Review - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

I always have a hard time reviewing the "classics." Not so much because I don't have anything new to say - I have my own impressions at least - but more because what if I didn't like it? Does that make me poorly read or did I just not get what everyone else got? There's a very good chance of the latter no matter what I'm reading, let's be honest.

But that's not that I didn't like Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I really enjoyed it, but I didn't love it as I thought I would.

What sucked me into reading this book was the writing. Lewis Carroll takes everything from Alice's perspective, her very young perspective. And it's hilarious. The way she sees things is just like you would picture in a child. She looks at everything the way she's learned, but also according to how she's put things together in her young life.

Then, she also rambles and ends up on tangents that had me chuckling. You ever start thinking of one thing and suddenly you're at a whole new place and you have no idea how you got there and you can't help but laugh out loud? And then other people look at you weird. It's like that.

I do the same, as I'm sure many others do.

I'm sure you know the story, I won't bore you with the details, but there are some differences from the movie(s)...at least I think. I better not say what I think they are before I watch the movie again. :) Here's some blurbage:

Weary of her storybook, one "without pictures or conversations," the young and imaginitive[sic] Alice follows a hasty hare underground -- to come face-to-face with some of the strangest adventures and most fantastic characters in all of literature. The Ugly Duchess, the Mad Hatter, the weeping Mock Turtle, the diabolical Queen of Hearts, the Cheshire Cat -- each more eccentric than the last -- could only have come from that master of sublime nonsense, Lewis Carroll. In penning this brilliant burlesque of children's literature, this farcical satire of rigid Victorian society, this arresting parody of the fears, anxieties, and complexities of growing up, Carroll was one of the few adult writers to enter successfully the children's world of make-believe, where the impossible becomes possible, the unreal, real, and where the heights of adventure are limited only by the depths of imagination.

I think the thing that brought this book down a peg or two for me was the ending. That's right the ending. Skip this paragraph if you don't wanna go there. But come on Carroll. Really? It was all a dream. I've heard that one before - I'm looking at you Oz.

Also Tweedledee and Tweedledum don't appear in this one, I'm guessing they do in Through the Looking Glass, the sequel. I was a bit disappointed when I didn't see them, but I'm now looking forward to Looking Glass.

Overall this was a highly enjoyable book and at only 93 pages (and free on Kindle), it's worth a go. Come on, it's a classic.

3.5 out of 5 Stars

Ps. I have yet to read Through the Looking Glass, but it's on my Kindle and ready whenever the mood strikes.

The Kindle Conundrum

I love my Kindle. It gets me books on the fly, wherever I am, and is actually starting to generate some fairly good recommendations. But there is a problem, and its a big one.

Page numbers. When you hold a dusty old paperback, that relic of a previous age, you feel its weight, you fold its pages (I do at least), and you have a very good idea of how close to the end of it you are. You can't help but realize that the story is about to end. The bittersweet sense of ending that comes with those final few chapters always heightens the denouement. Bibliophiles of all sorts manage their expectations and readjust their predictions when entering the homestretch. This hard learned skill, which comes with years of reading, doesn't work with the Kindle.

Case in point, I was reading Leviathan Wakes (★★★★☆) at 48% completion on the Kindle when the book ended. That made me mad. To be fair it felt like an ending but I didn't know it was the ending. I wasn't ready for it. I was expecting another 52% of adventure and intrigue. Instead I got a second book I had absolutely no interest in. This made me even more mad.

I don't mind moving from paper to digital. For me it makes a lot of sense. Lower costs and fewer bookshelves are big advantages of the digital revolution. Well, perhaps not costs. If you read spec fic most of the hot items are at a premium, but that is a conversation for another day. After I go buy a pitchfork or two. 

Back to premature endings. I hate them. I hate endings to start with, but with the knowledge that they are coming, I can get myself ready. In the words of a somewhat popular television show, I can "brace for impact". Not so with the Kindle. With the Kindle the ending is thrust upon me without warning or explanation because some industrious publisher thinks that giving me a free book (the first book in a 5 part series I might add) makes good business sense. And maybe it does. But it also destroys the illusion that what I am reading is an old-fashioned book. And I like my illusions.

Hear me o Kindle gods and place dividers in your books so that your endings are no longer premature. No one likes premature endings. 

Quick Update

Hope you have enjoyed the posts the last few weeks. I just got back from a cruise down to Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, and La Paz, Mexico. Yeah, life has been rough, I've been in a food coma for a solid week.


Anyway, I finished a number of books, so I'll have reviews up soon. Plus, I'll be reviewing my goals from last year and add some new goals for this year...ones that aren't nearly as constraining.

Oh, and lastly, we're going to be starting a challenge soon dealing with judging a book by its cover. It'll be good.

Review - Tisarian's Treasure by J. M. Martin

Pyr author Jon Sprunk (SHADOW’S SON, SHADOW’S LURE) says, “Martin weaves a breath-taking tale of pirates, treasure, sorcery, and uncommon bravery. Here is a yarn from a true storyteller, rife with traditional fantasy influences. I couldn’t put it down.”

Tisarian's Treasure [US] [UK] [Kindle - only $0.99] is a rip-roarin' pirate's tale along the lines of one of my all-time favorites from Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island.

I met the author through Goodreads and while I usually don't get books from that outlet, he was never pushy and actually shared a lot of good recommendations with me, so I decided to give it a try.

The beginning was a little difficult to get into, since there are lots of characters to introduce, but once it gets going, it's a stellar read. I couldn't put it down.

The most feared pirate on the seas, Thadieus Drake, has tracked our protagonist Doctor Alex Mallory and his mysterious companion to an island and through the jungle, seeking the fabled treasure.

Filled with romance, action, twists and turns, and a surprising ending, Tisarian's Treasure is a wonderful novella and Highly Recommended.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher