Miranda Reads's Reviews > Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Maybe you have to take LSD first or something?

Check out the Annotated Alice next time! It has both Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through The Looking Glass, with lots of interesting commentary on the making of/trivia behind both books and their author. I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed the story as much either without the annotations. 🙂

Seconding reading this again in the Annotated Alice form. It TOTALLY changed my views of this book. Brilliant research!

Aaron wrote: "Maybe you have to take LSD first or something?"

Perhaps :p

Matthew wrote: "Check out the Annotated Alice next time! It has both Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through The Looking Glass, with lots of interesting commentary on the making of/trivia behind both books and their..."

Thank you for the suggestion! I think I will give it a shot. I really wanted to like this one but I just couldn't get into it.

Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ wrote: "Seconding reading this again in the Annotated Alice form. It TOTALLY changed my views of this book. Brilliant research!"

Wow. Definitely will get that version now :)

Good idea! Carroll was a mathematician, right? I know there are some math jokes/puzzles in there.

I felt the same way about this book! So glad I am not the only one who didn’t love this book.

I was totally raised on it, so I’m sure that makes a difference.

Audrey wrote: "Good idea! Carroll was a mathematician, right? I know there are some math jokes/puzzles in there."

Hopefully the annotated one will point them out. I'm sure there are ones i missed

Rachel wrote: "I felt the same way about this book! So glad I am not the only one who didn’t love this book."

Woohoo! Twinsies

Audrey wrote: "I was totally raised on it, so I’m sure that makes a difference."

I think that's what I'm missing. I should've read this one as a kid

Awesome review, love <3 xx

I’m having flashbacks now to having to read this as a kid, and being like WTF. Alice is a genre called “literary nonsense”. It had a resurgence with the hippie culture during the sixties. They were all baked out of their minds, so they could tune in to the nonsense.

Alex ✰ Comets and Comments ✰ wrote: "Awesome review, love <3 xx"

Thank you!

Tom wrote: "I’m having flashbacks now to having to read this as a kid, and being like WTF. Alice is a genre called “literary nonsense”. It had a resurgence with the hippie culture during the sixties. They were..."

That's..... certainly a interesting way to interpret it :p

I really liked the audiobook! It was read by the Harry Potter guy!

Also, nostalgia is a must to get through this haha. Although in my case I had just read Marissa Meyer's "Heartless" so I cared more!

Kim wrote: "Also, nostalgia is a must to get through this haha. Although in my case I had just read Marissa Meyer's "Heartless" so I cared more!"

Oooo.... the Harry Potter guy was a great reader. I'll have to try the audio version then

This is one of my favorite stories! I think the issue with the Alice stories is that they are meant to be unrealistic and nonsensical, which is difficult and distracting for most adults. We know too much about the world that it keeps us from suspending our disbelief enough to see the silliness and find it funny. This is not a critique of anyone who doesn't enjoy the book, I just think it's a reality. This novel is on our 12th grade literature criticism list and I've talked to students who found it difficult to read because it was too ridiculous, which made it very confusing. Great story, but you hit it right on the mark -- an "adequate amount of nostalgia" and childlike innocence is definitely needed for this one.

Sandy wrote: "This is one of my favorite stories! I think the issue with the Alice stories is that they are meant to be unrealistic and nonsensical, which is difficult and distracting for most adults. We know to..."

I think you put that really well. I kept expecting some sort of coherent storyline or SOMETHING to tie to together but the more I read, the more frustrated I became. I guess I've finally reached the grumpy adult age :P

I think I will try it again when I'm in a more whimsical mode.

This is one of my favorite books ever! So sorry you didn't like it. :(

Olivia wrote: "This is one of my favorite books ever! So sorry you didn't like it. :("

I'm sorry too! 😢😭 I wanted to like it but I couldn't force myself. I'm hoping when i pick it up for a reread things will be better

Miranda wrote: "Sandy wrote: "This is one of my favorite stories! I think the issue with the Alice stories is that they are meant to be unrealistic and nonsensical, which is difficult and distracting for most adul..."

