Beloved by children and adults alike for nearly 150 years, Alice’s adventures in Wonderland is a truly iconic piece of literature and a mainstay of fantastical western fiction. Its affect on other forms of art have been no less impressive; movies, television shows, music, comics, radio, animation, artwork, sculpture and even computer games. There are plentiful examples in all media types that either directly reference or allude to the book. There’s even a neurological condition named ‘Alice in Wonderland syndrome’.
Given all that, and a fondness for such nonsense as the book is famous for, my enjoyment of this book was not really surprising.
Famously written whilst on a rowing boat, Alice’s adventures in Wonderland tells the tale of a young girls adventure through a surreal and twisted landscape – a place where peculiar people exist alongside anthropomorphic animals and cognitive cards. Amongst other places, her travels take her through a sea of tears, a tea party that never ends and the trial of the Knave of Hearts.
Although essentially a children’s tale, Alice manages to engage all ages due to the strong storytelling, descriptive characters and symbolic references. Coupled with the playful use of logic and nod to mathematical concepts, this story can be appreciated on alternate levels without such understanding depreciating its strength as a story. Few are the people that would not understand references to ‘the white rabbit’, ‘off with his head’ or ‘down the rabbit hole’.
There’s an online version of the original 1865 manuscript here. There are also many other versions online, as well as some audiobooks, so there’s no reason not to take a look at this book. I’d certainly recommend doing so.
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