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What are readers saying about Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass (Signet Classics)?
| Reviews of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass (Signet Classics) - Page 1 of 66 |
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-02-11 10:54:49.
(Language: English)
 
This is my favorite childhood book. I practically grew up with it. I remember reading it again and again as my imagination drove me further. It's like I was playing a short movie in my mind everytime Alice meet a new character. I really wanted to know exactly what's Wonderland looks like; Mr. Rabbit that always late;The Queen of Heart that gets offended quickly and shouted "off with her head"; Mad Hatter, March Hare, and Doormouse with their never ending tea party; The Chesire Cat that constantly fading and missing. Oh there also the the Catepillar that smoke hookah and Duchess and the baby that can't stop sneezing. It so funny, colourfull and effortlessly understandable in a child imagination that it just leave a deep impression in my memory until now. This is the greatest childhood story that I ever read, and up till now I just can't help myself to read it all over again. Imagination is the key!!!
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-05-17 04:32:51.
(Language: English)
This book got me in very, very deep hot water when I was in third grade! A teacher who lived close to where Stephanie's great, grandparents lived; called my mother and told her not to let me read it, it was too mature. Nah, she was too lazy to help me learn how to pronouce words, or she never sent me to the dictionary if I wanted to know the meaning. Mother merely told me to stop taking books to school. By the time I left grade school, I had almost all of their books read. In high school, I know my classmates got a laugh when I would be sent to school to check out a physic's book for my father to use in designing one of his projects.
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Jazmin posted a review at 2009-12-08 11:26:39.
(Language: English)
Stuff and Nonsense - Love it always, but I must admit, I read it mostly because of the rhymes :) "You are old father william.."..Drug addicts...no...Another force created this book. For those who may be interested in Lewis Carol, other than the author of this book...he has...an interesting(for lack of a more appropriate word) history. I read one edition of Alice in Wonderland that included a brief biography on him that disturbed me slightly. Just something to look into if you'all wish.
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A Reader posted a review at 2011-01-20 12:34:37.
(Language: English)
I've read these several times over the years and always enjoy a) the playful mind games and b) the dreamy sense of lazy summer afternoon in the first, and a cozy, warm day indoors in the second. I highly recommend you read Martin Gardner's annotated version: http://www.amazon.com/Annotated-Alice-Definitive-Lewis-Carroll/dp/0393048470
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-08-02 04:09:54.
(Language: English)
I've wanted to read this book since my school put on a stage adaption of "Alice in Wonderland", in which I portrayed Tweedledum. After finishing the book, the first thing that came to mind was that this novel should not be classified as a book that will only interest children. I tried to read it when I was nine or ten and didn't get it (most kids nowadays won't connect well to a seven-and-a-half year old girl living in the 1800s). I also think that Alice is the least interesting character. Lots of underlying symbolism makes the Wonderland creatures seem perfectly logical in their madness; whereas Alice is always spewing out useless, random facts that she learned in school. However, at some moments this can actually be quite entertaining. All in all, a good read.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-04-18 05:34:38.
(Language: English)
Catching up on the clasics. Alice is quite familiar from the Disney movie. Looking Glass is not. Both are full of the logical absurdities that permeate human interaction. Listen carefully in your next meeting -- people say the Mad Hatter things, the Humpty Dumpty things. They mean well, of course, but thinking clearly is hard. These books are dense --perhaps fun for children as they go through the silly word play and comical situations. But for adults, the books are more challenging. Lots of black humor. Lots to consider.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-01-03 03:59:17.
(Language: English)
Classic, fun and filled with so many quotes that can be used over and over again, particularly now that I live in DC where the politicians spin it: "Then you should say what you mean," the March Hare went on. "I do, " Alice hastily replied; "at least I mean what I say, that's the same thing, you know." "Not the same thing a bit!" said the Hatter. "Why, you might just as well say that "I see what I eat" is the same thing as "I eat what I see!" And with Through the Looking Glass, we get politicians on current affairs through the ages: "When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less."
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-10-02 01:30:36.
