By Lewis Carroll

This is another classic where I have no memory of when I first read it. When I was young, I had both this book on tape and a copy of the book with 100 artists contributing to it. Unfortunately, that book got lost in multiple moves, otherwise I would have included photos.

Before I proceed with the review, I would like to address some housekeeping matters. I will be reviewing the two Alice books, the Disney movie, the live-action movie from 1973, and the 1999 adaptation. Also, I have decided to add a link for donations, so if you like what you see and have money to spare, please donate.

“One hot, sunny day, as Alice sits by the riverbank, thoroughly bored and sleepy, she notices a white rabbit rushing past her. The ordinary but nervous rabbit with a waistcoat stops to check his watch. Curious about this rabbit with a clock, Alice follows it into a big rabbit hole, only to fall into a deep well that ends in Wonderland. And just like that, Alice’s drowsy afternoon turns into an adventure as she figures her way through a world which has its own set of rules. It is a world where everything is open to negation. She can even change the size of her body according to the food she eats.

Who lives in this strange world? Are there any good creatures who will help Alice? Fall down the rabbit hole with Alice and discover a tale as witty as it is interesting.”

This book is a maddening story that is full of nonsense with characters that are known throughout time. Also, if you are interested in reading the book but prefer audiobooks, then I have a suggestion: there are full audiobooks on YouTube and in podcast form. So in whatever form you enjoy this book, happy reading.

For this story, I have three thoughts

Firstly, ok, this is less of a thought about the book and more about certain adaptations. Specifically, the multiple adaptations that take the line “we’re all mad here” a little too literally in these adaptations have her in an asylum, with the idea of Wonderland as a mental delusion. I don’t like this because in the book, it’s a childhood dream. But I get that if you want to have a grown-up Alice, you can’t have her with a normal imagination. That is not saying that I will never review a book that has this idea, but it is annoying that this is the only idea some go to.

Secondly, pigging back off the previous point of this being a dream. This is a lot of fun because once you know that Wonderland is a dream, a lot of stuff makes sense. Alice goes through the world in that shift with no logic. Also, if you are interested, almost all of the poetry is a warped version of Victorian children’s poetry. Here is a good example: in the third chapter Alice tries to recite “How Doth the Little Busy Bee.” Here is the first section of the original poem. “How doth the little busy bee, Improve each shining hour, And gather honey all the day, From every opening flower!” And here is what she actuals says in the book “How doth the little crocodile, Improve his shining tail, And pour the waters of the Nile, On every golden scale!” You can see where it feels right only in dream logic.

Thirdly, the way that Alice acts in Wonderland is completely different from most stories of children in a magical world. In this book, she is told off for everything she is doing and is given presents she doesn’t want, and the interesting thing is, this is what it’s like to be a child in that time period. Children were expected to be seen and not heard. Or if they were heard, then they needed to be perfectly polite. But in this book, we see Alice being able to argue back.

Thank you for joining me for this book review. This book is one that I have read so many times that it is tattooed on the back of my brain, and it is fun to actually talk about it.

Happy reading to all and to all a good night.