7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
About this edition, Mar 6 2004
By A Customer
I'm not reviewing the story (we all know what a masterpiece it is :) but this edition is fabulous! It is actually two seperate dust-jacketed hardcover volumes, one for each tale, and they come in one very sturdy slipcase with beautiful art. For the current Amazon price it is a *total* bargain - I wasn't expecting it to be so nice. We also got the jigsaw puzzle book to go with it and it is also better than expected. They make a great gift for a lucky little gal!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A stunning rendition of a classic, Mar 14 2004
By A Customer
This is a must for "Alice" collectors of all ages. The art is beautiful and the design is unusual.
I disagree with the Booklist reviewer that the design makes for difficult reading or is distracting. The design flourishes enhance the reading experience.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Begin At The Beginning...", July 13 2009
"... and go on till you come to the end: then stop." Good advice for reading this book, from the Red King himself.
To say that "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" is a classic would be to state the obvious. Published originally in 1865, it was taken from stories which the Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (a.k.a. Lewis Carroll) told to three girls, the daughters of Henry George Liddell, including Alice Liddell who is the basis for the heroine of the stories. The stories inside are wonderful and superb nonsense which appeal to readers of all ages, as long as you don't try to read too much into it. The stories are filled with all sorts of absurdities based on language, logic, math, and parody. If you obtain a copy which has notes that discuss what is being parodied, it will add to the fun, certainly, but it isn't necessary because even without the parody it is still great fun. Also, you can certainly find references online to help find the sources which are being parodied.
Other than to say that the book is about Alice's adventures it would be difficult to say that there are any great lessons here, other than perhaps to not take things too seriously. At the same time there are certainly some running themes throughout the stories. Size is a key element at some times Alice is very tiny, and at other times incredibly large, and food and drink are the main triggers for these changes. Sense and nonsense is another running theme as there are those who try to make sense out of the nonsense, and others who just enjoy the ride.
The book opens with Alice following the white rabbit down the hole, and plummeting deep into the Earth. She meets many characters in her adventures, like the White Rabbit, a mouse, a lizard named Bill, a Caterpiller smoking a hookah, the Duchess, the Mad Hatter, the March Hare the Cheshire Cat, the Mock Turtle, the Red Queen, and many others. The adventures include her descent into Wonderland, her loss of identity with her changes in size, her babysitting a baby which turns into a pig, the endless tea-party, a very unusual croquet game, listening to the Mock Turtle's story, and of course the trial at the end.
The stories clearly have long lasting influence as well. In books, movies, music, and art, there are countless examples of works based on the Alice Adventures as well as references to them. One thing those works have done is led to some confusion with regards to the Alice stories. Characters like Tweedledum, Tweedledee, Humpty Dumpty, and the Red Queen are not in this book, but rather in the sequel "Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There".
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