Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland #2

by Lewis Carroll

Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass, from 1871, is a children's novel that is often put in the genre "literary nonsense". Although its the sequel of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland it doesn't reference events of the first book; but some of its settings and themes do form a kind of mirror image of Wonderland. While playing with her kittens, Alice wonders what life would be like on the other side of the mirror. Much to her astonishment she passes through it into an alternate world and discovers looking-glass poetry and talking flowers and becomes a piece in a game of chess played by the Red Queen against the White Queen.

Genres: Classics, Fantasy, Fiction, Childrens, Adventure, Young Adult, Middle Grade

ebook

First published January 1, 1871

About the author

The Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known by the pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican clergyman and photographer.

His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass as well as the poems "The Hunting of the Snark" and "Jabberwocky", all considered to be within the genre of literary nonsense.

Oxford scholar, Church of England Deacon, University Lecturer in Mathematics and Logic, academic author of learned theses, gifted pioneer of portrait photography, colourful writer of imaginative genius and yet a shy and pedantic man, Lewis Carroll stands pre-eminent in the pantheon of inventive literary geniuses.

He also has works published under his real name.

Reviews

[Hailey (Hailey in Bookland) · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Reread July 2017*
Reread for booktube-a-thon 2017! Do I really have to tell you I loved it? I think you should know that by now!

[Federico DN · Rating 2 out of 5]

Crazy is as crazy does.

Alice plays with her kittens at home when is suddenly intrigued by the reflection of the wall-hung mirror beside her. After carefully examining it she discovers that she can step through it into a new world. This is the story of her fantastic adventures, and her second journey into Wonderland.

Well, this was even crazier than the first one! A book that can be read as a standalone, since most of the characters and events from the first book are barely referenced or mentioned. In this crazy sequel we get to meet more eccentric characters; like the Red and White Queen, the twins Tweedledum and Tweedledee, the fragile Humpty Dumpty and the Red and White Knights, among others.

Wonderland still an insane place and possibly the all-time biggest expression of the nonsense literature. Sadly this time couldn’t enjoy it as much as the first, I definitely need more sense in my readings. The poems, rhymes and puzzles certainly didn’t help either, wanted to drop it from the first chapter on. But, as always, my stubbornness won and just stuck with it till the end. Yippee.

It's public domain, you can find it HERE.

*** I suppose Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016) is an ‘ok’ film. Fantastic visuals and effects, charming acting, moderately decent story. A dare not call it adaptation since, other than the title and ‘some’ characters, it would be gracious to say it shares any connection to the book at all.



-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1871] [228p] [Classics] [1.5] [Conditional Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------

★★☆☆☆ 1-2. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass
★★★☆☆ 0. Alice's Adventures Under Ground.
★★★☆☆ 1. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. [2.5]
★★☆☆☆ 2. Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There. [1.5]

-----------------------------------------------

Un loco hace locuras.

Alice juega con sus gatos en casa cuando de repente se ve intrigada por los reflejos en un espejo colgado en la pared a su lado. Después de revisarlo con cuidado descubre que puede atravesar a través de él hacia un nuevo mundo. Esta es la historia de sus fantásticas aventuras, y su segundo viaje al País de las Maravillas.

Bien, ¡esto fue incluso más loco que el primero! Este libro puede leerse como solitario, ya que la gran parte de los personajes y eventos del primer libro son apenas referenciados o mencionados. En esta loca secuela llegamos a conocer más excéntricos personajes; como la Reina Roja y Blanca, los gemelos Tweedledum y Tweedledee, el frágil Humpty Dumpty y el Caballero Rojo y Blanco, entre otros.

El País de las Maravillas sigue siendo un insano lugar y posiblemente la más grande expresión de la literatura sinsentido. Lamentablemente esta vez no pude disfrutarla tanto como la primera, definitivamente necesito más lógica en mis lecturas. Los poemas, rimas y rompecabezas ciertamente no ayudaron para nada, quise abandonarlo desde el primer capítulo. Pero, como siempre, mi terquedad ganó y lo aguanté hasta el final. ¿Genial no?