(Language: English)
Es un clásico. Obvio que ví la película hace muchos años en el cine cuando vivía en Piura. Me pareció tan rara pero interesante. Sabías que hay un Síndrome que se llama el Síndrome de Alicia en el País de las Maravillas? Increíble pero cierto! Lo que sucede es que este escritor sufría de migrañas muy fuertes. Hay personas que sufren de migrañas y ven los objetos muy chicos por ejemplo un auto lo puede ver del tamaño de un auto de juguete y ver las cosas muy lejanas. Parece ser que el escritor lo escribió en su afán de expresar lo que le sucedía y utilizó a una niña a la que llamó Alicia. Se acuerdan cuando Alicia comía la galleta y se encogía o se agrandaba? Este síndrome de ver las cosas pequeñas y lejanas puede ser causado en su mayoria por un virus que se se asocia con la enfermedad del beso, llamado el virus:Epstein Barr.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-01-21 12:17:36.
(Language: English)
Terry Pratchett said something along the line of this book was the scariest book for children he had ever read, and consequently didn't like it. My response is "Precisely!" That's why I like it. All those crazy expectations we have of children. All the background we expect them to intuitively understand without informing them. All the arbitrariness we impose on them without their consent. All the treatment of them as non-beings: either too cute to be treated realistically, or too immature to be treated humanely. It is all in there, and more. What is it? Exactly. That is in there, too.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-01-06 08:47:54.
(Language: English)
Not that I have any beeswax "reviewing" this, but I will say that it struck me this time around as the written record of a very particular attempt by a very particular man to please a very particular young girl... I was especially delighted by this: "That's very important," the King said, turning to the jury. They were just beginning to write this down on their slates, when the White Rabbit interrupted: "UNimportant, your majesty means, of course," he said in a very respectful tone, but frowning and making faces at him as he spoke. "UNimportant, of course, I meant," the King hastily said, and went on to himself in an undertone - "important - unimportant - unimportant - important -" as if he were trying which word sounded best. Ah. PS. If you are going to return to this book, the Mervyn Peake illustrations are gorgeous.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-11-23 09:30:16.
(Language: English)
Alice is a curious young girl who follows a White Rabbit in a waistcoat. She falls down a hole and her adventures begin. She shrinks and grows, cries a flood of tears, participates in a caucus race and scares the animals away with stories of her kitten, Dinah. When she finally meets the White Rabbit, he thinks she’s a servant (Mary-Ann). Alice gets into an argument with a bad-tempered caterpillar and finds herself talking to a Cheshire Cat who thinks everyone in Wonderland is mad, including poor Alice herself. Alice follows his directions and ends up at a tea party with the March Hare, the Mad Hatter and a Dormouse. As an uninvited guest, she is treated very rudely and she decides to leave. She enters a forest and finds a door in a tree. Once inside the tree she travels through it back into the great hall. She finds her way into a garden and meets the Queen of Hearts. Alice shares her strange experiences with a Mock Turtle and Gryphon, who seem very sympathetic. Alice goes to the trial of the Knave of Hearts who stole the Queen’s tarts. The King of Hearts leads the trial and various witnesses give evidence. The Mad Hatter and the Cook both give their testimony, but none of it makes any sense. Then Alice is called to the witness stand. Alice protests to all the nonsense, which makes the Queen furious. At the end of the story Alice wakes up to find her adventures were all part of a dream. The adventures of Alice are well-known throughout the world and the imaginative work of Lewis Carroll leaves an impression on his readers. The action and characters are so nonsensically ideal that the book is a must read for all ages.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-05-22 12:16:52.
(Language: English)
While young children would enjoy the pictures and scenery, they are bound to miss the depth behind this story.Young Alice falls asleep in the garden and dreams of fantastic adventures she goes through with talking objects and animals. Due to usage of hookah, eating mushrooms, constantly changing shapes and being confused all the time, one could interpret this as drug use (though there are no evidence that Lewis Carroll, the author, had ever used drugs).Another interpretation is perhaps a criticism on England's society at that time; Where anarchy ruled and people with money used to hide behind their, allegedly, sophisticated conversations, and perhaps fake politeness when talking to someone from upper class. Everything had to be defined and in order. Alice's Wonderland, on the contrary, everything gets mixed up and disoriented, confusion everywhere and rules are broken. In the end, the innocence is gone and maturity takes over. Alice eventually becomes a little violent and rude herself, for she knows this is the way to survive this "Wonderland" which symbolizes our own cruel reality though without the masks on.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-01-11 05:18:36.
