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Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated The Hazel Wood in Books
Mar 2, 2018
A little too over the top
I think I completely lost the plot trying to follow this fairytale within a fairytale. A modern day version of a Brothers Grimm-style folklore, the story follows Alice, who is trying to find her missing mother, and discovers that all is not what it seems.
The main thrust of the novel asks whether Alice is a character in a tale herself? And if she can escape her fate by running away from her story. And while I can appreciate the author's creativity, there's very little character development and there appears to be a fair few loose ends. The prose is heavy in metaphors to the point that the first half seemed far too long.
While many have described the book as a dark and creepy fantasy, I think it may have been a little overhyped - it's more of a weird version of Alice in Wonderland. Interesting, but not for me.
The main thrust of the novel asks whether Alice is a character in a tale herself? And if she can escape her fate by running away from her story. And while I can appreciate the author's creativity, there's very little character development and there appears to be a fair few loose ends. The prose is heavy in metaphors to the point that the first half seemed far too long.
While many have described the book as a dark and creepy fantasy, I think it may have been a little overhyped - it's more of a weird version of Alice in Wonderland. Interesting, but not for me.
David McK (3125 KP) rated Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016) in Movies
Apr 10, 2022
Well, that was weird.
Surreal, maybe.
Sequel to 2010s 'Alice in Wonderland' which, truth be told, I don't really remember all that much about other than it included the Jabberwock, and that it took liberties with source material.
As I'm not all that familiar with the source material here (Alice through the Looking Glass), I can't really comment on that aspect here (although I have heard that it only has the name in common).
Still heavily relies on the visual aspect, with Johnny Depp again doing his weird and wacky sthick, and with Helena Bonham Carter also returning as the Queen of Hearts alongside the likes of Anne Hathaway, the late (great) Alan Rickman and Sacha Baron Cohen being introduced as Time.
Surreal, maybe.
Sequel to 2010s 'Alice in Wonderland' which, truth be told, I don't really remember all that much about other than it included the Jabberwock, and that it took liberties with source material.
As I'm not all that familiar with the source material here (Alice through the Looking Glass), I can't really comment on that aspect here (although I have heard that it only has the name in common).
Still heavily relies on the visual aspect, with Johnny Depp again doing his weird and wacky sthick, and with Helena Bonham Carter also returning as the Queen of Hearts alongside the likes of Anne Hathaway, the late (great) Alan Rickman and Sacha Baron Cohen being introduced as Time.
JUMPCUT ONLINE (77 KP) rated Aladdin (2019) in Movies
Jul 3, 2019
In terms of the Disney live-action remakes, Aladdin falls somewhere in the middle. Not nearly as good as The Jungle Book or Christopher Robin, but not nearly as bad as an Alice In Wonderland. An updated story is just enough to not make it a carbon copy, but they did eliminate a lot of the magic from the original in the places that counted most, the music. Its saving grace is Naomi Scott and Will Smith, who jointly bring superb charisma and carry the film to the very last scene.
Full Review: https://jumpcutonline.co.uk/review-aladdin-2019/
Full Review: https://jumpcutonline.co.uk/review-aladdin-2019/
Janeeny (200 KP) rated Ever Alice in Books
May 9, 2019 (Updated Jun 10, 2019)
Unfortunately I was quite disappointed with this book. Mostly because it had potential, but just fell really short of the mark.
Alice is now 15 years old and after years of telling people about her adventures in Wonderland her parents are starting to question her sanity and take her to see a specialised doctor at an Asylum in Switzerland. Sadly things are not quite what they seem at the asylum, but just when things appear to be at their worst for Alice a familiar white rabbit helps her escape the asylum and she finds herself back in Wonderland. What follows is actually quite an intricate tale of suspicion and treachery, reality and fantasy. I’m just not sure it works as an ‘Alice in wonderland’ tale.
I was impressed at first as the author really did seem to capture the essence of the silliness of wonderland, with some scenes that wouldn’t be out of place in a Monty Python sketch or a Mel Brooks movie, but after a while it began to feel like the author was trying a bit too hard and it started to become a slightly repetitive and tedious.
The Character development didn’t really work for me either, especially The Queen of Hearts. For me she was a bit two-dimensional, and although the author tries to give her a bit of a back story it just doesn’t adhere to the character.
Some aspects of the language also grated on me. For instance, when parents are being referred to as Mum and Papa, it doesn’t sit well with me. It’s either going to be mum and dad or mama and papa. I know that is probably just a personal peeve of mine, but every time I came across that phrasing it just halted the story for me. Oh and don’t get me started on the Pop culture references! An actress named Marilyn Montague, who sounds very similar to another well know Marilyn, and a boyband called ‘Mice to men’. They may have been put in for humour, but they just didn’t seem to flow with the story.
As I said, in essence it was a good story, if a little predictable at the end, I just feel that using it as a ‘re-imagining’ of Alice left it with some expectations that it just couldn’t live up to.
Alice is now 15 years old and after years of telling people about her adventures in Wonderland her parents are starting to question her sanity and take her to see a specialised doctor at an Asylum in Switzerland. Sadly things are not quite what they seem at the asylum, but just when things appear to be at their worst for Alice a familiar white rabbit helps her escape the asylum and she finds herself back in Wonderland. What follows is actually quite an intricate tale of suspicion and treachery, reality and fantasy. I’m just not sure it works as an ‘Alice in wonderland’ tale.