Es dominio público, lo pueden encontrar ACA.

*** Supongo que Alicia a Través del Espejo (2016) es una película ‘aceptable’. Visuales y efectos fantásticos, actuación encantadora, moderadamente interesante historia. No me animo a llamarla adaptación ya que, más allá del título y ‘ciertos’ personajes, sería generoso decir que guarda alguna relación con el libro en absoluto.



-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1871] [228p] [Clásicos] [1.5] [Recomendable Condicional]
-----------------------------------------------

[emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

welcome to...ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN SEPTEMBERLAND, PART 2!

i know that seems like a copout, but to be fair, i've always considered this book a continuation of the first one, rather than a separate entity.

usually as, well, a copout so i can call both of them my favorite book of all time.

anyway! here we are for part two of a modified installment of Project Long Classics, in which elle and i tackle a long intimidating classic in small chunks for an entire month.

but because alice is not long to me, nor is it intimidating, and i consider both books to be like one thing, i'm reading both! welcome to that.

join our book club to join the project!! follow on instagram here or join the discussion here.


DAY 1: LOOKING-GLASS HOUSE
immediately we're off to the races. man, this slays.

the thing about this book (and keep in mind i have said "the thing about [an alice book]" and followed up with about 97 different statements in the course of my life) is that there has never been a more curious, more interesting, more charming character than alice - and yet she is perfect believable. kids are like this. it rules.


DAY 2: THE GARDEN OF LIVE FLOWERS
iconic!!!!!!

i love to think that if flowers could talk, they'd be pretty and mean and prone to puns.


DAY 3: THE LOOKING-GLASS INSECTS
talking flowers would be a tough act to follow by any stretch, but goddamn. BUGS are the best we can do?!

but oh my god oh my god. speaking of all stars...tomorrow we head to the dweebs.


DAY 4: TWEEDLEDUM AND TWEEDLEDEE
AYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

mandela effect because "tweedledum and tweedledee" sounds so wrong. feels like it should be the other way around. but then again i typed wrong as "swonr" on the first try so what do i know.

is there any word better than contrariwise?


DAY 5: WOOL AND WATER
alice is forever the one exception to my talking-animal rule (that they're boring and dumb and should be left out of everything).

cue paramore.


DAY 6: HUMPTY DUMPTY
a children's classic crossover fav!


DAY 7: THE LION AND THE UNICORN
wordplay city!!!! imagine how hard this would hit if 99% of these poems and riddles and songs and sh*t were still in pop culture. it's like the SNL of the 19th century. but like, a good era of SNL.


DAY 8: "IT'S MY OWN INVENTION"
and suddenly.......an icon receives her crown..............


DAY 9: QUEEN ALICE
queen of my heart alice!!! queen of all characters of all time alice!!! queen of being the best there ever was and it isn't close alice!!!

life should have more dinner parties. and they should always be written like this: "dinner-party." and they should contain altogether more nonsense.


DAY 10: SHAKING
no...


DAY 11: WAKING
don't. :(

it's all over now. what a real and literal awakening. like a wake-up call.


DAY 12: WHICH DREAMED IT?
i'm no poetry girl. but possibly my favorite poem ever comes at the end of this chapter.


OVERALL
this has a little less of the nonsensical whimsy of the first alice and a bit too much animal chatter even for my taste, but this exploration of dreaming and childhood and magic and nostalgia is so charming and dear to my heart. i will love it forever.
rating: 5

----------------
full review

It’s not fair that I have to review this book.

I mean, no one is making me. Technically speaking, I am in no way obligated to review this. But also, in a much more real important way, because I am the one saying it: I absolutely must.

Because I love this book so goddamn much.

BUT HOW AM I POSSIBLY EXPECTED TO PUT THAT LOVE INTO WORDS.

There’s only one way to do it.

By cheating.

Read my review of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland so you understand the immensity of my love for these books (which I kind of count as one book, spiritually, and only don’t actually count as one book for reading challenge purposes).

But you still won’t really know how much I love these books, so you should probably read me scream more about it in my review of The Annotated Alice. And Alice's Adventures Under Ground, for good measure.

