The Matrix and the Alice Books

by Voicu Mihnea Simandan

The book presents aspects of intertextuality in the motion picture "The Matrix" and the books "Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking-Glass" by Lewis Carroll. It makes use of a literary construction developed from Gérard Genette’s structuralist theory of transtextuality as a framework to present how a web of intertextual relationships is clearly formed between the "Alice" books and "The Matrix."

100 pages, Paperback

First published January 25, 2010

About the author

Voicu Mihnea Simandan is a Romanian writer and freelance journalist who was born in 1978 in Arad, a small city in Transylvania. He has published short stories, non-fiction, and books for children. He has been calling Thailand home since 2002 and he has been a member of the Bangkok Writers' Guild since 2009 and a member of AP Writers since 2012. He is now teaching Language Arts and Social Studies at an international school in Bangkok. He loves archery, martial arts and travelling.

Reviews

[Jayme Swallow · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading The Matrix and the Alice Books. It was written very much like a thesis and followed thesis structure very well. While it wasn't a super original idea (what is?) it was enjoyable and well researched, as well as something I hadn't really ever thought about. All the terms were well defined and it was very clear how The Matrix and Alice fit together and to read into the intertexual relationship of the children's stories and the movie. Everything was well thought out, ideas were fully developed, and it was well presented. It was easy to read and understand, even without a thorough knowledge of The Matrix or either Alice book. I look forward to reading his upcoming novel: The Buddha Head. I give The Matrix and the Alice Books 4.5 stars for its genre.


I am a book tour host with CMBook Tours: I received a complimentary e-copy of this book for the purpose of review. All opinions are 100% my own.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Voicu Mihnea Simandan pens "The Matrix and The Alice Books" almost like a thesis which was written very well and not exactly what I thought it was going to be about....I was pleasantly surprised! The author writes about the inter-connection of the matrix world and the world of "Alice" which I never connected the two together until now and also a better understanding of what intertextuality means. I totally enjoyed the book and would recommend it to everyone.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the author which was provided for an honest review.

[Tommy Tutone · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was excited to read this book after reading the reviews, but the book did get anywhere close to my expectations. The first 1/4 of the book does not make any comparisons between The Matrix and the Alice books. The book had a ton of fluff, and it would have been much better if it was condensed into a long essay. I got Taking the Red Pill when it released, and I loved that book.