Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

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I've borrowed this from the library, now I'm buying it! - Rated
Well that says it all really. A fair chunk of the book provides a fascinating commentary and background to the author which deeply enrich the stories. I didn't read the story as a child - I gain far more from it as an adult. Its entrancing and an excellent, whimsical escape from the bothers of the day.

Alice in Wonderland, through the looking glass and and what she found there - Rated
When I picked this up I was in need of something to easily get into. From the first page I was literally transported in Lewis Carrol's incredible world of "nonsense" and "weirdeness". Without wishing to reveal too much of the unusual plot, Alice follows a white rabbit into a wishing well to end up in Wonderland. During her stay, she meets infamous characters such as, the March Hare, Mad Hatter and the notourious Queen of Hearts, who, in their own way present Alice with forms of obscured logic and reflections of reality. 'The Mad Hatter's Tea Party' is truly exceptional writing as is the chapter, 'Who stole all the Tarts?'.
The second book, 'Through the Looking Glass' is perhaps more challenging in terms of riddles because it follows a totally ridiculous yet fantastic chess metaphor. For example characters 'Tweedledum and Tweedledee' leave you completely perplexed.
While initially aimed at children, Lewis Carrol's faultless depiction of the dream world can never fail to capture anybody of any age. In essence an utterly fantastic read that can be read over and over again. Surprisingly brilliant.

Pure genius - Rated
These are two of the greatest books ever written. They are, of course, not nonsense. They may have been written for children, but their appeal to any reasonably perceptive adult is so intense that those who have fallen under their spell can practically recite the entire texts of both. In fact, they constitute profoundly penetrating statements, or summaries, of the human condition: physical in Wonderland, and intellectual in Looking-Glass. They do not ramble. Every word, every incident, has been chosen with the utmost precision. Tenniel's illustrations are inspired perfection, and the result of prolonged and dedicated collaboration between author and artist. They will never be improved upon, although many have attempted to replace them with their own images. Wonderland is, in effect, an analysis of the significance and sensations of growth and discovery in the development of a human being, advancing from childhood into adolescence. Starting with the trauma of birth, it describes the experience of adjustment to the world of adults, but succeeds nevertheless in demonstrating that adult society is nothing but a construction of charades --- a house of cards. Looking-Glass raises perennial philosophical questions, such as what is reality? what do words actually mean? what is the nature of time, and identity? Does the world consist of as much anti-matter as matter? It is an extraordinarily compressed summary of the riddles of thought and existence. These works are absolute masterpieces of writing: two of the most sophisticated productions ever penned during the late Victorian era. At the same time they are uniquely readable, witty and amusing.

A nice edition - Rated
There seems little point in describing at length the storyline of these books: despite never having previously read or to my knowledge seen the film adaptation as a 30-something year old first time reader so much of Alice in Wonderland is familiar I seem to have absorbed much of this through osmosis. Suffice to say the books are a heady mix of nonsense, word play, poetry and some occasionally painful puns. I slightly preferred the 2nd Alice book as it had a better structure thanks to the underlying story of Alice being a pawn in a chess game, whereas the first novel is very rambling. This is a great edition though, with all the original illustrations and an illuminating essay concerning the creation of the books and the authors’ frankly disturbing interest in young children. Fantastic enough to be enjoyed by children, while the use of language ensures adults can still get a great deal of fun out of this.

Alice and her wonderful adventures in a land of nonsense - Rated
Surely anyone who has had the good fortune to read about Alice will not be at all surprised to learn of the books entry into the BBC's top one hundred books list. It would be impossible to write a review of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland without mentioning the story's unique ability to transport even the most cynical reader into an extraordinary realm of nonsense. The following line is taken from Alice's meeting with the plump twins, Tweedledee and Tweedledum: "Contrariwise... if it was so, it might be; and if were so, it would be but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic." At times, the events and characters our heroine comes across are so incredibly (yet cleverly) mind-bending that I often surprised myself by laughing out loud at Carroll's ingenuity. "'We went to school in the sea. The master was an old turtle - we used to call him a Tortoise.' 'Why did you call him a tortoise, if he wasn't one?' Alice asked. 'We called him Tortoise because he taught us,' said the Mock Turtle angrily. 'Really, you are very dull.'" Of course, the book is written for children, and therefore will most appeal to their imagination, but any adult wishing for a temporary break from the daily grind will surely enjoy this offering enormously.

The majority of copies of the book contain not one, but in fact two stories. The title tale, "Alice's Adventures..." and part two - "Through the Looking Glass." Book one sees Alice begin her exploration of Wonderland by following a rather eccentric white rabbit into its burrow, and upon reaching the bottom (for it is a long way down), all hell breaks lose when she drinks from a bottle curiously labelled 'drink me,' causing her to shrink until she is no more than a few inches tall. From there she comes across the white rabbit's house (and at one point gets stuck with one leg up the chimney as she begins to return to her normal size). Following this, she meets a smoking caterpillar, is very nearly executed by the cantankerous Queen of Hearts, and befriends a grinning Cheshire cat. The reason behind my decision to award the book four stars instead of five is due to the quality of Through the Looking Glass. I do not feel it contained as much warmth and wit as its predecessor. Part two of the book follows Alice as she embarks on an adventure through Looking Glass Land (which she accessed by climbing through her living-room mirror). Everything in this strange new land works back-to-front and (unsurprisingly) nonsensical events are very much the norm. This particular section of the story is set out as a game of chess - with Alice beginning her quest as a pawn. In each square she has a separate adventure, and she must reach the final square in order to achieve her goal and become a Queen. Although I believe Carroll's ability to structure the story in this way to be incredibly inventive, I think it relies too heavily on long-winded tales and overblown sentences of nonsense. The section involving the bizarre Looking Glass insects, however, is particularly imaginative: "There's the Snap-Dragon fly. Its body is made of plum pudding, its wings of holly leaves and its head is a raisin burning in brandy." It contains some wonderfully inspired characters such as Tweedledee and Tweedledum, but there is less eccentricity than was present during the first story. All in all, Through the Looking Glass (although it has its moments) is a bit of a let down after part one.

Anyone considering reading the book - which I have no hesitation in recommending wholeheartedly - would, I believe, also enjoy the 1950's Disney big-screen version which complements the book superbly. If you have yet to see the film, however, the original illustrations in this version (by John Tenniel) accompany the readers’ journey through Wonderland marvellously, and are a particular favourite with youngsters. Not only is the following line - taken from the Mad Hatter's tea-party - one of my favourites, it is all too easy to mentally picture the bizarre scene: "'We quarrelled last March - just before HE went mad, you know' - pointing with his tea-spoon at the March Hare."

There are certain aspects of the story (such as the caterpillar's love of his hookah) which would undoubtedly be banned from modern-day children’s stories - deemed unsuitable. What I find remarkable is that although the book was originally published in eighteen ninety-eight, its popularity to the present day is astounding; it seems that everyone who has read the story has loved it and frankly, who can blame them?