And also, you should read all of Shakespeare’s love sonnets, and the great love letters of history, and the collected works of Jane Austen. You should watch the bird scene from The Notebook, and the sad part from Titanic, and the scene in Say Anything when John Cusack holds the boombox over his head.

All of those viewings are just to have a good laugh, though. And also to jam the f*ck out to In Your Eyes, a musical treasure.

To reallyyyy understand, you should watch Booksmart and Safety Not Guaranteed and Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again!

Perhaps through all of these reviews and readings and viewings, you can gain a passing understanding of how much I love Alice.

Probably not, though.

Bottom line: I HAVE TOO MUCH LOVE IN MY HEART.

[Manny · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Original review, Apr 8 2016]



"But are you really pro-life?" asked Alice. "Because you know, I've heard pro-life people talk before, and they sound quite different."

"When I use a word," Trumpty Drumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less."

"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things."

"The question is," said Trumpty Drumpty, "which is to be master — that's all."

Alice was too puzzled to reply to this, so she thought she had better change the subject.

"That is a fine wall, Mr. Drumpty," she said after a while. "It must have cost you a great deal to build it."

"It cost me nothing," said Trumpty Drumpty off-handedly. "Every single cent of it came from my friends in Mexico."

"They must be very good friends," said Alice politely.

"Not in the least," said Trumpty Drumpty. "But they had no choice, you see. First, I sent back all the illegal immigrants; and then I said that if the Mexican government didn't pay for my wall, I'd stop those immigrants from wiring any money home."

"But if you had sent them back," said Alice, who was now feeling even more puzzled, "then how—"

"You ask too many questions, young lady," snapped Trumpty Drumpty. "This interview is now over."

"Nothing is going right today!" Alice said to herself. "Oh, how I wish I hadn't taken that job with Fox News!"
____________________
[Update, Nov 11 2022]



It's okay New York Post! I like your version too!

[Henry Avila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alice at the ripe old age of seven and a half is still bored , as she plays with her adorable black and white kittens, yet she needs something better, again ignored by her older sister...wants more stimulation, excitement, yes adventures, so decides to go through a looking -glass and escape the tedium of everyday life of Victorian England...She will not be disappointed, in reality probably much too much for Alice's childish taste . The girl sees a magnificent garden and a twisting road leading there...Nevertheless she ends back were she started disoriented, perplexed, downright anxious . Welcome to the fantastic world on the other side of the mirror, the fast traveling Red Queen ( not to be confused with the Queen of Hearts) tells the little girl she too can become a queen if...a mighty big one, if she partakes and wins in a giant game of chess , the enormous, beautiful squares have been built on the ground and the player follows the course they being the pawn. Alice must navigate the maze of dark woods, losing her way, asking directions and getting baffling answers, from strange things, animal and human, well maybe some are and the weird characters she encounters, the over confident Humpty Dumpty on a wall, shaped like an egg, forever espousing his belief he can stay there without stumbling, Alice is not too sure, as he asks unanswerable questions. Tweedledee and Tweedledum two fat twin boys constantly reciting poetry, don't bother trying to tell them apart... The White Queen a befuddled old careless woman, dressed inappropriately , sloppily, in other words a mess. The Lion and Unicorn their never ending daily battles for the throne ...which is not vacant, still the local inhabitants like watching this ferocious struggle . Not to forget the White Knight, his day job, the passion, making minor inventions ( a little disguised version of the great writer Lewis Carroll) , he and his horse are seldom attached, the ground is more his home but gets back on the saddle. The Red King sleeps so peacefully never waking and the White King has troubles with an egg. Others like the diverting talking flowers, make this story flow smoothly to the inevitable conclusion. Lewis Carroll was a very inventive author, always giving the reader plenty of material to digest, this is not just for children, these books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through The Looking- Glass are charming classics for everyone who enjoys reading.

[J.G. Keely · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that the failure not only of Children's Literature as a whole, but of our very concept of children and the child's mind is that we think it a crime to challenge and confront that mind. Children are first protected from their culture--kept remote and safe--and then they are thrust incongruously into a world that they have been told is unsafe and unsavory; and we expected them not to blanch.