Way to hang in there! :)

Sandy wrote: "Miranda wrote: "Sandy wrote: "This is one of my favorite stories! I think the issue with the Alice stories is that they are meant to be unrealistic and nonsensical, which is difficult and distracti..."

Haha, thank you:)

Girl, you had me panicked there for a minute there with your review. I thought you had typed that you didn't like Charlotte's Web and I was gonna go 'HELL NO" and get all but hurt. Thankfully you loved it so we're even.

The first half I thought was quite good and then after that it got a little too weird for me. If anything, this book is a cautionary tale against naps~!

May I ask who was the narrator for your audiobook? I recently signed up for Scribed (it's amazing!) and listened to this on audio. Christopher Plummer was the narrator and he was absolutely amazing.

Katherine wrote: "Girl, you had me panicked there for a minute there with your review. I thought you had typed that you didn't like Charlotte's Web and I was gonna go 'HELL NO" and get all but hurt. Thankfully you l..."

Mine was Alan Bennett. Maybe a different narrator would've helped. .. but then again, the story was so confusing the first time around that i think i just needed to read it.

What's scribed?

It’s like Audible. They offer audiobooks to listen to, but also offer ebooks that you can read.

Katherine wrote: "It’s like Audible. They offer audiobooks to listen to, but also offer ebooks that you can read."

Ohhh, nice! My state has a digital library, so i get most of my audiobooks/ebooks from there

Miranda wrote: "Katherine wrote: "It’s like Audible. They offer audiobooks to listen to, but also offer ebooks that you can read."

Ohhh, nice! My state has a digital library, so i get most of my audiobooks/ebooks..."

My library system does too, but they don't have a great selection. And what they do have in the form of audiobooks is so slim that all the titles are usually checked out and the request list is so long that it's usually months before it would finally get to me. But I'm loving Scrib'd so far!

Katherine wrote: "Ohhh, nice! My state has a digital library, so i get most of my a..."

You're right about it taking a lonnnng time :( I try to stagger the books I check out (some 2 week wait, some longer)...maybe I'll try Scrib'd :)

Miranda wrote: "Katherine wrote: "Ohhh, nice! My state has a digital library, so i get most of my a..."

You're right about it taking a lonnnng time :( I try to stagger the books I check out (some 2 week wait, som..."

You should! The fee is pretty affordable and they literally have so many audiobooks. I have yet to find an audiobook they don't have that I'm looking for, plus there aren't any wait lists! You can also save audiobooks you're reading for later so you can listen to more than one at the same time!

Lol -- I also read this as an adult and absolutely HATED it. I don't remember a more annoying, whiny main character from any other story. I'm absolutely bewildered by the love this gets!

Jane wrote: "Lol -- I also read this as an adult and absolutely HATED it. I don't remember a more annoying, whiny main character from any other story. I'm absolutely bewildered by the love this gets!"

I knowwwww! I wanted to like it so much too!

I do not like alice in wonderland.......
BUT I did do a play.
And I was Alice

Peyton wrote: "I do not like alice in wonderland.......
BUT I did do a play.
And I was Alice"

Very cool!!

You express my feelings to the letter. I just started reading the very first pages of Through the Looking Glass today and already want to quit it. I dont think I ever wanted to quit reading a book, or happens so hardly ever that I dont even remember the last time I felt this way. But somehow Lewis Carroll accomplishes this with only the first chapter. This review now reminds me exactly why I had so much trouble assimilating the first book.

Federico wrote: "You express my feelings to the letter. I just started reading the very first pages of Through the Looking Glass today and already want to quit it. I dont think I ever wanted to quit reading a book,..."

And yet SO MANY PEOPLE LOVE IT. And i want to love it.. and yet i cannot even begin to connect :(

I began to connect once other versions came out, and once I read a newer biography of Lewis. I connected with the story originally in some ways, but Disney also did a live production when I was young and that is what I clung to. I love Tim Burton’s version.

Shaina wrote: "I began to connect once other versions came out, and once I read a newer biography of Lewis. I connected with the story originally in some ways, but Disney also did a live production when I was you..."