I was impressed at first as the author really did seem to capture the essence of the silliness of wonderland, with some scenes that wouldn’t be out of place in a Monty Python sketch or a Mel Brooks movie, but after a while it began to feel like the author was trying a bit too hard and it started to become a slightly repetitive and tedious.
The Character development didn’t really work for me either, especially The Queen of Hearts. For me she was a bit two-dimensional, and although the author tries to give her a bit of a back story it just doesn’t adhere to the character.
Some aspects of the language also grated on me. For instance, when parents are being referred to as Mum and Papa, it doesn’t sit well with me. It’s either going to be mum and dad or mama and papa. I know that is probably just a personal peeve of mine, but every time I came across that phrasing it just halted the story for me. Oh and don’t get me started on the Pop culture references! An actress named Marilyn Montague, who sounds very similar to another well know Marilyn, and a boyband called ‘Mice to men’. They may have been put in for humour, but they just didn’t seem to flow with the story.
As I said, in essence it was a good story, if a little predictable at the end, I just feel that using it as a ‘re-imagining’ of Alice left it with some expectations that it just couldn’t live up to.
KerysJayne Draganova (21 KP) rated Alice (The Chronicles of Alice, #1) in Books
Jan 11, 2018
Characters (3 more)
Plot
Writing
Dark twist on a classic story
Fantastic take on a classic novel
Just read it! seriously!
I had this book bought for me by my SO because he knows I love Alice in Wonderland, so I wasn't really sure what to expect from this book. I definitely wasn't expecting to love it, but I did, I honestly couldn't put it down.
I love books with a bit of a dark twist, especially classic lit like Poe. If you love the classics and dark literature then this book is for you. Henry takes all the characters you love from Wonderland and makes them new and sinister. It's a fantastic take on a classic novel and I cannot recommend it enough.
I recommend book 2 in the chronicles too!
I had this book bought for me by my SO because he knows I love Alice in Wonderland, so I wasn't really sure what to expect from this book. I definitely wasn't expecting to love it, but I did, I honestly couldn't put it down.
I love books with a bit of a dark twist, especially classic lit like Poe. If you love the classics and dark literature then this book is for you. Henry takes all the characters you love from Wonderland and makes them new and sinister. It's a fantastic take on a classic novel and I cannot recommend it enough.
I recommend book 2 in the chronicles too!
Absolutely stunning
This book gave me a whole new appreciation for not only Alice in Wonderland but for the character of the Queen of Hearts. Follow Cath as she journeys through all the twists and turns of a young woman in a seemingly impossible situation. The ending absolutely blew me away, it was completely unexpected and it made me want to immediately turn back to page one and start reading Heartless all over again.
BobbiesDustyPages (1259 KP) rated Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass in Books
Apr 28, 2019
"Curiouser and curiouser!”
Alice in wonderland is one of those pieces of media that even if you've never read the book or heck even seen the movie you know it... It's just that legendary.
The book is one of those pieces that no matter your age you can enjoy it. As a kid it's this magical wonderland of talking animals, weird people, and a very angry queen.. And you wish you could stumble down a rabbit hole it fall through a looking glass to get to because it all just seems to wonderful. As an adult it's really no different. The book is just fun and memorable and honestly the story has stuck with me my whole life and will always stay close to my heart.
The book is one of those pieces that no matter your age you can enjoy it. As a kid it's this magical wonderland of talking animals, weird people, and a very angry queen.. And you wish you could stumble down a rabbit hole it fall through a looking glass to get to because it all just seems to wonderful. As an adult it's really no different. The book is just fun and memorable and honestly the story has stuck with me my whole life and will always stay close to my heart.
Connor Sheffield (293 KP) created a post
May 24, 2017
BobbiesDustyPages (1259 KP) rated Alice (The Chronicles of Alice #1) in Books
Mar 24, 2018
Christina Henry really did create a truly twisted version of Wonderland in Alice and I really loved her take on the characters I've enjoyed since I was just a small child they were dark and crazy and I only wish she would have explored each character a little more.
My favorite character by far was het take in The Caterpillar I would love to read a book just in him his whole part was just so dark and twisted.
The plot while familiar had a lot of great twists though some of it got a bit repetitive at times for me.
My favorite character by far was het take in The Caterpillar I would love to read a book just in him his whole part was just so dark and twisted.
The plot while familiar had a lot of great twists though some of it got a bit repetitive at times for me.
Kyera (8 KP) rated Mad About the Hatter in Books
Feb 1, 2018
I am torn between saying I thoroughly enjoyed the book and was completely put off. Alice in Wonderland is one of my favourite stories, so the fact that this was based off the novel was a huge plus. Unfortunately, it is set in the modern era so the main character Henry uses a lot of slang terms, curse words, and it kept pulling me out of the story. The author also had the characters from Wonderland use colloquialisms, slang, and saying that they would thoroughly be confused by as they do not come from our world. If I imagine that those aspects changed and the story was set in the time period it originated in - the plot is wonderful. I really enjoyed the characters, world building, and overall tale.
Overall I would recommend it if you don't expect it to be in the same era. As long as you're not put off by that fact, I think you will thoroughly enjoy the book.
Overall I would recommend it if you don't expect it to be in the same era. As long as you're not put off by that fact, I think you will thoroughly enjoy the book.