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After Alice

Gregory Maguire

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magical realism retelling

parallel narrative

1860s oxford setting

imaginative characters

whimsical dialogue

victorian social issues

identity and freedom

nonsensical charm

dense writing style

exploring deeper societal issues

ada's journey

slower pacing

dark whimsical tone

'After Alice' by Gregory Maguire is a retelling of Alice in Wonderland through the eyes of Alice's friend Ada Boyce who follows her down the rabbit hole. The story alternates between the real world and Wonderland, providing a parallel narrative to the original tale. Maguire's writing style mirrors Lewis Carroll's with whimsical dialogue, imaginative characters, and nonsensical charm, making it an engaging read for fans of the original Alice in Wonderland.

Characters:

Characters such as Ada, Lydia, and Siam reveal themes of identity, freedom, and the societal struggles of their time.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is dense, filled with clever wordplay, and attempts to reflect Carroll's whimsical yet darker tone.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot features Ada's journey to find Alice in Wonderland and explores Victorian social issues through parallel storylines.

Setting:

The setting shifts between 1860s Oxford and Wonderland, blending reality with fantasy while addressing societal themes.

Pacing:

The pacing is uneven, with some sections feeling slow and disconnected from the more engaging elements of the plot.

Were there a god in charge of story—­I mean one cut to Old Testament specifics, some hybrid of Zeus and Father Christmas—­such a creature, such a deity, might be looking down upon a day opening in Oxf...

Notes:

The novel After Alice by Gregory Maguire explores a fresh perspective on the classic Alice in Wonderland.

Instead of focusing on Alice, it follows her friend Ada, who falls down the rabbit hole after her.

Ada is depicted as more grounded and realistic compared to the imaginative Alice.

The story also intersperses chapters focusing on Alice's sister, Lydia, and their governess, Miss Armstrong, who search for the missing girls.

The plot explores themes of Victorian society, including issues of gender inequality and the context of slavery and evolution during that time.

Ada is described as wearing an iron corset due to her scoliosis, adding a layer of physical struggle to her character.

The narrative is set in the 1860s in Oxford, providing historical context that contrasts with the whimsical elements of Wonderland.

Maguire uses complex, sometimes archaic language which some readers have found challenging, reflecting Lewis Carroll's original style.

The inclusion of characters like Charles Darwin and references to the Underground Railroad aims to provide deeper commentary and societal critique.

The structure alternates between the characters' experiences in Wonderland and the real world, creating a dual narrative that some readers found confusing or lacking focus.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Themes of slavery, Victorian societal constraints, and suggested violence may be triggering for some readers.

From The Publisher:

From the multi-million-copy bestselling author of Wicked comes a magical new twist on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, published to coincide with the 150th anniversary of Lewis's Carroll's beloved classic.

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 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. If Eurydice can ever be returned to the arms of Orpheus, or Lazarus can be raised from the tomb, perhaps Alice can be returned to life. Either way, everything that happens next is "After Alice."

Ratings (3)

Incredible (1)
It Was OK (2)

Reader Stats (10):

Read It (5)
Want To Read (5)

1 comment(s)

ehanut203

It Was OK

5 months

A bittersweet re-imagining of

Alice in Wonderland and

Through the Looking Glass.

What can you read after
After Alice?

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