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A review by graciegrace1178
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
4.0
4.2 stars. This is,, not what I expected or remembered.
PT: Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge, books that have been on my TBR for too long, children's lit, classics
What I Liked
1) Math jokes. I love that Carroll built this entire story from math jokes. He's a math nerd, and it *shows.* The logical traps and simple *silliness* of so many plot points boil down to some universal math axiom. Things like the Cheshire cat who leaves only his smile behind, Alice's grappling with her reduction and restoration in size (as a pun on the literal translation of algebra: "al jebr e al mokabala" as "restoration and reduction), and the inconsistency of Alice's own memory in recalling her times tables all reflect Carroll's time/context of increasingly abstracting math ideas. In Wonderland, nothing feels solid or sure in the world anymore, nothing can be trusted to remain as itself and *wholly* itself. Brilliant. For more on this, I highly highly recommend this page on the hidden mathematics in Alice in Wonderland: https://www.maa.org/external_archive/devlin/devlin_03_10.html
2) Abstract Math, meet pre-teens. RE previous comment of mabstract math: "In Wonderland, nothing feels solid or sure in the world anymore, nothing can be trusted to remain as itself and *wholly* itself." The same is true of adolesence and growing up. I am AMAZED at Carroll's ability to draw that connection. Again, Brilliant.
3) Sheer creative value. Honestly, Carroll's ability to write such *surreal* concepts is remarkable. I want to understand *how* he managed this. What's his creative process? How did this idea come about? Are his dreams like this? How much of this was simple creative storytelling nonsense that he then applied math concepts to after the fact? I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS
What I Didn't Like/What I Learned
1) Abstraction = Missing Something. This is one of those stories that steps so so far back into the world of abstraction that it loses some of its heart. Alice is defined primarily by her sheer confusion and uncertainty, which, while Relatable TM, creates something of a disconnect between herself and readers. The aura of surrealism forces readers to recognize the absurdity of Wonderland and their own world rather than connect on any real emotional level to the character. This isn't *necessarily* a bad thing and is certainly a feat, but for a children's story, the tone is a little too detached.
PT: Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge, books that have been on my TBR for too long, children's lit, classics
What I Liked
1) Math jokes. I love that Carroll built this entire story from math jokes. He's a math nerd, and it *shows.* The logical traps and simple *silliness* of so many plot points boil down to some universal math axiom. Things like the Cheshire cat who leaves only his smile behind, Alice's grappling with her reduction and restoration in size (as a pun on the literal translation of algebra: "al jebr e al mokabala" as "restoration and reduction), and the inconsistency of Alice's own memory in recalling her times tables all reflect Carroll's time/context of increasingly abstracting math ideas. In Wonderland, nothing feels solid or sure in the world anymore, nothing can be trusted to remain as itself and *wholly* itself. Brilliant. For more on this, I highly highly recommend this page on the hidden mathematics in Alice in Wonderland: https://www.maa.org/external_archive/devlin/devlin_03_10.html
2) Abstract Math, meet pre-teens. RE previous comment of mabstract math: "In Wonderland, nothing feels solid or sure in the world anymore, nothing can be trusted to remain as itself and *wholly* itself." The same is true of adolesence and growing up. I am AMAZED at Carroll's ability to draw that connection. Again, Brilliant.
3) Sheer creative value. Honestly, Carroll's ability to write such *surreal* concepts is remarkable. I want to understand *how* he managed this. What's his creative process? How did this idea come about? Are his dreams like this? How much of this was simple creative storytelling nonsense that he then applied math concepts to after the fact? I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS
What I Didn't Like/What I Learned
1) Abstraction = Missing Something. This is one of those stories that steps so so far back into the world of abstraction that it loses some of its heart. Alice is defined primarily by her sheer confusion and uncertainty, which, while Relatable TM, creates something of a disconnect between herself and readers. The aura of surrealism forces readers to recognize the absurdity of Wonderland and their own world rather than connect on any real emotional level to the character. This isn't *necessarily* a bad thing and is certainly a feat, but for a children's story, the tone is a little too detached.