Hmm... maybe i should've tried those....

I just finished reading Alice in Wonderland and I was underwhelmed by it, to be honest. It's nice to know I'm not the only one who feels that way.

M.M. Strawberry wrote: "I just finished reading Alice in Wonderland and I was underwhelmed by it, to be honest. It's nice to know I'm not the only one who feels that way."

Oh. My. Gosh. Thank goodness I'm not the only one

Miranda wrote: "M.M. Strawberry wrote: "I just finished reading Alice in Wonderland and I was underwhelmed by it, to be honest. It's nice to know I'm not the only one who feels that way."

Oh. My. Gosh. Thank good..."

I just started reading the sequel, and it's filled with just as much if not more nonsense than the first one.

M.M. Strawberry wrote: "Miranda wrote: "M.M. Strawberry wrote: "I just finished reading Alice in Wonderland and I was underwhelmed by it, to be honest. It's nice to know I'm not the only one who feels that way."

Oh. My. ..."

I didn't realize there was a second. Ughhhh

Miranda wrote: "M.M. Strawberry wrote: "Miranda wrote: "M.M. Strawberry wrote: "I just finished reading Alice in Wonderland and I was underwhelmed by it, to be honest. It's nice to know I'm not the only one who fe..."

The only reason I'm even reading it is because I bought Alice of Wonderland in a bind-up version with Looking-Glass. Put together, they make up a nice-sized paperback (less than 300 pages) and some of the original illustrations are also included. If the sequel hadn't been included, I wouldn't have bothered. :P

TBH the illustrations actually help with the books. That might be one reason the book(s) were such a hit back then and why they inspired so much.

M.M. Strawberry wrote: "Miranda wrote: "M.M. Strawberry wrote: "Miranda wrote: "M.M. Strawberry wrote: "I just finished reading Alice in Wonderland and I was underwhelmed by it, to be honest. It's nice to know I'm not the..."

That's a really good take on it. I should really pick up an illustrated edition

i do love your books

yegin shamri teklezhi wrote: "i do love your books"

Thank you!

"Alice wrote sorry i wont say cats or dogs again."

Hey there! (sorry for my english, it's my second language) I understand where you're coming from and I respect that everyone has a different opinion on books based on their individual tastes and experiences, but I just wanted to offer some ideas on how to better understand the book.

The idea that this is a children's novel is wrong: Carroll wrote this in the victorian era and, at the time, there were no such things as books for children (except pamphlets with moralistic stories from the Bible distributed to kids of poor families). It was much later that the book started to be considered for children because of its themes, such as a little girl as protagonist and lots of animals, and this was widely accepted with the cinematic adaptations of it. Therefore, this brings the question, what is the book aiming towards if it's not children? Well, my understanding is that Carroll critizices society as it was in that time.

The victorian era, as described by Dickens, was "the best of times, it was the worst of times" meaning there was a lot of opulence and wealth from early industrial capitalism that contrasted with the absolute poverty many lived in. Also, it was a time ruled by the sistem of logic and an utilitarian vision of the world, this meant that subjectivity was constructed by how productive one could be in society. This is exactly what Carroll is deconstructing in his book: Alice descends to a world where logic and reason no longer exist and, therefore, she has no idea who she is.

Her sense of self changes all the time (she even wonders if maybe she is actually not Alice but another girl from her class), her body changes as well and everything logical about the world (such as the concept of time or a simple conversation) is absolutely bokers. Because nothing makes sense to her in this world, she doesn't know who she is, can't communicate properly with anyone and is always trying to understand what's happening but, since she's thinking rationally, she can't. Through this contact with the foreign, the only thing that she is certain is that she isn't the same Alice from before Wonderland and, I believe, this is what the book is aiming at: our subjectivity is formed from within the cultural mindset we're born into and it is the contact with other forms of thinking (even if they make no sense to us) that allow us to look unto ourselves and change.

Again, this is just an interpretation and I mean no offense (I apologize for the very long text lol) but since in your review you said you didn't understand what was going on and couldn't connect, I thought maybe I could help out with a (possible) analisis. Have a great day!