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Thread: Alice's was not a wonder at all.

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    Alice's was not a wonder at all.

    I recently read Alice Adventures in Wonderland... I'm sorry to say that it sucked completely... I didn't get a clue of why that has become a Classic book in literature... Even a single page didn't feel interesting to me. Is that my problem or any of you who also didn't like the book???

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    Registered User NedSiegel's Avatar
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    I'm sorry to hear. Opinions vary, and in mine it is one of the greatest books ever written. Few books capture the essence of what it means to become an adult human being better than Alice, and who better encouraged the reader to question the logic we tend to take for granted. It is one of the most influential works in history. Of course, no one should tell you what you enjoy and what not. You shouldn't feel guilty that it's not your cup of tea: Alice didn't like it either after a while, and wanted to go home.

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    confidentially pleased cacian's Avatar
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    Alice didn't like it either after a while, and wanted to go home.
    indeed. Alice did not even get a choice over the story let alone wanting to go home.
    it may never try
    but when it does it sigh
    it is just that
    good
    it fly

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    Registered User Bertilak's Avatar
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    Try Through the Looking Glass. It has the poems Jabberwoky and The Walrus and the Carpenter and that ought to be enough right there!

    The time has come,
    the Walrus said, to talk of many things:
    Of shoes and ships and sealing wax,
    of cabbages and kings;
    Of why the sea is boiling hot,
    and whether pigs have wings.

    Walrus and Carpenter is actually a little macabre. It is a casual discussion between the title characters (and some oysters) while preparing to eat the oysters.

    A later stanza:

    "I weep for you," the Walrus said:
    "I deeply sympathize."
    With sobs and tears he sorted out
    Those of the largest size,
    Holding his pocket-handkerchief
    Before his streaming eyes.

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    Quote Originally Posted by krishna_lit View Post
    I recently read Alice Adventures in Wonderland... I'm sorry to say that it sucked completely... I didn't get a clue of why that has become a Classic book in literature... Even a single page didn't feel interesting to me. Is that my problem or any of you who also didn't like the book???
    Well, must say iti s always the reader's problem. Even if the book is very poorly writen, it is always the reader that picked the wrong book in the first place. That one wasn't written for you but happily there is plenty that are written.

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    Artist and Bibliophile stlukesguild's Avatar
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    The key elements of the OP:

    I didn't get a clue...

    YOU didn't have a clue... and so because you don't get it you assume it sucks. Is it not just possible that your individual subjective opinion or response to a given work of literature is not one and the same with an objective value judgement? Or do you assume "I didn't like it" = "It sucks?"

    As Jcamilo has suggested, not all art is for all people.
    Beware of the man with just one book. -Ovid
    The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them.- Mark Twain
    My Blog: Of Delicious Recoil
    http://stlukesguild.tumblr.com/

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    Sounds like I should give it another read....
    OK Alice, I'll come back to you...!

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    All are at the crossroads qimissung's Avatar
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    Well, it's very surreal and has a lot of references to drug-induced states, whether intentional or not.

    http://www.carleton.edu/departments/...tPsyched1.html

    It might be that you prefer a more linear narrative, Krishna-lit, or at least one that is more rooted in reality than fantasy. Nothing wrong with that. If you give it another try, you might also try reading it in smaller doses.
    Last edited by qimissung; 09-24-2013 at 12:37 AM.
    "The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its' own reason for existing." ~ Albert Einstein
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    Registered User mona amon's Avatar
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    I read Alice when I was a kid and I thought it sucked like no book had ever sucked before. I tried reading it again as an adult but it only sucked all over again. Not every book is for everyone, holy sanctified classic though it may be. For me it was like a drug induced trip or something, just one damn thing after another, and I found it really annoying. Some parts I thought were good, like the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter's tea party, and the rhymes. We had all of them in our poetry anthologies in school and I still know them by heart.

    This is not to discourage you from re-reading it and trying to enjoy it. I did that with Jane Austen's Emma which I didn't like the first time round. Now it's my favorite Austen! However, just saying that you don't have to feel bad about disliking a classic. The fault is neither in you nor in the book. There is just no such thing as universal popularity.

    Edit: I also agree with what Qimi says in the post above, which I hadn't read when I posted this.
    Last edited by mona amon; 09-24-2013 at 01:21 AM.
    Exit, pursued by a bear.

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    confidentially pleased cacian's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by stlukesguild View Post
    The key elements of the OP:

    I didn't get a clue...

    YOU didn't have a clue... and so because you don't get it you assume it sucks.
    it does not suck as much as it clucks. it is written with such a fearsome rhythm it is almost unsettling to say the least. glad the movie sets it out slightly clearly. the images are rather puzzling yet intrinsically meddling. such world I would rather not. one feels sorry for Alice. to tall or not to tall.

    Is it not just possible that your individual subjective opinion or response to a given work of literature is not one and the same with an objective value judgement? Or do you assume "I didn't like it" = "It sucks?"
    could one be forgiven for liking it for the wrong reasons?
    I mean here is a question: could you be Alice for the day?

    As Jcamilo has suggested, not all art is for all people.
    and so it should not be. art is people for people. life gives plenty but to give it back half is unartistic. inspiration lacks simulation or shall I shall stimulation. I feel art has to evolve around people like a circle around the world. I mean the meridian does.
    Last edited by cacian; 09-24-2013 at 05:59 AM.
    it may never try
    but when it does it sigh
    it is just that
    good
    it fly

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    confidentially pleased cacian's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by qimissung View Post
    Well, it's very surreal and has a lot of references to drug-induced states, whether intentional or not.
    drug induced and yet the artist was not. how does one compare?
    it may never try
    but when it does it sigh
    it is just that
    good
    it fly

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    Quote Originally Posted by mona amon View Post
    I read Alice when I was a kid and I thought it sucked like no book had ever sucked before. I tried reading it again as an adult but it only sucked all over again. Not every book is for everyone, holy sanctified classic though it may be.
    Thanks for backing me there.... Sometimes it's a relief to be not alone

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    Quote Originally Posted by qimissung View Post
    It might be that you prefer a more linear narrative, Krishna-lit, or at least one that is more rooted in reality than fantasy.
    No no, I'm not uncomfortable with fantasy at all. Infact, I adore Harry Potter series. Great fan..

    If you give it another try, you might also try reading it in smaller doses.
    Yes, I should do so. Last time, I actually read the whole book in a single sitting while in a train journey. And was in a hurry to finish it off. So, may be I didn't concentrate well on the words.

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    I've read Alice and Through the Looking Glass and hated them both, the only part of either that was good was the Jabberwocky poem. I've also read the Hunting of the Snark and while thats not great its better than the two Alice stories.

    For me it was like trying to enjoy hearing about a dream someone else had, that doesn't work! Nobody can enjoy hearing about someone elses dreams.

    Its odd but if you make stuff like this in poetry form it seems to work a lot better for some reason. As i already mentioned the Jabberwocky and Hunting of the Snark.

    Recently read Yonghy Bonghy Bo by Edward Lear which was a similar feel to it but liked that more.

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    Oh, how mad this idea. Enjoying someone else's dream or someone else's stories. Who would torture a person with that...

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