Publisher: William Morrow
Date of publication:
Down the rabbit-hole, where adventures await . . .
When Alice toppled down the rabbit-hole 150 years ago, she
found a Wonderland as rife with inconsistent rules and abrasive egos as the
world she left behind. But what of that world? How did 1860s Oxford react to
Alice’s disappearance?
In this brilliant new work of fiction, Gregory Maguire turns
his dazzling imagination to the question of underworlds, undergrounds,
underpinnings—and understandings old and new, offering an inventive spin on
Carroll’s enduring tale. Ada, a friend of Alice’s mentioned briefly in Alice’s
Adventures in Wonderland, is off to visit her friend but arrives a moment
too late—and tumbles down the rabbit-hole herself.
Ada brings to Wonderland her own imperfect apprehension of
cause and effect as she embarks on an odyssey to find Alice and see her safely
home from this surreal world below the world. The White Rabbit, the Cheshire
Cat, the bloodthirsty Queen of Hearts—droll and imperious as always—interrupt
their mad tea party to suggest a conundrum: If Eurydice can ever be returned to
the arms of Orpheus, or if Lazarus can be raised from the tomb, perhaps Alice
can be returned to life. In any case, everything that happens next is After
Alice.
I will confess, this is only the second book by this author that I have attempted to read. I tried and failed to get through Wicked, but that was a long time ago. Long before I realized what the story was really about I have always intended to give it another shot. Anyway, knowing that, I decided to give this one a try. I love Alice in Wonderland, at least the commercialized versions of it since I have not had the pleasure of reading Lewis Carroll's original story. So what would be better than what happened after, right?
Unfortunately, I didn't like this book. I can honestly say, I tried, I really did. But, I felt like I needed to have a dictionary and thesaurus with me while reading it. I read the first few chapters a couple of times because I was so lost. For instance, it took me a while to figure out that Ada had a new baby brother who had stomach issues and was not sleeping well. It should not take me 3 re-reads to figure that out. I'm not sure if the author was trying to mimic Lewis Carroll's writing style, but it just didn't work for me.
About the author:
Gregory Maguire is the New York Times bestselling
author of Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister; Lost; Mirror
Mirror; and the Wicked Years, a series that includes Wicked, Son
of a Witch, A Lion Among Men, and Out of Oz. Now a
beloved classic, Wicked is the basis for a blockbuster Tony Award–winning
Broadway musical. Maguire has lectured on art, literature, and culture both at home
and abroad. He lives with his family near Boston, Massachusetts.
Purchase Links
Gregory’s Tour Stops
Tuesday, October 27th: A Bookish Affair
Wednesday, October 28th: Books Like Breathing
Thursday, October 29th: A Chick Who Reads
Thursday, October 29th: Reading Reality
Friday, October 30th: From the TBR Pile
Monday, November 2nd: 100 Pages a Day…Stephanie’s
Book Reviews
Monday, November 2nd: Read. Write. Repeat
Tuesday, November 3rd: Snowdrop Dreams of Books
Wednesday, November 4th: Walking With Nora
Wednesday, November 4th: View from the Birdhouse
Thursday, November 5th: Booksie’s Blog
Friday, November 6th: Fuelled by Fiction
Monday, November 9th: Man of La Book
Tuesday, November 10th: I Wish I Lived in a Library
Wednesday, November 11th: Sara’s Organized Chaos
Thursday, November 12th: Unabridged Chick
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