Book reviews: The Cuckoo's Calling | Stolthet och fördom | Ædnan

Title: The Cuckoo's Calling
Author: Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)
Original title: The Cuckoo's Calling
First published: 2013
Genre: Crime, Adult
Series: Cormoran Strike #1
Publisher: Sphere
Format: Paperback
Pages: 550
Finished: 27/07/2020
Summary: When a troubled model falls to her death from a snow-covered Mayfair balcony, it is assumed that she has committed suicide. However, her brother has his doubts, and calls in private investigator Cormoran Strike to look into the case. A war veteran, wounded both physically and psychologically, Strike's life is in disarray. The case gives him a financial lifeline, but it comes at a personal cost: the more he delves into the young model's complex world, the darker things get - and the closer he gets to terrible danger.

My thoughts: I read this together with some friends over the course of a few weeks. Unfortunately, we were all very disappointed in it. The writing style is definitely Rowling's, and that's good when we're talking Harry Potter. However, it did not work as well in this context. Rowling mixes in crude words and attempts a harsher style, which doesn't go naturally with her normal style. The clash wasn't pleasant. Another thing is the change in perspective. We switch from Cormoran to Robin now and then, but they both have the exact same narration. The POV would also change in the middle of a chapter without warning, which was confusing and lead to annoyance. Overall, the characters had little depth. I think part of the fault here is the sheer amount of characters explored in the murder investigation. There were so many that most of them became only shallow figures based on stereotypes. Then there's Rowling's way of describing black people as opposed to white. She only described skin colour when observing a black character, and many times such characters would be described with words like 'exotic'. Also, the only characters who had written out accents were black. Need I say more?
What of the mystery? Well, the investigation was mostly tedious and to someone like me who has read close to no crime novels before, this was not the one to make me more interested in the genre. In the end I became too bored to feel any curiosity. I stopped wanting to know who was the murderer, if there even was one. The resolution was unsatisfactory. I didn't buy the motivation for certain things.
Overall, I don't recommend the book, but it could've been worse. I liked most of Robin's character, and Cormoran was okay at times. I will most likely never continue with the series.

Rating: 2,5/5

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Title: Stolthet och fördom
Author: Jane Austen
Original title: Pride and Prejudice
First published: 1813
Genre: Classic
Series: --
Publisher: Albert Bonnier
Format: Danskt band (??)
Pages: 462
Finished: 31/07/2020
Summary: Mrs. Bennet has but one aim in life: to find a good match for each of her five daughters. Mr. Bennet, a mild and indolent man given to witty cynicisms, refuses to take this vulgar project seriously; he ridicules his wife instead of giving her support in her schemes. One of the daughters, Elizabeth, becomes prejudiced against her future suitor, Darcy, because of his arrogance and his uncalled-for interference with his friend Bingley’s courtship of her sister Jane. In interfering with Jane and Bingley, Darcy is influence by Mrs. Bennet’s undisguised husband-hunt and her impropriety in general; he mistakenly believes that Jane is only seeking an advantageous match and that her feelings are not sincere. In spite of his disapproval of the Bennet family. Darcy cannot keep himself from falling in love with Elizabeth, and he proposes to her. The tone of the proposal (it is evident that his love for Elizabeth is a blow to his pride) and her own prejudice cause Elizabeth to coldly reject him.

My thoughts: Probably one of my new favourite classics, and definitely one of the best books I've read this year. Austen writes characters and relationships in an expertly manner and I instantly felt at home in the historical setting with its balls, intrigues, and minor scandals. I loved the bond that Elizabeth had to her sisters and parents; it actually felt like a real family. Each sister was their own person, and her parents were truly polar opposites of each other. There's also a lot of humour in this novel, and I had to laugh out loud at several points while reading. To think that the wit of a British lady who lived two hundred years ago is still funny! Furthermore, this is of course an iconic work of romance. Reading about Mr Darcy and Miss Bennet was exciting and romantic. However, I want to point a finger to the wonderful feminism that's sprinkled over the story, even despite of the time it was written. Elizabeth is a woman with an independent mind and will, with obvious feminist values that were thoroughly refreshing for a classic. If all this sounds intriguing to you, I highly recommend you pick up this book soon!
Note: 'Danskt band' is a format for which I can't find any proper translation. It means 'Danish bind' and is a mix between paperback and hardcover. It has the shape of a hardcover but the soft bind of a paperback.

Rating: 4,5/5

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Title: Ædnan
Author: Linnea Axelsson
Original title: Ædnan
First published: 2018
Genre: Historical, Poetry
Series: --
Publisher: Albert Bonnier
Format: Hardcover
Time: 760
Finished: 
Summary: A mother and her youngest son rest with a few other women, elders, and children in a goahti. Ahead of them on the migration route, her husband and elder son push the herd of reindeer. They're headed for an island in northernmost Norway, where they will find pasture for summer. Nobody suspects that the border to Norway will close for them in a few years; that they will be forced to leave their home, and that future generations will face difficulties of a new kind.

My thoughts: Ædnan is old sámi and means the land, the ground, and the Earth.

This is a brick of a book, but it's read quite swiftly. I'm unused to reading in verse, which this is written in, but it was interesting to try it out. I think I've concluded that the format isn't really for me, or perhaps I should begin a search for a verse novel that suits me. Either way, I feel that the format was somewhat to this book's disadvantage. Being poetic can come at the cost of making the content of the story more difficult to understand and interpret. Whilst I feel that I grasped what the story was meant to tell, I fear a lot was still lost on me. Another factor to this was the way the storytelling switched constantly back and forth on the timeline, as well as between points of view. Had the story not been written in verse, I think it would have been easier to keep track of the different characters and their stories. However, I could never quite grasp who was who and what relationships the characters had to each other or what happened when and what consequences things had. I wish we'd just followed a maximum of three characters the entire book, and not jumped back and forth on the timeline. Like I said; a lot was probably lost on me because of the way the story is told.

