What is a classic? I’m not really sure. Merriam Webster uses descriptions, such as, ‘a standard of quality’, ‘traditional’ and ‘enduring’. So in searching for one, I opted for Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wornderland.
It is a book that I have had a slight fascination with in recent years because I hold a gentle guilt regarding the lack of reading I did when I was younger. I still am not the keenest of bookworms, I tend to fall asleep after just a couple of lines and I know that I am naturally a slower reader than my the most part of my peers. So, reading this will allow me to catch up on some children’s literature that I denied myself by endless reloading some kind of pixelated Soviet Kalashnikoff via Goldeneye on the N64.
To be honest, I didn’t have this book entirely pre-planned. It was when I was up in London at the National Neurological Hospital waiting for my Mum to come out of an appointment. I do not know that area of London at all well so thought it would be the perfect opportunity to find out a bit more about it. It’s amazing how little nuggets of memories can fall into geographical sense when you thread them together.
It was as I was pottering between Holborn and the British Museum that I chanced a glance past an Oxfam book shop. Sitting proudly and keenly in the window was the above photographed paperback novel in a much better condition than it is now. I hesitated before continuing on my way. Giving to charity and getting my book at a bargain price – everyone is a winner. My only worry was whether it counted as a classic. So I walked on.
About an hour later, however, I was back having confirmed it’s classic status with my Mother and purchased it for £2.50. This fact was further highlighted as it came as part of a series entitled Wordsworth Classics. A few days later I was beginning on my voyage into Wonderland.
Now, this is where I have to make a small admission. The book began with an introduction to the story and I often endeavour to complete these preludes as it improves your reading experience. On this occasion, however, I must admit to being dreadfully bored by the introduction. It was a good 20 pages long and was waffling on into detail I really did not care for. I’d rather a couple of pages to set the scene, declare it’s significance and whet the appetite, not a masters’ thesis – quite the converse style of writing to that which someone would expect when picking up a Lewis Carroll.
So, I got into the story. And what a story it is! Drama round every corner and constructed by a very lateral mind that questions your response to the English language. At times I was laughing out loud on public transport, so it must be touching some of the right spots.
One thing that surprised me was how late into the story the most celebrated aspects of the tale are. Everyone knows about grinning like a Cheshire Cat and being as Mad as a Hatter but they only form a small period of the story. But there are a plethora of different creatures great and small that have occupied the imaginative quarters of my mind during monotonous train journeys.
So, I thoroughly recommend this as a read. It’s accessible, it’s amusing, it’s imagination-quenching and, most importantly, it’s not too long. It is a light book to carry around and gives you satisfaction when you can make serious inroads into it – unlike when I tried reading the Bible from start to finish once…
And, excitingly, it’s not over. Not only are there a range of film adaptations available (an allstar Johnny Depp, a Cary Grant, a Whoopi Goldberg, a Disney cartoon or a Japanese anime) the more attentive of you will have noticed that this Wordsworth Classic that I now possess encompasses Through the Looking Glass too.
If I were a book critic I’d give it 4 out of 5 stars. Thanks Lewis Carroll.
