Saturday 5 March 2016

Classic Book.5. Through the Looking-glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll


For the readers, who follow my blog regularly, you must know the impact of Alice in Wonderland on me. I fell in love with this book and I had to read Through the Looking-glass; therefore, I started reading it the moment I got the chance. On completing my daily chores, I cozied myself on my couch and got ready to be amazed. To tell you the truth, my bar of expectations was set very high. From the beginning, I had a smile plastered on my face, because I anticipated the similar level of humor, if not better, from the characters, dialogues, and the plot of Lewis Carroll's work.

The book started with Alice talking funny things to her cat and the kittens. This conversation was adorable. I, myself, talk to my pets all the time; hence, those dialogues spoke to me. The closeness a person has to their pets is beautifully captured by Lewis.

I’m going to tell you all your faults. Number one: you squeaked twice while Dinah was washing your face this morning. Now you can’t deny it, Kitty: I heard you!
Only a pet lover can find the humor in her conversation. Anyways, the author's imaginary world behind the mirror is worth an applause. This book, like the previous one, is full of weird characters, conversations, and surroundings. Alice is innocent,as ever, and trying to understand what everyone is doing and why they are doing it. Moreover, her lonely feeling that she used to get in Wonderland keeps making an appearance to her in Looking-glass world, too.

The tendency of the characters of Lewis to make rude remarks remains consistent in this sequel of the book. The bluntness of these remarks made me laugh throughout the read.

“It’s my opinion that you never think at all,” the Rose said, in a rather severe tone. “I never saw anybody that looked stupider,” a Violet said
The thought process of Alice is cute as ever. She is my favorite character out of all the books combined. Her innocence, directness, and imagination are fascinating to me. When she meets Tweedledee and Tweedledum, she tries to be diplomatic to ensure that she doesn't offend them:

Alice did not like shaking hands with either of them first, for fear of hurting the other one’s feelings; so, as the best way out of the difficulty, she took hold of both hands at once: the next moment they were dancing round in a ring. 
The word play of the characters of Lewis continued to add a little humor to the overall plot in this story.

Here the Red Queen began again. “Can you answer useful questions?” she said. “How is bread made?” “I know that!” Alice cried eagerly. “You take some flour—” “Where do you pick the flower?” the White Queen asked: “In a garden or in the hedges?”
The imagination of the author is enchanting and interesting; however, it is not as hysterical as the first book of the series. I can't say that I was disappointed. Probably my high bar of expectation reduced the overall impact of the book. I did not laugh as much as I laughed while reading Alice in Wonderland. Nonetheless, this is a lovely book and I enjoyed reading it. As I said, I love the character of Alice and the consistency that the author has kept in her character in both of his books. I can't wait to hear what other readers thought of this book. So, add comments to this post and enlighten me!

10 comments:

  1. You just made me feel like grabbing the book and read it again ... I too was impressed by the imagination and creativity. Enjoyed reading your post.

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    1. Just do it ;) At the very least you'll gain a smile on your face.

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  2. Love the humor, natural and intelligently woven. I don't quite remember the content but read it in my teens!

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    1. I admire the writing style and word play of Lewis in both the books of this series.

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  3. I read this book as a child many many years ago when all that mattered was the story and not the structure. Your analysis makes me want to re-visit the book as an adult and appreciate the finer points of writing.

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    1. Please do! I'll wait for your opinion of the book.

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  4. I haven't read Alice in Wonderland.. your experience of reading this book seems so interesting.. but i don't know whether this is my kind of a book...

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  5. Read this book a long time ago....

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