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A review by emmareadstoomuch
Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll
5.0
welcome to...ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN SEPTEMBERLAND, PART 2!
i know that seems like a copout, but to be fair, i've always considered this book a continuation of the first one, rather than a separate entity.
usually as, well, a copout so i can call both of them my favorite book of all time.
anyway! here we are for part two of a modified installment of Project Long Classics, in which elle and i tackle a long intimidating classic in small chunks for an entire month.
but because alice is not long to me, nor is it intimidating, and i consider both books to be like one thing, i'm reading both! welcome to that.
join our book club to join the project!! follow on instagram here or join the discussion here.
DAY 1: LOOKING-GLASS HOUSE
immediately we're off to the races. man, this slays.
the thing about this book (and keep in mind i have said "the thing about [an alice book]" and followed up with about 97 different statements in the course of my life) is that there has never been a more curious, more interesting, more charming character than alice - and yet she is perfect believable. kids are like this. it rules.
DAY 2: THE GARDEN OF LIVE FLOWERS
iconic!!!!!!
i love to think that if flowers could talk, they'd be pretty and mean and prone to puns.
DAY 3: THE LOOKING-GLASS INSECTS
talking flowers would be a tough act to follow by any stretch, but goddamn. BUGS are the best we can do?!
but oh my god oh my god. speaking of all stars...tomorrow we head to the dweebs.
DAY 4: TWEEDLEDUM AND TWEEDLEDEE
AYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
mandela effect because "tweedledum and tweedledee" sounds so wrong. feels like it should be the other way around. but then again i typed wrong as "swonr" on the first try so what do i know.
is there any word better than contrariwise?
DAY 5: WOOL AND WATER
alice is forever the one exception to my talking-animal rule (that they're boring and dumb and should be left out of everything).
cue paramore.
DAY 6: HUMPTY DUMPTY
a children's classic crossover fav!
DAY 7: THE LION AND THE UNICORN
wordplay city!!!! imagine how hard this would hit if 99% of these poems and riddles and songs and sh*t were still in pop culture. it's like the SNL of the 19th century. but like, a good era of SNL.
DAY 8: "IT'S MY OWN INVENTION"
and suddenly.......an icon receives her crown..............
DAY 9: QUEEN ALICE
queen of my heart alice!!! queen of all characters of all time alice!!! queen of being the best there ever was and it isn't close alice!!!
life should have more dinner parties. and they should always be written like this: "dinner-party." and they should contain altogether more nonsense.
DAY 10: SHAKING
no...
DAY 11: WAKING
don't. :(
it's all over now. what a real and literal awakening. like a wake-up call.
DAY 12: WHICH DREAMED IT?
i'm no poetry girl. but possibly my favorite poem ever comes at the end of this chapter.
OVERALL
this has a little less of the nonsensical whimsy of the first alice and a bit too much animal chatter even for my taste, but this exploration of dreaming and childhood and magic and nostalgia is so charming and dear to my heart. i will love it forever.
rating: 5
----------------
full review
It’s not fair that I have to review this book.
I mean, no one is making me. Technically speaking, I am in no way obligated to review this. But also, in a much more real important way, because I am the one saying it: I absolutely must.
Because I love this book so goddamn much.
BUT HOW AM I POSSIBLY EXPECTED TO PUT THAT LOVE INTO WORDS.
There’s only one way to do it.
By cheating.
Read my review of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland so you understand the immensity of my love for these books (which I kind of count as one book, spiritually, and only don’t actually count as one book for reading challenge purposes).
But you still won’t really know how much I love these books, so you should probably read me scream more about it in my review of The Annotated Alice. And Alice's Adventures Under Ground, for good measure.
And also, you should read all of Shakespeare’s love sonnets, and the great love letters of history, and the collected works of Jane Austen. You should watch the bird scene from The Notebook, and the sad part from Titanic, and the scene in Say Anything when John Cusack holds the boombox over his head.
All of those viewings are just to have a good laugh, though. And also to jam the f*ck out to In Your Eyes, a musical treasure.
To reallyyyy understand, you should watch Booksmart and Safety Not Guaranteed and Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again!
Perhaps through all of these reviews and readings and viewings, you can gain a passing understanding of how much I love Alice.
Probably not, though.
