A review by raquel_reading_stuff
After Alice by Gregory Maguire
2.0
While Maguire's Wicked Years 1-4 hold a treasure trove of fascinating characters and an exploration into philosophical themes, After Alice is a stunning example of how not even the most thought-provoking, ponderous paragraphs can make up for a clear lack of meaning, likeable characters, and captivating content.
The book switches between sections mainly from the point of view of Ada– Alice's friend who falls down the rabbit hole as well– and Lydia, Alice's older sister. You go back and forth between Down the Rabbit Hole and in the Real World, where governesses are freaking out and Darwin's presence is making everybody else nervous.
That's all it is.
No, I did not love Alice in Wonderland, but at least it was imaginative and novel and unique. Maguire takes scenes from it and has Ada come in a moment too late, after Alice has already moved on. None of his scenes in Wonderland are convincing or impactful because they all either seem like a) a rehashing of scenes we remember from Alice and Wonderland or b) passages meant to "make us think" or amuse us somehow with nonsense and arbitrary descriptions of how wonky Wonderland is, what with how much it changes around every minute, and the attention span of its habitants.
The only thing that kept me reading was the sections with Lydia. Lydia is coping with family strife in the Real World, dealing with growing up, etc– and reading about her Oxford life was interesting to me. Not quite relatable, obviously, but her character I found interesting.
Ada, on the other hand, was a nothing character. At the very end she seems to have learned or changed somewhat, but overall the story just happens to her. She doesn't do much. And nothing is more dull than that.
Read it for the philosophical paragraphs Maguire places in there a few times a chapter, but overall, the book is a waste of time with a pretty bow. I wish he'd just deleted everything with Ada and kept only the Real World stuff– so then it wouldn't be a repeat.
My least favorite Maguire, including Egg and Spoon. They can't all be winners!
The book switches between sections mainly from the point of view of Ada– Alice's friend who falls down the rabbit hole as well– and Lydia, Alice's older sister. You go back and forth between Down the Rabbit Hole and in the Real World, where governesses are freaking out and Darwin's presence is making everybody else nervous.
That's all it is.
No, I did not love Alice in Wonderland, but at least it was imaginative and novel and unique. Maguire takes scenes from it and has Ada come in a moment too late, after Alice has already moved on. None of his scenes in Wonderland are convincing or impactful because they all either seem like a) a rehashing of scenes we remember from Alice and Wonderland or b) passages meant to "make us think" or amuse us somehow with nonsense and arbitrary descriptions of how wonky Wonderland is, what with how much it changes around every minute, and the attention span of its habitants.
The only thing that kept me reading was the sections with Lydia. Lydia is coping with family strife in the Real World, dealing with growing up, etc– and reading about her Oxford life was interesting to me. Not quite relatable, obviously, but her character I found interesting.
Ada, on the other hand, was a nothing character. At the very end she seems to have learned or changed somewhat, but overall the story just happens to her. She doesn't do much. And nothing is more dull than that.
Read it for the philosophical paragraphs Maguire places in there a few times a chapter, but overall, the book is a waste of time with a pretty bow. I wish he'd just deleted everything with Ada and kept only the Real World stuff– so then it wouldn't be a repeat.
My least favorite Maguire, including Egg and Spoon. They can't all be winners!