(Language: English)
I've given this a 5, but that's a bit naughty as it means I'd really have to give Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There 6. Both books are just wonderful. Trippy and clever and funny... he's SO good with words and also writes wonderful poetry. Just wonderful. One day someone will make a film of this that is actually RIGHT. (maybe Tim Burton's will do it? If anyone can he can, though I went off him a bit after Sleepy Hollow and haven't seen his Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Was it any good?) I dreamt of directing it as a play when I had thespian ambitions, which never really came to anything, as it's so visual someone has to give it a proper attempt one day. But why does everyone insist on mixing the two books together? NOTHING should be missed out of either! The third book in the series, written many years later, called Alice through the Alphabet, by Gilbert Adair, is also surprisingly brilliant. And the annotated Alice is also well worth a look. In fact, Lewis Carroll's complete works should be on your bookcase. He wrote two other books about a pair of children called Bruno and Sylvia, which admittedly are a bit religion heavy, but are also fantastic. And, on the Alice topic, there's a wonderful film called Dreamchild which is about Alice Liddel as an old lady attending a function for Carroll's centenary or something and is just beautiful. Right, enough rambling!
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-07-16 12:39:03.
(Language: English)
I remember liking this a lot more when I was younger. As I read through it as an adult the language (which is directed at children) was a complete distraction and Lewis' narration a bit annoying to read. For a children's book this is great, but you may find yourself getting annoyed at all the silly talk, random occurrences, and illogical trail of story-telling (which some would argue are the strong points of this book and completely the reason why it is appealing to children). The tone was too light and silly for me, although Through the Looking-Glass would be more to my liking. I was surprised that I didn't like this book because I totally thought I would. Maybe most people favorite this book so highly because of the hype or the Disney pictures associated with it, but I found the experience rather annoying and felt a sense of anxiety reading this book.
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yuko posted a review at 2011-11-06 12:55:26.
(Language: English)
Alice is an active girl, she is curious about almost everything, and she can not bear boring life.I think this story is amazing and funny.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-06-16 09:53:02.
(Language: English)
I'll give it credit for ostensibly being a book for children but exploring deeper themes... slightly deeper. It's surreal and quirky. It's interesting only because of its surreality and quirkiness. I've heard a lot of rumors about it being the story of a bad acid trip and things like that, but Carroll told it to his children as a story for fun. For fun. This is not a literary or psychedelic masterpiece. Fun. It's fun. It has fun characters. But not, of course, the main character, who is essentially the moderating force in the story, letting us know when to be surprised by what's going on. Not bad, not great. Good for young kids with imagination or pseudo-intellectual quasi-stoners who think LSD literally expands your perceptions instead of just giving you the brain chemistry of a retarded schizophrenic orangutan.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-01-31 05:53:47.
(Language: English)
Both of these books were absolutely superb. Almost every kid reads these books (or, at least, watches some sort of Hollywood version of them - the upcoming version by Tim Burton is what sparked my interest in re-reading these). However, reading them as a kid and reading them as an adult are two very different things. As a kid, you're mystified by Wonderland and enjoy the many odd adventures Alice has. As an adult, you see that the books (particularly the first one) are scripts in logical thinking and that the author toys with words and phrases, causing you to think about the many double-meanings we've screwed into our English language. All in all, I think I enjoyed reading these much more as an adult. They are absolutely hysterical and completely make sense. Most people remember how odd these stories sounded as children, and then as adults write them off as drug-induced ramblings. This simply is untrue. The author was a priest, mathematician, and professor. These stories and VERY meticulously and ingeniously crafted.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-09-13 10:13:52.
(Language: English)
Simple, simply great. 'Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?' 'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat 'I don't much care where-' said Alice 'Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat. Alice I wonder if I've been changed in the night? Let me think. Was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I'm not the same, the next question is 'Who in the world am I?' Ah, that's the great puzzle! The King "Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop"
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Heather posted a review at 2013-02-22 01:44:59.
(Language: English)
Multiple readings, and this one never gets old. The crazy surreal dream world is still so vividly beautiful. I had fun sharing this one with my kids this time around.
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Heather posted a review at 2010-04-24 05:07:23.