It has been my policy that the best literature for children is not a trifling thing, not a simplification of the adult or a sillier take on the world. Good Children's literature is some of the most difficult literature to write because one must challenge, engage, please, and awe a mind without resorting to archetypes or life experience.

Once a body grows old enough, we are all saddened by the thought of a breakup. We have a set of knowledge and memories. The pain returns to the surface. Children are not born with these understandings, so to make them understand pain, fear, and loss is no trivial thing. The education of children is the transformation of an erratic and hedonistic little beast into a creature with a rational method by which to judge the world.

A child must be taught not to fear monsters but to fear instead electrical outlets, pink slips, poor people, and lack of social acceptance. The former is frightening in and of itself, the latter for complex, internal reasons. I think the real reason that culture often fears sexuality and violence in children is because they are such natural urges. We fear to trigger them because we cannot control the little beasts. We cannot watch them every minute.

So, to write Children's Literature, an author must create something complex and challenging, something that the child can turn over in their mind without accidentally revealing some terrible aspect of the world that the child is not yet capable of dealing with. Carroll did this by basing his fantasies off of complex, impersonal structures: linguistics and mathematical theory. These things have all the ambiguity, uncertainty, and structure of the grown-up world without the messy, human parts.

This is also why the Alice stories fulfill another requirement I have for Children's Lit: that it be just as intriguing and rewarding for adults. There is no need to limit the depth in books for children, because each reader will come away with whatever they are capable of finding. Fill an attic with treasures and the child who enters it may find any number of things--put a single coin in a room and you ensure that the child will find it, but nothing more.

Of course, we must remember that nothing we can write will ever be more strange or disturbing to a child than the pure, unadulterated world that we will always have failed to prepare them for. However, perhaps we can fail a little less and give them Alice. Not all outlets are to be feared, despite what your parents taught you. In fact, some should be prodded with regularity, and if you dare, not a little joy.

[Luffy Sempai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goodreads having eaten my first review of this book, I need to hastily rewrite another. Basically Alice in Wonderland is the superior book, but not by much. Book 2 is proof that Lewis Carroll can make lightning strike twice.

In book 2, Alice finds herself through her mirror, and interacts with the kingly chess pieces. She goes out into the garden, not easily due to navigational problems. No wonder everything she achieves in that place is seen as a victory.

The characters in book 2 are not as memorable as Alice in Wonderland. Yet these two books are nearly part of folklore now. The half baked movie adaptations show how difficult is it to imitate genius. Let every child and adult revel in the untouched and pristine classics that is Alice.

[J.L. Sutton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and plunged Through the Looking Glass. At first, while it was enjoyable, not much seemed new about Alice’s continued adventures. However, Carroll’s inventive, evocative and fun use of language takes over and turns this into a different kind of adventure. Even if you haven’t read this one before (I count myself in this number), you should find that you’re familiar with the basic elements of the story (Alice’s adventures through a landscape drawn up as a chessboard) and characters (including the Red Queen, White Queen, Humpty Dumpty, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, and the Jabberwock). I don’t think this quite matches the first adventure, but reading it is time well spent, 3.5 stars rounded up.

“Sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast…”

[Lee (the Book Butcher) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dial up the whimsy to the max! this story has a plot, well kind of a plot. I think it was Alice's dream! many iconic characters. i did not mean to cast doubt on Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson or penname Lewis Carroll character. he was a reverend and a pretty good tutor. he's creepy, was influential in photography and never broke the law. he's still a good author.

[Vikas Singh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot uses chess as central idea and almost all-important characters are represented by chess pieces, with Alice being a pawn. The imaginary world of the looking glass consists of square fields just like in chess and separated by streams. Each time Alice moves forward one square she crosses one stream and the setting generally changes. A timeless classic at times the storyline at times becomes tiring and difficult to keep pace with.

[فؤاد · Rating 4 out of 5]

آلیس گفت: "توی سرزمین ما، اگه یه مدت طولانی با سرعت بدوی، میرسى به یه جای دیگه."
ملکه قرمز گفت: "چه سرزمین کوچیکی! اینجا باید با تمام سرعت بدوی تا بتونی همونجا که هستی بمونی."

