Book Review - Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland

by Lewis Carroll

Rating ****(4 stars)

The story of Alice in Wonderland is everywhere. It has been made into multiple movies, there is countless references to it, and everyone seems to know the tale by heart. Yet have you ever actually read the story?

It was upon the realization that I have not that I first picked up Alice in Wonderland a few years ago. I was just as eager to turn on the audiobook and listen away while I was at work this week. 

Alice in Wonderland is a coming of age story. It is about having to put away the fantasy of youth and grow up. This message is not at all subtle in the story, Alice several times berates herself for not growing up. All the while she is continuing on her fantastical adventure. My favorite part of the story is at the very end. Alice rehearses her "dream" to her older sister. Alice's sister then gets to rejoin the fantasy of youth for a brief time before coming back to the responsibility of adulthood. 

The tale is simple, it is a children's story. It is not a very long book, yet the very complexities in the plot make it entertaining for all ages. Even though the storyline has been rehashed and mutilated many times in our modern culture everyone should go back to the source and read this book.