A review by emmareadstoomuch
Alice's Adventures Under Ground by Lewis Carroll

4.0

did you know there are versions of this book you can read IN LEWIS CARROLL'S HANDWRITING?

unrelatedly, my life has just peaked

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This book is a half-baked, unfinished, not-intended-for-publishing version of a now-existing book, and guess what? It’s still fantastic.

Your fave could, simply put, never.

Alice’s Adventures Under Ground is mainly impressive for what it had been - a story Charles Dodgson made up on the spot while rowing a boat, in an unparalleled feat of multitasking - and what it will become.

What it will become, obviously, is not only Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (inarguably one of the greatest children’s classics of all time, and that’s not even just me playing favorites) but DOUBLE THE LENGTH.

Dodgson never intended to publish this book!!! He just told Alice Liddell a story, Alice was like “hey that was an especially good story, can you write it out for me?” Dodgson is like ya sure give me a few months, I’ll do 37 pen drawings, and...here you go here’s a manuscript merry Christmas even though it’s November.

Smash cut to: the Liddells use that sh*t as a coffee table book because who wouldn’t, all their guests read it because who wouldn’t, and everybody tells Dodgson to publish it because who wouldn’t.

But at first he didn’t intend to! And then once he gave in, he just...doubled the length.

HOW DOES YOUR MIND WORK LIKE THAT!!!

This has less nonsense and wonder and whimsy and complicated quasi-logic in it than the book we all know, but that really just shows that Carroll’s mind was able to just COME UP WITH THAT. He just added poems and songs and the Mad Hatter and March Hare and Dormouse and their mad tea party and the Cheshire Cat and the Duchess and the baby who turns into a pig and a bunch of other things and made a masterpiece.

And really, that’s more impressive than if it could be found here, too.

Again I will say: Your. Fave. Could. Never.

Bottom line: I could live a thousand years and read a million books and never love any of them like I love Alice and her adventures in Wonderland.

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i honestly think i could live a thousand years and not find anything i love as much as Alice and Wonderland.

review to come

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i literally scream from the rooftops that Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is my favorite book and i am only just now reading this for the first time.

who am i.

(shoutout to my roommate for knowing me better than anyone and getting me the best gift ever) (read: this book)