Rapid Review: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass

by Lewis Carroll

 

Finished reading: 24/10/2020

 

Book 1: 4/5 stars

Book 2: 3/5 stars

 

“It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.”

I’ve always been a fan of weird and bizarre dream-like stories from a very young age. I grew up, like pretty much everyone, knowing the story of Alice in Wonderland through the various forms of adaptations that have been created over the years. I have also seen and heard many of the popular quotes from the original text thrown around in epigraphs and everyday life. I have always wanted to read the original story out of curiosity. I finally decided that with the world in turmoil around me, what better time to escape to Wonderland.

We all know of Alice and the world that is Wonderland, so I will not bore you with a summary. There were definitely familiar elements in both books but also really interesting and unexpected parts that I’m surprised have been excluded in later retellings. The writing was so philosophical and quotable, I savoured certain sentences to allow the cogs to turn in my head. I found the play on words more entertaining than I expected! Although I suppose word play will always be something that fascinates all ages.

The characters all felt very distinct and recognisable. I liked how their use of language altered to fit their personality. On surface level they are all just weird random animals but when you dive deeper you can certainly find a likeness to different human characters. I think this is something that was a lot easier to find in the book than any film adaptation I have encountered. The original illustrations in the books added to this beautifully.

I must say that I much preferred the first and original book “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” in comparison to the later book “Alice Through the Looking Glass”. As much as the chess concept in book 2 was interesting, for me it just lacked the freedom of exploration that book 1 captured so beautifully. The chess board restricted Alice’s movement as though it was fate guiding her on a certain path whereas book 1 emphasis the free will of Alice’s curiosity which was much more fascinating.

Overall, I’m so glad I finally read these two stories. I might have to reread them again just to put together a collection of my favourite quotes because I was too immersed to pause and take notes on the first read through!