After Alice by Gregory Maguire

[TarinaJ]

What if Alice was not the only one to wander into Wonderland? Not only that, but what did everyone else experience when Alice fell down the rabbit hole? After Alice, by Gregory Maguire, explores the goings on of the people close to Alice, while cleverly incorporating events and characters from Lewis Carroll’s classic tale.

Maguire, of Wicked fame, tells the ‘other’ story. Usually told from the perspective of the peripheral characters in classic fairytales - the wicked witch, the ugly stepsister - Maguire puts a twist on the classic story. His style of writing - use of obscure words, garrulous descriptions, and almost archaic prose - can be challenging to follow at times. As a reader, you either enjoy his books or you don’t. However, if you’re able to settle into the story, Maguire’s style takes on an almost lyrical quality.

In After Alice, Gregory Maguire masterfully mimics the quick, witty, and often nonsensical dialogue of Carroll’s original story. After Alice follows Ada, Alice’s friend she briefly mentions in Carroll’s story, as she falls down the rabbit hole and searches for Alice in Wonderland; Alice’s sister Lydia, who is charged with watching over distractible, wayward Alice; and Ada’s harried governess as she and Lydia search for the missing girls.

Maguire revisits Carroll’s cast of characters as Ada encounters them, usually just after they have encountered Alice, providing the characters' opinion of their encounter of Alice. Not only does the reader see Alice from the Wonderland cast of characters' perspective, but also from her older sister's perspective - as an easily distracted child suffering from the loss of her mother, content to be by herself. Once again, Maguire focuses on the peripheral characters of a classic story, providing insight, perspective, and depth to characters that are often shiny and superficial; not by retelling the classic, but by creating a companion story told from different points of view.

I gave After Alice 3 out of 4 stars. I personally enjoy Maguire's style of writing, even though I have many friends who have never been able to make it through any of his books. While he doesn't keep exactly to Lewis Carroll's classic (no mention of the brother Alice references in Carroll's story) he manages to reference small details from Alice's story in Ada's experiences (who ate the marmalade?). Readers who enjoyed Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and those who enjoy alternate points of view stories, will likely enjoy this story.

[qzect]

This was definitely a fun and very quick read. The plot seemed a little too simple for my liking. Usually I admire Maguire for his ability to immerse his readers into a complex backstory from a well-known classic. However, the story stayed true to the style of "Alice in Wonderland" and definitely brought back memories I had from reading "Alice in Wonderland" as a kid. His writing is also superb, as always. While it wasn't my favorite of his novels, reading this book was definitely time well spent.

[Christina O Phillips]

I agree that this was too simple, at least compared to Maguire's other novels. For me, I found it a bit hard to get into. His other books were more enjoyable.