Into the Forest discussion

This thread is for the May 15-July 14 Group Read Traditional Tale Winner
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll!

I can't believe I've never read this! I'm looking forward to reading it. I'm surprised that the audiobook is only 3 hours long. It does say unabridged. The book looks bigger.

Margaret wrote: "I can't believe I've never read this! I'm looking forward to reading it. I'm surprised that the audiobook is only 3 hours long. It does say unabridged. The book looks bigger."

I don't remember reading the entire book either. I had the Disney version that came with the LP ( this was before Videos ), so I am looking forward to reading it. I will be picking my copy up from the library today!

As mentioned above, I only read a shorter Disney version of this as a kid. I don't know why it never occurred to me to read the original until now! I am thoroughly enjoying it!
I agree with what Mary says about being even better when read by adults It is so surreal and dream like!
I understand why there are references to it in hippy culture, like the song White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane. If I didn't know that psychedelics and cannibis weren't in use in the 18 hundreds I might think Lewis Carol was into them!
I think I remember it was also political against monarchy. Could this be?

I quite enjoyed this. It's very whimsical and fun. I listened to it all today, and I found a full-cast audio by Naxos Audio that was delightful.

I'm not sure if I would've enjoyed it more or less as a child. I abhorred the movie as a kid. It was one of two movies that gave me nightmares (the other being the old Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory). It's interesting because my parents didn't try to stop me from watching anything, so I regularly watched much scarier adult movies, but these two children's movies absolutely freaked me out.

I think it's because I did not like chaos as a child. I liked fantasy quite a bit, but utter chaos disturbed me a lot. So I probably wouldn't have liked this. But then, if I had never watched the movie, I might've found things to love in the book.

As an adult, I enjoyed how child-like Alive was, and how anything is possible in this absurd world. Lots of great world building.

I'm seeing articles online that say some say it's a political allegory, but nothing definitive. I will say the courtroom scene seemed like it might be a criticism of British law, but I have no idea if that's the case.

Read this as a child and loved it, then again and again over the years. My favourite part is the Jabberwocky poem, which I memorized as a kid (this did NOT earn me any street cred with my friends). But I think his use and manipulation of language is just brilliant. People are still coming up with answers to his riddle: how is a raven like a writing desk? He inspires me to not just think outside the box, but throw away the box altogether.

I really enjoyed this and am so happy I finally read it. I think this book was definitely before it's time because it was surreal before the surrealist movement.

I'm not sure if I would have enjoyed it as a child either. I did have a shortened Disney version which I liked when I was around 5 or 6, but as an older child I wouldn't have wanted to read it because I would have assumed it's for little kids.

My version didn't have The Jabberwocky poem in it? My daughter went through a phase when she wanted me to read her that poem again and again. We used to quote it on our walks together (this was at 2-3 years old, ha!).

Lately I've been reading a lot of historical novels about military dictatorships: Libya, Romania, Chile, South Korea, etc. They're well-executed and important novels, but they've all been pretty bleak because they deal with torture and the killing of innocent civilians. I need to shift gears and read something light, fun, and whimsical. So I'll be joining you in this read.

It's been decades since I last read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass. I started it yesterday and am enjoying it. It looks like just what I need to get away from examples of the horrendous cruelty human beings are capable of perpetrating on one another.

I'm looking forward to immersing myself in fun reading. Thanks for choosing this and prompting me to diversify my reading choices.

Tamara wrote: "Lately I've been reading a lot of historical novels about military dictatorships: Libya, Romania, Chile, South Korea, etc. They're well-executed and important novels, but they've all been pretty bl..."

I hear you! I just finished a book about an innocent person who spent 15 years in Guantanamo without ever being formally charged for a crime he never committed in the first place! I'm glad I read it, but it was a tough read. Reading Alice's adventures in wonderland was such a delightful contrast!

Has anyone on this thread read "The Annotated Alice," with commentary by Martin Gardner, who decodes the two books' many mathematical puzzles and riddles? (It also includes the complete texts of "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass," and includes John Tenniel's original illustrations.) First published in 1959, "The Annotated Alice" has been reprinted many times since. I fondly remember it from my childhood (beautifully designed, it held a prominent place on my family's bookshelves), and "The Annotated Alice" was among the first books to ignite my interest in fantastic literature. I've returned to it many times over the years. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

Joseph wrote: "Has anyone on this thread read "The Annotated Alice," with commentary by Martin Gardner, who decodes the two books' many mathematical puzzles and riddles? (It also includes the complete texts of "A..."

No it sounds interesting! Is there a link in for it?

Tamara wrote: "Lately I've been reading a lot of historical novels about military dictatorships: Libya, Romania, Chile, South Korea, etc. They're well-executed and important novels, but they've all been pretty bl..."

Oh, that's rough. I'm glad Alice is working as a pick-me-up! I do that with my reading sometimes, too.

I finished Alice a few days ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a nice reprieve. But then I went on to read Scholastique Mukasonga's memoir about the oppression and violence against the Tutsis in Rwanda. So I am apparently back to reading books about civil conflicts. No idea why :)

I just posted my review of Alice in Wonderland.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I liked it this one as a child and still now.