[Settare · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Through the Looking-Glass probably even more than Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Like the first book, events in Through the Looking-Glass just happen and they don't owe you any explanation, logic, or sense; and it's simply brilliant. It contains some of my favorite quotes, poems, puns and dialogues and I don't think I'll ever tire of it. I will re-read it many times myself, and if I ever have to read books to children this will definitely be on top of the list. This is the sort of children's literature that I enjoy and "approve of", it's whimiscal and wonderful, free of strictly "logical" boundaries, and most important, it's free of problematic doctrines, prejudices, and all the other red flags I hate to see in children's literature.

Here are some of my favorite parts:

⎯ The poem Jabberwocky (quite possibly one of my favorite poems, ever):

“Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.”

⎯ Humpty Dumpty's explanation of difficult words in Jabberwocky:

“To ‘gyre’ is to go round and round like a gyroscope. To ‘gimble’ is to make holes like a gimblet.”
“And ‘the wabe’ is the grass-plot round a sun-dial, I suppose?” said Alice, surprised at her own ingenuity.
“Of course it is. It’s called ‘wabe,’ you know, because it goes a long way before it, and a long way behind it—”
“And a long way beyond it on each side,” Alice added.”
“Exactly so. Well then, ‘mimsy’ is ‘flimsy and miserable’ (there’s another portmanteau for you). And a ‘borogove’ is a thin shabby-looking bird with its feathers sticking out all round—something like a live mop.”

(Those are all pretty useful words, I'm disappointed people don't use them more often).

⎯ This:

“What sort of insects do you rejoice in, where you come from?” the Gnat inquired.

Thank you. Finally someone gets it. As a Zoology student with an interest in Entomology, I'm saddened by the fact that most other people don't rejoice in insects. I personally rejoice in dragonflies, damselflies, Phylliidae, Coleoptera, and of course, Lepidoptera (honestly, who doesn't like butterflies?).

⎯ All those discussions about subtractions, divisions and additions:

“I beg your pardon?” Alice said with a puzzled air.
“I’m not offended,” said Humpty Dumpty.
“I mean, what is an un-birthday present?”
“A present given when it isn’t your birthday of course.”
Alice considered a little. “I like birthday presents best,” she said at last.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about!” cried Humpty Dumpty. “How many days are there in a year?”
“Three hundred and sixty-five,” said Alice.
“And how many birthdays have you?”
“One.”
“And if you take one from three hundred and sixty-five, what remains?”
“Three hundred and sixty-four, of course.”
Humpty Dumpty looked doubtful. “I’d rather see that done on paper,” he said.”

⎯ All those marvelous illustrations, both in the original version illustrated by John Tenniel and the ones by Mervyn Peake.
⎯ Christopher Plummer's magnificent narration of the book (arguable the best audiobook I've ever had the pleasure of listening to).
⎯ And finally, the subtle sentimentality that shines through nonsensical parts. After all:

“In a Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die.
 
Ever drifting down the stream—
Lingering in the golden gleam—
Life, what is it but a dream?”

[Maditales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alice's adventures in Wonderland will always be a comfort read of mine because of how many times this was read to me as a child just before going to bed.

I always loved the story of the white rabbit, the mad hatter, the caterpillar, the queen of hearts and obviously the Cheshire cat. This was a cute little reread that was just like a movie.

[CJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually enjoyed this sequel quite a bit more than the first! It kept with its whimsical characters and episodic feel, but it also just felt a little more grown up (even though Alice is still very young). I loved the chessboard and how Alice moved her way through that journey across the board. Really unique!

[Fátima Linhares · Rating 3 out of 5]

Não fumei erva suficiente para achar este livro genial. O nonsense reina aqui que é uma coisa louca...

De realçar que esta edição brasileira é simplesmente perfeita, as ilustrações, as margens das páginas pintadas, o tipo de letra, as páginas de guarda e até traz uma fita marca-páginas. Lindíssima! Um primor!

