Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

What better book to read as we begin Pisces season (with a new moon, no less) than Lewis Carroll’s classic tale of whimsy and wonder: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Obviously I’ve read this book (and its sequel) a number of times and seen not just a few film, theatre, and illustrated adaptations, but when I finally scooped a thrifted copy of Arthur Rackham’s illustrated version for my collection I had to fall down the rabbit hole with Alice once again. Tenniel may have been the first to illustrate Carroll’s madcap story of this small girl’s mad adventures in Wonderland, but I always liked Rackham’s second generation illustrations better. His compositions are of unexpected passages from the story, and take on a more show more active and unique perspective due to the challenge he has set himself. None is more vivid than the explosion of the playing card court as Alice rebels against the judgement of the Red Queen’s court, and we can easily hear her frustrated cry of “Who cares for you?... You’re nothing but a pack of cards!” that precipitates their feeble but dream-breaking attack. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves, and letting the end come before the beginning - which we’re sure Carroll would allow, since he makes clear throughout his whimsical narrative that sequencing in order means little, and the adventurous journey trumps all. This particular edition presents a facsimile of the original 1907 Rackham publication in style and layout, and does a decent job throughout. The text is presented with ample margins, in which occasionally appears image captions, taking the reader quickly and easily through Alice’s story from her boredom in the meadow, down the rabbit hole, and through a myriad of encounters with the denizens of Wonderland. Interspersed are a smattering of black and white sketches that showcase Rackham’s skill with linework, texture, and composition, as well as a selection of his classic full-colour illustrations in tea-stained tones. Rackham may have utilised a typically muted Victorian colour palette here, but the unique perspective, careful use of depth, and lively compositions makes each image come to life with a dreamlike quality that suits the story quite well. Alice’s journey is revealed to be a dream, after all, if we choose to believe that Carroll is giving away the story quite that easily, and the washed out quality contrasts the realistic linework to create a softly whimsical juxtaposition that is just steps away from reality. As much as I adore the many colourful iterations of Alice that came with later artists’ renditions (Disney has a particularly sticky-sweet charm and I can’t help but love Tim Burton’s mad-cap tonality), Rackham’s naturalistic Alice who treads the borderline of the real world will always be my favourite. show less

Someone defined a classic as a book that, when you read it for the first time, you have the sensation of rereading. I knew Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland for most of my life without having read it. The book, it turns out, is as delightfully strange as its adaptations. What I couldn’t anticipate was its dreamlike calm. The antic zaniness of the film and stage productions finds hardly any parallel here. Alice, a logician’s creation, confronts the nonsense around her with earnest rigor. I hope this is the first of many discoveries in many (more) rereadings to come.

Of course I had read Alice in Wonderland. I mean, surely I have. Right? Long time ago. I feel sure I did. Didn't I?

Turns out, I had merely been exposed to its wacky world by way of movies, cartoons, and vast cultural references. Upon my actually reading it and to my pleasant surprise, there is a lot more wackiness in it I never knew about. My favorite new wackadoodle being Bill the Lizard, poor put-upon character Bill that I don't recall ever showing up when being movie-ized.

It's much more delightful than just all those odd talking creatures. As a Math fan, I loved the correct assessment Alice makes that she would never reach 20 while doing her multiplication self-test. (Carroll was a mathematics professor.) And so many puns and word show more play I was completely unaware of. I mean, a Mock Turtle turtle? That just strikes my funny bone.

Maybe it's because we never outgrow that heeby-jeeby feeling that the world is teetering toward illogical strangeness and could tumble into full blown madness at any moment that Alice resonates over the years and to all ages (I'm 61). Rightly so, too. I mean, there's young Alice -- fallen into a world of livery-wearing fish, flamingos as not-very-cooperative croquet mallets, and schools that teach Laughing and Grief (another funny bone strike!) -- and she plays right along. She faces all manner of disorientation and possible danger with aplomb and curiosity. It's no wonder Alice has lasted so long and in so many ways. show less

"They are dreadfully fond of beheading people here: the great wonder is that there is anyone left alive."

"Alice said nothing: she had sat down with her face in her hands, wondering if anything would ever happen in a natural way again."

The impulse to reread this after many years came from my visiting granddaughters: we watched Tim Burton's Alice movie. It seemed somewhat cockeyed, and after renewing my acquaintance with the actual text, I can say that it is. Burton's Alice seems to be a mishmash of a half-remembered reading of all of Carroll's works; it reminds me of Luigi Cozzi's Hercules (with Lou Ferrigno) a mishmash of Greek mythology with an overlay of science fiction. But back to the book.

Election Day in the US was the perfect time show more to read Alice; like Alice I wonder if anything will ever be normal again. Alice is a perfectly ordinary girl of late Victorian England, dropped in a world where nothing and nobody, except her, is normal. I sympathize!

The Cheshire cat remains my favorite character. And please pass the tarts!

