Title: After Alice
Author: Gregory Maguire
Publisher: William Morrow 2015
Genre: Reimagined Classic
Pages: 288
Rating: 4/5 stars
Reading Challenges: Ebook; 52 Books - W44
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.”
Alice in Wonderland is one of my favorite books of all time. I was very much looking forward to reading this reworking of this story. I enjoyed reading about Ada and Lydia's experiences after Alice disappeared down the rabbit hole. It was an interesting little book. Maguire even wrote the book in a style that reminded me of Lewis Carroll's style. Recommended for lovers of the original.