Review of "Penguin English Library Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (The Penguin English Library)" on 'Storygraph'
3 stars
It was fun and bizarre and I'm happy I read it.
English language
Published May 1, 1990
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (commonly Alice in Wonderland) is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatures. It is seen as an example of the literary nonsense genre. The artist John Tenniel provided 42 wood engraved illustrations for the book. It received positive reviews upon release and is now one of the best-known works of Victorian literature; its narrative, structure, characters and imagery have had widespread influence on popular culture and literature, especially in the fantasy genre. It is credited as helping end an era of didacticism in children's literature, inaugurating a new era in which writing for children aimed to "delight or entertain". The tale plays with logic, giving the story lasting popularity with adults as well as with children. The titular character Alice shares her given …
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (commonly Alice in Wonderland) is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatures. It is seen as an example of the literary nonsense genre. The artist John Tenniel provided 42 wood engraved illustrations for the book. It received positive reviews upon release and is now one of the best-known works of Victorian literature; its narrative, structure, characters and imagery have had widespread influence on popular culture and literature, especially in the fantasy genre. It is credited as helping end an era of didacticism in children's literature, inaugurating a new era in which writing for children aimed to "delight or entertain". The tale plays with logic, giving the story lasting popularity with adults as well as with children. The titular character Alice shares her given name with Alice Liddell, a girl Carroll knew. The book has never been out of print and has been translated into 174 languages. Its legacy covers adaptations for screen, radio, art, ballet, opera, musicals, theme parks, board games and video games. Carroll published a sequel in 1871 entitled Through the Looking-Glass and a shortened version for young children, The Nursery "Alice", in 1890.
It was fun and bizarre and I'm happy I read it.
I think I'd likely give it 3.5 stars if it hadn't been for the narrator. She did a wonderful job of bringing the story to life.
I was engaged throughout most of the book but there were some scenes that seemed to be a bit heavy on details that did nothing to enhance the story or move it forward. There were also plenty of parts where I had wished more time had been spent giving us some of the feelings of the characters - some very important things that were just glossed over and not really brought up again.
But I still enjoyed the overall package a lot so that's why I went with four stars instead of three and a half.
I just read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland to my four year old, and we both liked it. Soon we'll read Through the Looking Glass too.