Friday 14 October 2011

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - The Annotated Alice **Review**


The Annotated Alice: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Series: Yes
Pages: 368
Publisher: Penguin Books
Release date: 25th October 2001
Buy: Book Depository | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Waterstones

Goodreads synopsis (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland):
Alice is one of the most beloved characters of English writing. A bright and inquisitive child, one boring summer afternoon she follows a white rabbit down a rabbit-hole, at the bottom she finds herself in a bizarre world full of strange creatures, and attends a very strange tea party and croquet match. This immensely witty and unique story mixes satire and puzzles, comedy and anxiety, to provide an astute depiction of the experience of childhood.



I have only read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland from this text, and not Through the Looking Glass, as the first Alice book is the one I needed to read for my course.
I have always been a big fan of Alice in Wonderland, but I think I've been able to get a lot more from it reading it as an adult than I did when I'd read bits of it when I was younger. I'm able to see more of the jokes in it, and understand the deeper workings of the text than I did previously.
I think my favourite part of the story is the string of puns we get from the Gryphon and the Mock Turtle - some of them were very funny and unexpected - particularly 'Lessons' are called lessons because they lessen each time - that got a little chuckle out of me.
As I've said, I've read this again for my University course, and I am very much looking forward to our discussions on the piece in the lectures and seminars.

As for this particular edition, it is an annotated edition, and is particularly aimed at an American readership. Some of the annotations specifically explain expressions and words that would already be familiar to a British reader - things like what shingle is. So, although I have no doubt that these would be very useful to a non-British reader, I found some of the notes a little tiring. The cover however, is amazing! Really eye-catching and fantastic to look at. The back cover also has an image of the 'Drink Me' bottle on it. A beautiful book, no doubt!


20 comments:

Chocolate Chunky Munkie said...

I love the cover. I could just see me rocking those Alice tights lol. I read this ages ago. Then I really enjoyed Frank Beddor's Looking Glass Wars - a different spin on Alice in Wonderland.

Jen xx

sam1978 said...

I think you have convinced me to get this Dani :) xx

Unknown said...

Great review...I'll definitely read it!

Hannah said...

I loved this book when I read it when I was younger. I think I might have to read again - I might get more out of it the second time around.

Dani Cotton said...

Hannah, you will almost certainly get more out of it the second time. And then something different again the third time, and again the fourth time, and the fifth etc. It's depths are vast!

Dani :)

Christina W said...

I have this book myself and really wanna read it, this is helping me on the way to finally reading it.

Cayce said...

Who doesn't love Alice? :)
And yes, that cover is really cool!
Thank you for the review!

Tiffany Holme said...

Alice in Wonderland is one of those books that has so many fun versions! The cover of thos one is in my kind of colouring! Sounds like an awesome read!! Great review!!

Eli Yanti said...

hey, i always love story of alice in wonderland ;)

Ruth said...

I've read both Through the Looking Glass and Alice in Wonderland as a child, and I loved them! My favorite character was the Jabberwocky!

ZaraAlexis said...

I studied this book in university, too, for my Modes of Fantasy class. I was pleasantly pleased to return to it. Re-reading is crucial to changing and expanding your reading tastes. I had very different thoughts about it the second or third time around.

Zara D. Garcia-Alvarez

Unknown said...

I love the cover alright! Alice in Wonderland is one of my favorite classics. I have this illustrated coffeetable copy of the story that I enjoyed reading, though there are no annotations to help me understand some parts of the story. I might look up for this book; I don't really mind if I have double copies. Great review!

Diana_Dimovska said...

I love this book! There is so much wisdom in it, for one who can see through the looking glass ;) Awesome review! :)

Anonymous said...

I love this book! One of my favorite stories out there. :) Nice review!

Unknown said...

a classic - all children should read the book

Megan said...

I think a lot of books are like that - because they have elements of fantasy, they are now considered "children's books," even though a lot of them go over children's heads. I'm glad you were able to revisit Alice as an adult! :)

Cipryan said...

you made me curious.I don't know if I can find this book in Romania , but whatever...I want to read it.

Chelsea said...

This looks really cool :)

Debdatta Dasgupta said...

Alice in Wonderland is one of my favourites. Shame about the movie though!

Twisted Pixie Reviews said...

I've not read this particular Alice book but now I am curious to not only read it but add it to my collection. I have to agree completely that when I had to re-read Alice in Wonderland myself that I gained much more from it than when I read it when I was younger. Like you I was able to see more into what was really going on with Alice and being a Psychology major I was able to see the characters in wonderland and what they represented in her real life manifesting themselves in her subconscious. Anyway, love your review and looking forward to picking this book for myself very soon. :)

Oh and I must say, really how awesome is that cover! It really is pretty darn awesome. :)

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