tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377586.post116476392636935404..comments2024-03-18T02:43:02.621-04:00Comments on Original Content: A Butt-kicking AliceGail Gauthierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01673131515563387968noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377586.post-1164915366015576662006-11-30T14:36:00.000-05:002006-11-30T14:36:00.000-05:00Since I am Alice neutral I did not expect to be p...Since I am Alice neutral I did not expect to be pleased or displeased by this book. I thought it was an entertaining read. I did think the characters ages were a problem. Alice is a seven year old in the beginning of the story but seems much older. Then when she gets back to Wonderland she is all grown up.<BR/><BR/>I liked the Hatter and the boy who fetched Alyss home, I forget his name.<BR/><BR/>I didn't think Dodgson was being knocked, he was just one more person who didn't believe Alyss and her story. <BR/><BR/>I wonder if I would be so ambivalent if it was Lord of the Rings?Camillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10422449200792287901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377586.post-1164912465507302422006-11-30T13:47:00.000-05:002006-11-30T13:47:00.000-05:00I really didn't feel as if Beddor was bashing Carr...I really didn't feel as if Beddor was bashing Carroll/Dodgson. But, as I said, it's been a long time since I read the original books. I also always enjoy seeing classic concepts altered. The only thing I liked about the first Mission Impossible movie was that Mr. Phelps was the bad guy. I had family members who were horrified.Gail Gauthierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01673131515563387968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377586.post-1164903157235191932006-11-30T11:12:00.000-05:002006-11-30T11:12:00.000-05:00I love the original two Alice books to the nth deg...I love the original two Alice books to the nth degree. Thus, I have read many fiction and non-fiction books related to Wonderland, but nothing has ever come close to the originals for me.<BR/><BR/>I have yet to get TLGW. I am wary of it. It sounds like the concept itself puts Charles down, like "he got it all wrong," etc. It also seems as though half of the reviewers loved it and the other half loathed it. Hot and cold extremes. <BR/><BR/>Have you read Alice Through the Needle's Eye? Yeah. Don't.<BR/><BR/>Go for Still She Haunts Me by Katie Roiphe instead. REALLY good.Little Willowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17058463472836988047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377586.post-1164902407970784392006-11-30T11:00:00.000-05:002006-11-30T11:00:00.000-05:00Well, it's a smart concept. I mean, if you walk u...Well, it's a smart concept. I mean, if you walk up to someone and say, "Alice In Wonderland - The Real Story", THAT is interesting. The book sells itself. Add in a graphic novel and a shiny cover and BAM! Instant hit. How's it selling over here, I wonder?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377586.post-1164836761848785352006-11-29T16:46:00.000-05:002006-11-29T16:46:00.000-05:00I haven't read the original books since grade scho...I haven't read the original books since grade school so I don't recall humor. Even if I did, I don't have a problem with an author taking a humorous book and bringing a serious take to it--or bringing an action hero or videogame take to it. Just as I wouldn't have a problem with someone doing a humorous version of, say, Jane Eyre. That's what reworking a classic is about. And while I agree there was a lack of subtlety to some of the writing (while I appreciate the feminism at the beginning of the book, it was heavyhanded and, personally, I think it's pretty obvious that Molly is Hatter's child) and some awkwardness, I've read a great deal worse. <BR/><BR/>Others have not been happy with the videogame aspects of the book, either. I'd be very interested to hear how kids feel about it. If a videogame in the shape of a book works for a particular group of readers, I don't see why that's a particularly bad thing.<BR/><BR/>Here's something interesting, though--this book is getting a lot of support from its publisher. The marketing plan is spelled out on the back of the arc. Did this book do really well in England, in spite of the mixed reviews? Which to many publishers would justify a marketing push when it's published here?Gail Gauthierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01673131515563387968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377586.post-1164832617722352662006-11-29T15:36:00.000-05:002006-11-29T15:36:00.000-05:00I loved "The Looking Glass Wars". Not the best pie...I loved "The Looking Glass Wars". Not the best piece of writing, but it was fun (if suprisingly bloody). I, too, am interested in seing where the series is going to go after this...Jenniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02024880986964198385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377586.post-1164823667088210122006-11-29T13:07:00.000-05:002006-11-29T13:07:00.000-05:00I had some serious personal problems with the book...I had some serious personal problems with the book myself. I mean, first and foremost, what is up with Wonderland? It's shown for a good four pages and then blown to hell before the reader has any clue as to why the place might be kind of cool. The author also has a great deal of contempt for Lewis Carroll. So much so, in fact, that "The Looking Glass Wars" is entirely without even so much as a drop of humor. The violence didn't bother me, but the half-assed pseudo-serious writing did. <BR/><BR/>Ah well. Hopefully someone else will take the "real Alice" idea and run with it instead. Someone less obsessed with the idea of creating a video-game in the shape of a book.<BR/><BR/>Sorry to kvetch all over you. This one just rubbed me the wrong way, I guess.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com