[Ahmed Ejaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Life, what is it but a dream?

I had guessed that this story would also take place in dream. And surprisingly I was right..yay!


Just like Alice In The Wonderland, I couldn't connect with this book also. Writing was dull. Just like the last book.
But this book did make an improvement in adventures. Those were faaar better than Alice in the Wonderland.
I liked the concept of Chess game. I liked the World of Looking-Glass. But I think Wonderland was little better. This was also great. Don't know but I liked Wonderland more.

Or for my problems regarding this book have only one answer: Classic. This book is written in 1800s. So this fact should be kept in mind while reading. That's why no matter how much I would say that would be useless.

Regardless, if you are looking forward to read this series, so do it. Don't be discouraged by my reviews of this series. Maybe you would like this series more than I did.

January 30, 2017

[Pedro Ceballos · Rating 3 out of 5]

La novela tiene una parte atrayente y es el hecho de estar en un mundo sin sentido, sin lógica y donde todo pareciera ser absurdo... Lo que no me terminó de enganchar es que el esfuerzo del escritor está enfocado en darle soporte al mundo más no a la historia, alguien me podría decir que parte de del libro es que la historia tampoco tenga sentido y podría darle la razón, pero creo que faltó explotar esa parte.
Adicionalmente me parece que es una historia infantil que muy difícilmente los niños podrían entender a la primera, por lo que el publico target aumenta un poco en edad y allí queda a medias..
Creo que fue perfecta para dibujos animados, por lo que elaborar una película a partir del material disponible realmente se lleva mis aplausos.

[sAmAnE · Rating 4 out of 5]

کتاب "آلیس در سرزمین عجایب" اثر لوئیس کارول، داستان دختر جوانی به نام آلیس را روایت می‌کند که به طور ناگهانی وارد دنیایی عجیب و غریب می‌شود.
آلیس ناگهان یک خرگوش سفید را می‌بیند که در حال صحبت کردن است. او از کنجکاوی دنباله‌روی خرگوش می‌کند که او را به سرزمین عجایب می‌برد. در این سرزمین، آلیس با شخصیت‌های عجیبی مانند کلاه‌دوز، گربه چکمه‌پوش، ملکه قلب‌ها و دیگر موجودات غیرمعمول روبرو می‌شود. در طول ماجراهایش، آلیس، با معماهای پیچیده و رفتارهای غیرمنطقی ساکنان سرزمین مواجه می‌شود. او یاد می‌گیرد که در این دنیا، قوانین منطقی و عادی وجود ندارد و همه چیز ممکن است. دیالوگ‌ها و گفتگوها بسیار جذاب هستند حتی برای بزرگسالان... رمان به بررسی موضوعاتی چون هویت، رشد و تغییر می‌پردازد و به شکل نمادین به چالش‌های دوران کودکی و بزرگسالی اشاره دارد. آلیس در نهایت با تجربیاتش در سرزمین عجایب به درک عمیق‌تری از خود و دنیای اطرافش دست می‌یابد. این کتاب به دلیل تخیل غنی، شخصیت‌های جذاب و زبان بازیگوشانه‌اش، به یکی از کلاسیک‌های ادبیات کودک تبدیل شده...

[Jena · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars (for the genre of classic children's lit.)
Just like in the first story, Lewis Carroll's writing style and whimsical queries are perfectly suited to a children's novel. This is another collection of Alice's episodic adventures, and I don't think it's any worse or better than the adventures of the first book. I do prefer this one though, especially because it has the inclusion of my beloved jabberwocky poem. Also, most of the iconic quotes that people associate with Alice in Wonderland are from this book, not the first.

[Gabriel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Empiezo a extrañar todo este mundillo.

Me encanta la acidez de los comentarios, la ironía y el absurdo de las conversaciones entre los personajes, lo surrealista que resulta la ambientación, lo físico y su transformación, los versos, todo.

La confusión, los enojos infantiles, la frustración, los pequeños momentos de tranquilidad y lo fácil que es pasar de un evento a otro y de un personaje a otro en una aventura que no parece nunca acabar (y que a mí me hubiera gustado que durara muchísimo más).

