Alice in Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll
Rating ****(4 stars)
As Posted at The Book Recluse Review


The story of Alice in Wonderland is everywhere. It has been made into multiple movies, is consistently referenced, and even has play adaptations. Everyone seems to know the story by heart. Then I realized that I had actually never read to book. Of course I had to change that.

Alice in Wonderland is a coming of age story. It is about having to put away the fantasy of youth and grow up. The message is not at all subtle in the story. Alice even berates herself several times for not growing up. Yet while she is coming of age while in a fantasy adventure.

My favorite part of the story is at the very end. Alice rehearses her "dream" to her older sister. Alice's sister than 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 original source and read this book.