Bottom line: I HAVE TOO MUCH LOVE IN MY HEART.
i know that seems like a copout, but to be fair, i've always considered this book a continuation of the first one, rather than a separate entity.
usually as, well, a copout so i can call both of them my favorite book of all time.
anyway! here we are for part two of a modified installment of Project Long Classics, in which elle and i tackle a long intimidating classic in small chunks for an entire month.
but because alice is not long to me, nor is it intimidating, and i consider both books to be like one thing, i'm reading both! welcome to that.
join our book club to join the project!! follow on instagram here or join the discussion here.
DAY 1: LOOKING-GLASS HOUSE
immediately we're off to the races. man, this slays.
the thing about this book (and keep in mind i have said "the thing about [an alice book]" and followed up with about 97 different statements in the course of my life) is that there has never been a more curious, more interesting, more charming character than alice - and yet she is perfect believable. kids are like this. it rules.
DAY 2: THE GARDEN OF LIVE FLOWERS
iconic!!!!!!
i love to think that if flowers could talk, they'd be pretty and mean and prone to puns.
DAY 3: THE LOOKING-GLASS INSECTS
talking flowers would be a tough act to follow by any stretch, but goddamn. BUGS are the best we can do?!
but oh my god oh my god. speaking of all stars...tomorrow we head to the dweebs.
DAY 4: TWEEDLEDUM AND TWEEDLEDEE
AYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
mandela effect because "tweedledum and tweedledee" sounds so wrong. feels like it should be the other way around. but then again i typed wrong as "swonr" on the first try so what do i know.
is there any word better than contrariwise?
DAY 5: WOOL AND WATER
alice is forever the one exception to my talking-animal rule (that they're boring and dumb and should be left out of everything).
cue paramore.
DAY 6: HUMPTY DUMPTY
a children's classic crossover fav!
DAY 7: THE LION AND THE UNICORN
wordplay city!!!! imagine how hard this would hit if 99% of these poems and riddles and songs and sh*t were still in pop culture. it's like the SNL of the 19th century. but like, a good era of SNL.
DAY 8: "IT'S MY OWN INVENTION"
and suddenly.......an icon receives her crown..............
DAY 9: QUEEN ALICE
queen of my heart alice!!! queen of all characters of all time alice!!! queen of being the best there ever was and it isn't close alice!!!
life should have more dinner parties. and they should always be written like this: "dinner-party." and they should contain altogether more nonsense.
DAY 10: SHAKING
no...
DAY 11: WAKING
don't. :(
it's all over now. what a real and literal awakening. like a wake-up call.
DAY 12: WHICH DREAMED IT?
i'm no poetry girl. but possibly my favorite poem ever comes at the end of this chapter.
OVERALL
this has a little less of the nonsensical whimsy of the first alice and a bit too much animal chatter even for my taste, but this exploration of dreaming and childhood and magic and nostalgia is so charming and dear to my heart. i will love it forever.
rating: 5
----------------
full review
It’s not fair that I have to review this book.
I mean, no one is making me. Technically speaking, I am in no way obligated to review this. But also, in a much more real important way, because I am the one saying it: I absolutely must.
Because I love this book so goddamn much.
BUT HOW AM I POSSIBLY EXPECTED TO PUT THAT LOVE INTO WORDS.
There’s only one way to do it.
By cheating.
Read my review of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland so you understand the immensity of my love for these books (which I kind of count as one book, spiritually, and only don’t actually count as one book for reading challenge purposes).
But you still won’t really know how much I love these books, so you should probably read me scream more about it in my review of The Annotated Alice. And Alice's Adventures Under Ground, for good measure.
And also, you should read all of Shakespeare’s love sonnets, and the great love letters of history, and the collected works of Jane Austen. You should watch the bird scene from The Notebook, and the sad part from Titanic, and the scene in Say Anything when John Cusack holds the boombox over his head.
All of those viewings are just to have a good laugh, though. And also to jam the f*ck out to In Your Eyes, a musical treasure.
To reallyyyy understand, you should watch Booksmart and Safety Not Guaranteed and Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again!
Perhaps through all of these reviews and readings and viewings, you can gain a passing understanding of how much I love Alice.
Probably not, though.
Bottom line: I HAVE TOO MUCH LOVE IN MY HEART.