jeniecegoellner's review against another edition
2.0
This was a hard one. A lot wordier than other works of Maguire's. You also have to be really on top of a your Alice references, which I unfortunately am not. There are some really smart moments that I enjoyed, but they were few and far between.
otterlybooks's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
leatheauthor's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
matthew_zorich's review against another edition
2.0
Loved the cover and the idea but I never really fell into the book and the ideas it was trying to represent, (Rigid conservative Oxford churning into enlightenment compared to a child's dream in Wonderland and obscurity of rules not being rules. ) The Victorian English and the play on words in both environments made for fun moments but the writing felt like it was trying to hard to make a point. Either way, done and done.
mattyzmom's review against another edition
4.0
This story takes on the same scene and characters as Alice in Wonderland. I read it slower as some of the vocabulary was unusual. I loved Wicked so much better, but this story was adequate.
A story of Alice's neighbor getting stuck in Wonderland with another child who was just in the neighborhood for a visit.
A story of Alice's neighbor getting stuck in Wonderland with another child who was just in the neighborhood for a visit.
storytime_with_amy11's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jazzypizzaz's review against another edition
3.0
I quite enjoyed reading this book, although I don't think it carried through with the themes and plot as effectively as it intended.
I really enjoyed the obscure language and peculiar writing style-- it made it fun to read even when I wasn't sure what the point was of particular plot points. Also, the obscure language used (for example, spelling "jail" as "gaol" at one point, a spelling apparently used in the time period) is a nice parallel to the fanciful and colorful made up words in Carroll's Jaberwocky poem.
I liked the character of Ada-- for an "unimaginative" child, she seemed well-suited to navigating Wonderland, perhaps *because* she took everything literally.
The situations of the various characters tied in nicely with the themes, particularly the commentary on Victorian society as similarly confusing and arbitrary as Wonderland. Ada, child of a Vicar, sees depictions of Dante's Inferno in a book and assumes they are the literal truth-- is Wonderland really so strange to consider, when her father's religion preaches literal fire and brimstone for moral transgressions? Rules surrounding moral transgressions in Victorian are similarly absurd as the Queen of Hearts' constant threats to cut off people's heads-- Ada's posture is a moral failing, women cannot even step foot on college grounds, the governess feels herself morally superior to the Vicar's drunk wife but keeps catching herself in indiscreet transgressions. On the other hand, in Alice and Lydia's household, Darwin's theory of evolution-- that species evolve and man evolved from monkeys-- seems similarly absurd and nonsensical at this time in history. Parallel with this, Lydia is trapped between her "evolutions" as a woman-- neither child nor adult, neither cared for by a mother nor having the power/respect of matron of the house. Siam is similarly caught between worlds, because of his unfortunate life experiences-- slavery is outlawed and Mr. Winter promises to protect him from his former horrific life as a slave, but in white society he is continually an oddity and the best he could hope for is to be overlooked.
Where this book really shines is these reflections on Victorian life, and I applaud Maguire's focus on these scenes, as any attempts to keep up with the original whimsy and creativity of Carroll's Wonderland fall flat.
I really enjoyed the obscure language and peculiar writing style-- it made it fun to read even when I wasn't sure what the point was of particular plot points. Also, the obscure language used (for example, spelling "jail" as "gaol" at one point, a spelling apparently used in the time period) is a nice parallel to the fanciful and colorful made up words in Carroll's Jaberwocky poem.
I liked the character of Ada-- for an "unimaginative" child, she seemed well-suited to navigating Wonderland, perhaps *because* she took everything literally.
The situations of the various characters tied in nicely with the themes, particularly the commentary on Victorian society as similarly confusing and arbitrary as Wonderland. Ada, child of a Vicar, sees depictions of Dante's Inferno in a book and assumes they are the literal truth-- is Wonderland really so strange to consider, when her father's religion preaches literal fire and brimstone for moral transgressions? Rules surrounding moral transgressions in Victorian are similarly absurd as the Queen of Hearts' constant threats to cut off people's heads-- Ada's posture is a moral failing, women cannot even step foot on college grounds, the governess feels herself morally superior to the Vicar's drunk wife but keeps catching herself in indiscreet transgressions. On the other hand, in Alice and Lydia's household, Darwin's theory of evolution-- that species evolve and man evolved from monkeys-- seems similarly absurd and nonsensical at this time in history. Parallel with this, Lydia is trapped between her "evolutions" as a woman-- neither child nor adult, neither cared for by a mother nor having the power/respect of matron of the house. Siam is similarly caught between worlds, because of his unfortunate life experiences-- slavery is outlawed and Mr. Winter promises to protect him from his former horrific life as a slave, but in white society he is continually an oddity and the best he could hope for is to be overlooked.
Where this book really shines is these reflections on Victorian life, and I applaud Maguire's focus on these scenes, as any attempts to keep up with the original whimsy and creativity of Carroll's Wonderland fall flat.
bronwynmb's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't dislike this, but didn't really like it either, so 3 stars it is. The Ada parts were a bit too much like Alice in Wonderland and the Lydia parts seemed forced much of the time. Not a bad book, but not what I was expecting.
millennialbookreview's review against another edition
1.0
Overall, I have to say that After Alice simply wasn't the novel for me. The writing is amazing, but the plot and character-work left me feeling unfulfilled. My main issues with the novel stem from one factor: the story is incredibly boring. There's no wonder in Wonderland and while the blurb promises a new story, the promise goes unfulfilled.
My in-depth review can be found here
My in-depth review can be found here
stimensk's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5