think the first two and last two entries were the most interesting. However, when combined in a book, the articles seem repetitive and only cover a small portion of the awesomeness that is Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass.
jenny101's review against another edition
3.0
A nice collection of essays on the philosophical aspects of Alice's experiences in Wonderland and Looking-Glass country. The essays are solid and thoughtful, though at times they read a bit much into the text.