Sin bien he leído tres veces Alicia en el país de las maravillas nunca tuve la oportunidad de leer Alicia a través del espejo y debo decir que me ha gustado tantísimo como la primera parte (y creo que hasta un poquito más).

Hay personajes buenos como Las Flores (El Lirio y Las Margaritas), El Rey Blanco y El Rey Rojo. Y otros muy buenos como El Caballero Blanco, Tweedledum y Tweedledee, La Reina Blanca y La Reina Roja. Pero mi favorito sin duda es Humpty Dumpty. Pero todos desbordan carisma realmente.

[Liz* Fashionably Late · Rating 4 out of 5]

“In a wonderland they lie,
dreaming as the days go by”



Six Impossible Things:
1. I finish college this year
2. I find a guy who is both strong and loyal as Dimitri (VA) and handsome as Reyes (Charley Davidson), delicious as Barrons (Fever) and swoon worthy as Jamie (Outlander)
3. I eat all the ice cream I want and it all goes to my boobs
4. I read for a living.
5. I go to the gym
6. I don't fall sleep in the most unusual places (e.g. waiting in the line for the bathroom)

[Irena BookDustMagic · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the strangest dream.
I dreamed I found myself in Wonderland, went there trough the looking glass, but while I was there, I couldn't remember what Wonderland looked like.

After I woke up, I decided it was the best time for me to finally read this book and find my answers.

When I was growing up, I liked watching Trough the Looking Glass animated movie better then Alice in Wonderland, even if it wasn't Disney's.

Now when I was reading it, some pictures from that movie came to my mind, I was reminiscing about some scenes I complitely forgot about.

What took me by surprise was how I knew some quotes even though I couldn't have know them from that very movie.

Also, I noticed how some characters that weren't in the first book, but were in Disney's movie for the first time showed up here, in Trough the Looking Glass.

When I look at them only as books, I can't say I'm sure which story I like better.
I think this one made me smile more often, even if I think that Alice in Wonderland has better quotes in it.

[Aishu Rehman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming book, full of surprising insights into the true meaning and historical background of various seemingly straightforward passages in the Alice books. So much so, that one wishes that there were more of these annotations.

That I had missed while growing up. It has lots of lessons that are currently applicable to people in their everyday life. For instance, the Cheshire Cat when Alice asked him where she should go. So many people in life don't know where they're going and so they just settle on one arbitrary direction. Lewis Carroll is a master and his craft.

[AMEERA · Rating 4 out of 5]

absolutely loved it

[Manny · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the Celebrity Death Match Review Tournament, The Annotated Alice (6) versus 1984 (22)

- Good morning, Mr... Dumpty, I believe it was?

- Correct. Humpty Dumpty at your service.

- Well, we hope you soon will be. I must admit, we don't normally like to employ egghead intellectuals... no offence intended...

- None taken.

- ... but you are so extremely well qualified to take over as editor of the Newspeak Dictionary that, ah, we thought we'd make an exception.

The rest of this review is available elsewhere (the location cannot be given for Goodreads policy reasons)

[J. Wootton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lewis Carroll's Alice duology has earned him a reputation for literary genius - but where exactly that genius lies has been hard for fans and critics alike to plot. What's needed, I think, is a multi-dimensional approach: Three charts overlaid to help us mark the spot.

There is, first, Carroll's mastery of the dreamy feel to the story, the way one scene melts into the next, the way each scene retains familiar elements from the one before it. Carroll rarely changes everything at once, preferring instead to alter a few things at a time until, gradually, all is different. This gives the otherwise bewildering story the same sense of continuity that dreams have to the dreamer.

(It has also led, thanks to the mushroom and the hookah-smoking caterpillar in Wonderland, to erroneous assumptions about Carroll's own drug use. These have been roundly disproved, and no similar objects alter Alice's experience of Looking-Glass World).