The Dali illustrations in this edition are very nice, though not a patch on the original edition (1969) if you have ever had the good fortune to see it in person. Dali and Carroll are a good match, although I remain partial to the Tenniel illustrations. show less

Narrator Scarlett Johansson does an excellent job narrating this classic. This is something that always bothered me: all this "eat me", "drink me", exploring underground passages. Is this really implicit advice for children? I guess few fairy tales really hold up as solid morality. I commend Carroll for creating an entry in that hallowed canon. I really like the quicky poems the most, then the characters themselves and their vignettes poling fun a the the adult world of caucuses, etc. ... not so much the loose adventure tale as a clothesline to hold it all together.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is the Classic nonsense tale of an English girl falling down a rabbit hole, there to encounter the strange world of absurdly anthropomorphized animals and playing cards, enigmatic messages and, well, sizing issues :-D

A Classic is usually a novel that has become so ingrained in the collective memory or culture, that one might not be sure whether one has read it or not. The reputation of the book itself precedes the actual experience of reading it and the characters are often the prototypes of later iterations and any number of adaptations. If you've never experienced Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, or read it once before, or even if you've read it multiple times, it bears (another) show more reading. As familiar as many are with the tale, to actually read or hear the original, un-Disneyfied tale is a pleasure as the nuances of the language surface and fade in ephemeral logic and gently wry humor. The subtlety, whimsy and detail of Wonderland, its inhabitants and their language lends itself to repeated discoveries.

Michael York as the narrator of this audiobook edition brings a nice range of character voices to the story, never sounded absurd himself as he renders the tale of Alice with obvious affection and a master storyteller's grace. His smooth, somewhat effete British voice evokes the romance of an afternoon spent on the Thames and brings the curiouser and curiouser world of Carroll's creation to life.

Redacted from the original blog review at dog eared copy, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland; 07/12/2011 show less

Bevallom, eddig még nem olvastam. Ifjú koromban azért nem, mert ifjúsági, később meg azért nem, mert ifjúsági. Mondjuk nagyjából valahol pont mindegy, olvastam-e eddig, vagy sem, mert Alice annyira része a kulturális közkincsnek, annyit hivatkoztak rá, annyit idéztek belőle és annyiszor feldolgozták, hogy minden sora barátságosan ismerősnek tűnt.

Az előbb arra utaltam, hogy ez egy ifjúsági könyv, de közben meg mi sem véleményesebb ennél. Abban a korszakban született, amikor a gyerekekre úgy tekintettek, mint kissé ostobácska felnőttekre*, akikhez úgy kell beszélni, mint a felnőttekhez, csak lassabban és artikuláltabban, mert nehéz a felfogásuk**. Ehhez képest Caroll könyve üdítő blődség, show more egy expresszvonat-sebességgel száguldó bad trip, ami végső soron több átfedést mutat a 22-es csapdájá-val, mint mondjuk a Kincskereső kisködmön-nel. Valóban volt olyan érzésem, hogy csak alibiből van a könyv elejéhez meg a végéhez tűzve a közjáték a mezőn elálmosodó, majd végül felébredő kislánnyal, de ezért legyünk csak hálásak, mert ez adja azt az ízt, amitől el nem hervadó, uniszex és korhatártalan klasszikusa a világirodalomnak. Különösen freudistáknak ajánlott – elképesztő dolgokat tudnak kibányászni belőle Caroll tudatalattijára vonatkozóan.

Ui.: Átböngészve az eddigi értékeléseket egy gondolatom még támadt, és mint a gondolataimat általában, ezt sem tudom magamban tartani. Szóval. Nincs arról szó, hogy ez kifejezetten „nem gyereknek való” könyv lenne. Ifjúsági irodalomnak atipikus, de hát pont ezért olvassuk annyian. Egyáltalán – a gyerekek tapasztalatom szerint kifejezetten jól boldogulnak az állítólag nem nekik való mesékkel. Az, amit mi zavaros, vagy egyenesen hiányzó logikának vélünk, az ő szemükben (és az én szememben is) izgalmas, felfedezésre váró rendszer.
Ui.2.: Szabó Levente pedig az egész Helikon zsebkönyvek sorozat koncepciójával egyértelműen vezető magyar borítótervezővé avanzsált.

* Ez a „gyerek nem más, mint kisméretű, oktalan felnőtt” szemlélet Sir John Tenniel eredeti illusztrációiból is visszaköszön.
** Mondjuk a kor „rendes” irodalmával kapcsolatban is van olyan érzésem néha, hogy ostobácska felnőtteknek íródott***, különösen a XX. század egynémely posztmodern klasszisával összevetve. Egyikük-másikuk pont ezért működik jól ifjúsági irodalomként**** – no meg persze azért, mert ritkán káromkodnak és trancsíroznak benne. A szexualitást meg akkor még valószínűleg nem találták fel.
*** Mondanom se kell, de azért mégis mondom: tisztelet a számos kivételnek. Sőt, annyira számos ez a kivétel, hogy tán nem is tekinthető kivételnek.
**** Márhogy az oktatáspolitika szerint ezért működik jól. Hogy valóban jól működik-e, arról valójában megoszlanak a vélemények. show less