(Language: English)
Serious, serious disappointment. One of those Edwardian novels that has not aged well. I get that Alice is supposed to be precocious and whimsical, but I found her supremely irritating; writing from a child's perspective was really in its infancy, and I don't think Carroll carries it off (or maybe my perception is just coloured by my knowledge that he liked to photograph scantily clad little girls - eew). Also, I didn't like the druggy, random feel of the plot; maybe OK for an adult novel, but it felt weird in a children's book.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-01-30 02:09:02.
(Language: English)
I've read these before but it's been decades. I just finished Adventures in Wonderland & am working on Through the Looking Glass. The book has new meaning for me as an adult. How often do we find ourselves bored to tears? How often do we focus only on ourselves & not notice those around us? Alice reminds me that living in the moment rather than wishing for something else is best. After all, many times what we desire doesn't turn out the way we planned. I hope to read it again in another 20 years & gain new insights with an older perspective.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-06-25 08:49:06.
(Language: English)
Nonsense literature. Probably not the first one to experiment this type of written genre, but it demonstrates that Lewis Carroll is a timeless author and through these two books of logic, fantasy, ups and downs, mad people with their tea parties and royal laughingstocks, it has indeed touched my heart and perhaps many others. Its prose is not to be taken so lightly but also not too serious. It is for kids to enter a new world and for adults to regain that childhood by philosophy and analyzing Lewis Carroll's writing into the contemporary life.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-03-17 07:46:36.
(Language: English)
Great stories. Profoundly underrated; Carrols imagination has influenced generations of writers. This was 4 years the favourite text of the surrealists and is really without sounding horribly pretensious, a surrealist novel. There are so many memorable images here, also the original illustrations are delicious. I want to eat them. Also Carroll must be one of the few authors to create a character that took on a life of its own to such a degree, that it became bigger than the story it came from. I am of course referring to humpty dumpty. It took reading Through The Looking Glass to realise that was where the character originated from. A great and very underrated book. Was influential on twentieth century surrealism. And it includes Humpty Dumpty, what more could you want.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-08-12 01:30:41.
(Language: English)
This and "Alice in Wonderland" were among my favourite books as a child. To me, it all made sense. The way things disappear the more you look at them (the items on the shelves in the shop etc), the way words are made to mean what people want them to mean (Humpty Dumpty), the "provoking" way the flamingos bend their necks away from the ball in the game of croquet. You don't need to be high on drugs. You just need to be alive to wonder. This is the world of childhood, of dreams, of being human and life's absurd complexities that make these books compelling wherever on life's journey you read them. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, flawed genius, we salute you!
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-08-20 03:10:24.
(Language: English)
Terry Pratchett hates it. Why? Because "it's nonsense." For this very reason I would normally hate a book akin to Caroll's surreal duet. I despise random humour, for it's often without structure or grounding. For example, at times 'The Mighty Boosh' is genuinely funny, whereas at others the jokes seem like they were thrown in for the sake of it and don't really fit into the comic framework of the show. Caroll's writing plays off of itself. It points out its own flaws and contradictions for humorous effect, and it works. The structure held me there, regardless of how ridiculous things got at times. Be it the structure of the prose, or of the piece as a whole. One of the reasons that I prefer 'Through The Looking Glass' is that it is structured like a chess game. As Caroll noted in a brief introduction, the notes that he gives regarding Alice's movements in the prologue are correct, and would result in a successful checkmate if one were playing chess to the specifications that he has laid out. This structure is evidence of rigid planning. As a result, Alice's adventures are clearly far from "nonsense." There is an air of predestiny, rather than a sense of "Shit happens, one thing after the other." As for the fantasy worlds themselves, Caroll has really captured the essence of a dream: things appear out of context, but in a context of their own. Translating a dream to text is a difficult task, as dreams tend to be so incoherent that they lack a plausible structure. Again, Caroll's structuring grounds the unbelievable in a believable reality. Both Wonderland and the World beyond the Looking Glass are absurd and unrealistic realms, but at the same time palpable and believable environments with their own natural laws. The worlds that Alice visits are in some ways more believable than Middle Earth or Narnia, as these laws conform to a plausible logic that Caroll has constructed from scratch. To put it simply, they are total fantasy worlds; and despite the real-world influences they function independently of our own. If you fancy a quick read on a rainy afternoon, then these two books are ideal. Fun, silly, and hilarious. But, if you fancy something with a little more depth, it's got plenty o' that too. Its broad appeal is justification for it being hailed a "classic."
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