Second, Carroll paid attention to the way children perceive reality - to how we struggle, in our early years, to reconcile new experiences with prior paradigms of how the world works. Carroll successfully voices Alice as a character because she is neither adultish nor puerile - she isn't so lost in the dream, as a dreamer is, that she accepts the weird as normal; but neither is she so mature in her worldview that she perceives the dream as mere dream and must resort to sarcasm and scoffery to protect her own perspective. Consequently, the story convinces. We trust what Alice sees, we know she has got beyond the mere dream to somewhere on the borders of Faerie... somewhere where the line chalked between imagination and consequence is skewed and smudged.

Third, Carroll let his story be guided by his theme. Both Wonderland and Looking-Glass World* are deeply informed by Carroll's - or rather, Dodgson's - insistence that logic and mathematical reasoning remain firmly grounded in physical reality. In his view, abstract mathematics - which were beginning to be popular among his fellow math professors when Wonderland was written - were an esoteric game, a nonsense language lacking the intellectual rigor of the two-thousand-year-old Euclidean standard. When asked to publish Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel, Through the Looking Glass, Carroll discovered an opportunity to satirize the imaginary number with imaginary nouns and a commutable landscape. Alice frequently loses her way as she tries to move across Looking-Glass World from the Second Square to the Eighth, where she will be promoted from Pawn to Queen. Her adventures feel haphazard, yet uncanny; by leading readers through a series of cleverly disguised mathematical allegories, Carroll provides a strange sense of balance to his Looking-Glass equation.

To read more about the mathematical man behind the magical Carroll, I recommend this article, as well as Douglas Hofstadter's Godel Escher Bach An Eternal Golden Braid.



*Alice doesn't revisit Wonderland in Through the Looking Glass. Wonderland is a game of cards; Looking-Glass World is a chess board.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Speak in French when you can’t think of the English for a thing--
turn your toes out when you walk---
And remember who you are!”

Through the Looking-Glass is the 1871 sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and where Alice ventures into a fantasy world by going through a mirror.

I remember seeing the 2016 film of this book, Alice Through the Looking-Glass starring Johnny Depp and not liking it much. This surprised me since I loved the 2010 film adaption of Alice in Wonderland also starring Johnny Depp. After the film experience, I was prepared to not like this book either. Sadly, the audio really never grabbed my interest in the three plus hours it lasted. I can’t blame it on the audio narrated by Renee Raudman; the story lacked direction, seemed scattered.

Anyway, I wouldn’t have bothered with this book if it had not been on Boxall’s 1001 books list. So, my advice to future adult readers is to get an illustrated children’s book to read rather than the audio (or listen to the audio while following along in the book). I think having an artist’s rending would have boosted my interest in the book.

Note: This book Through the Looking-Glass is also known by two other names, Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There and Alice, Through the Looking-Glass.

[Rodrigo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ha sido una segunda parte menos graciosa o curiosa que la 1ª, al menos a si me ha parecido.
Me gustaba que las cosas en el espejo se vieran de manera opuesta, además aparecen personajes bastante conocidos en el ámbito infantil.
Pero, no sé, ha faltado algo, los diálogos eran un tanto alocados y muchas veces un sin sentido, jaaajajajja.
valoración: 5.75/10
Sinopsis: Alicia a través del espejo está concebido como una partida de ajedrez, donde los arroyos y los setos dividen las casillas y Alicia es un peón que aspira a ser reina; una partida de ajedrez donde nada tiene sentido y nada es lo que parece. En el mundo del espejo la realidad está distorsionada, o quizá sólo es otro modo de verla. En este mundo, para ir a cualquier lugar la mejor manera es alejarse y para cortar una tarta hay que repartirla primero.

[W · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alice goes into another world whose inhabitants are either chess pieces or characters from nursery ryhmes.

She meets Humpty Dumpty,Tweedledum and Tweedledee,among others.They are all either full of criticism or advice for Alice.

Maybe my expectations were higher,but the sequel is not half as good as the original.There are a few good lines but the magic that made Alice in Wonderland such a classic,is missing here.

[Jim Ef · Rating 3 out of 5]

6.8/10
Alice once again finds herself in a place where nothing is ordinary.
Not as great as the first book but still Carroll's pen does the trick and provides an entertaining read.