Alice's was not a wonder at all.

[krishna_lit]

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???

[NedSiegel]

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.

[cacian]

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. :)

[Bertilak]

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.

[JCamilo]

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.

[stlukesguild]

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.

[krishna_lit]

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

[qimissung]

Well, it's very surreal and has a lot of references to drug-induced states, whether intentional or not.

http://www.carleton.edu/departments/ENGL/Alice/CritPsyched1.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.

[mona amon]

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.

[cacian]

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? :D
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.

[cacian]

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?

[krishna_lit]

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 ;)

[krishna_lit]

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.

[wreade1872]

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.

[JCamilo]

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

[Aylinn]

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.

Not that I am a fan of Alice. But hasn't it occurred to you that poetry makes it work better for you and that other people may have a different opinion?

As for the books, Alice and Through the Looking Glass, I tried to read them, but they bored me, even though they are well-written and generally I like weird stuff. Reading Alice felt like a chore and I had no patience to go through Through the Looking Glass, except for few first pages.

[cacian]

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.


Yonghy Bonghy Bo
just this will have someone's dream twisted let alone shared :)
about Alice I would not go as far as say I hated them because that means you must have felt something.
indifferent is a better word. :)

[cafolini]

It is absolutely obvious that in this excellent work Alice is not wonderful. She's trapped in the idiocy of wonderland and has no hope of getting out. That's the meaning of the work.

[NedSiegel]

drug induced and yet the artist was not. how does one compare?

First, we don't know for sure that Dodgson did not experiment with drugs: they were all legal then, and we wouldn't have arrest records or shocked testimonies by acquaintance if he had.

Also, I know that some of the characters in the book reference real-life people or a class of people. The Mad Hatter may appear enigmatic to us today, but back then mad hatters were a common sight: the chemicals they used in making hats caused their mental state to deteriorate over time. What seems insane to us today may be a mere social commentary.