Still, this book has some powerful scenes. And I did learn some things. It was emotional to read about the sámi people being forced to alter their lifestyle by the cruel ambition of Swedes. They were stripped of their land, their rights, and their dignity when the Swede decided through 'scientific racism' that sámi were beneath them, inferior and undeserving. It's a dark and despicable time in history, and the sámi deserved so much better. The book does a good job of explaining what the sámi people have been exposed to and how they're still affected today by the actions of the Swedish people. I dearly wish that whatever steps can be taken for the sámi people to regain their rights, their land, and their former lifestyle will be executed as soon as possible. They deserve respect and love. I'd like to read more fiction or books by sámi people and about sámi culture and history. Perhaps I will have a greater chance at understanding the message of a book written in traditional prose.

Also, wtf Vattenfall? Rude!!

Rating: 3,25/5

Book Reviews: Gul Utanpå | The Invention of Hugo Cabret | Kirke

Title: Gul utanpå (Yellow on the outside)
Author: Patrik Lundberg
Original title: Gul utanpå
First published: 2013
Genre: Biography
Series: --
Publisher: Rabén & Sjögren
Format: Paperback
Pages: 249
Finished: 27/05/2019
Summary: All his life, Patrik Lundberg has been called "Chinese fucker". He was adopted from South Korea in 1983. He was sent halfway across the globe and landed in the middle of the Swedish idyllic small town Sölvesborg. There, he grew up in an ordinary dysfunctional family and was raised like any other Swedish boy. 24 years later, he travels back to his country of birth. There, he becomes "the awesome guy" -  the westerner that all the girls want. He's spoken to in Korean and is faced with a culture that he's only ever read about. Most of all, he's looking for his biological parents. But will he find them?

My thoughts: I believe this is the first real biography that I’ve ever read. I got a copy of this from a library because I’d turned 18 (a sort of birthday gift), but I’d heard about it before, since I’d been to one of the author’s lectures. My impression of his as a person and the narrative he has in the book are very similar, which I’d say is good for a biography. As is to be expected, the story is very personal/private-ish, so we get pretty close to Lundberg throughout the story. To me, it meant a lot to read a biography centered around adoption to the western world, since I’ve met a decent amount of children who’ve had that fate. “Gul utanpå” gave me a new perspective that I find really valuable and will keep in mind in the future.

Rating: 4/5

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Title: The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Author: Brian Selznick
Original title: The Invention of Hugo Cabret
First published: 2007
Genre: Historical, Middle Grade
Series: --
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Format: Hardback
Pages: 525
Finished: 24/06/2019
Summary: Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo's undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo's dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery.

My thoughts: A peculiar "little" book that I've wished to get my hands on for quite some while now. I was stoked to find it not-so-hidden-away in a secondhand shop and immediately lunged for it (only half metaphorically). "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" is half written, half drawn in beautiful full page illustrations which tell parts of the story themselves. To me, it was this special way of storytelling that really made it good for me. I already knew the plot by heart; having seen the film several times before, and having my teacher read it out loud to the class in middle school. I enjoyed it a lot and basically flew through the whole thing.

Rating: 3,75/5

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Title: Kirke
Author: Madeline Miller
Original title: Circe
First published: 2018
Genre: Fantasy, Historical
Series: --
Publisher: Wahlström & Widstrand
Format: Paperback
Pages: 407
Finished: 12/07/2019
Summary: In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child—not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power—the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves. Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

My thoughts: Circe, Circe, Circe… How should I even begin? Well, maybe like this:
“Kirke” (or “Crice” in English) is like a warm cup of Earl Grey tea on a misty winter morning. It is like the first red leaf of autumn, the last snowdrop of spring, and the first mighty thunder of a storm. Eager, persistent, intense. While reading it, I often found the need to take a step back to process what I’d taken in, and each time I returned it was like inhaling the first breath of salty ocean breeze when exiting the car by the beach, over and over again. Following Circe is sometimes bitter, sometimes triumphant, but always refreshing and exciting. Wherever the book wanted to take me, I gladly followed; I soon learnt that it had much more to offer than I’d at first thought. “Kirke” is filled to the brim with, as others have mentioned before me, female power, though also with intrigue, learning, and cultural history (which someone as thirsty for knowledge as me appreciates). I should be mentioned that you don’t need to have any deeper knowledge of Greek mythology when going into this book; just lean back, relax, and enjoy Madeline Miller’s captivating style and ingenious storytelling. So if you’re curious, don’t hesitate! “Kirke” is a book that you’ll surely remember.


(this book was sent for me to review by Bokus, where you can soon find the Swedish translation released!)

Rating: 4,5/5

Book reviews: Matilda | Mor gifter sig | All the Light We Cannot See

Title: Matilda

Author: Roald Dahl
Original title: Matilda
First published: 1988
Genre: Children, Fantasy
Series: --
Publisher: Puffin
Format: Hardback
Pages: 232
Finished: 17/02/2019
Summary: Matilda is a brilliant and sensitive child, but her parents think of her only as a nuisance. When one day she is attacked by her odious headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, Matilda suddenly discovers she has a remarkable power with which to avenge herself!

My thoughts: Roald Dahl has written some of the best children's books out there, amongst them "The Witches" and "BFG". As a child, I used to love the movie "Matilda", which I'd watch at my friend's house next door. I was now tempted to read the book, as I'm going to watch the musical adaptation of the story live in Malmö next month. The book was quite what I expected; quirky and fun. Yet, it didn't live up to my expectations. I didn't fall for this as much as I did for his other works, and perhaps that is due to my age. Most likely it is; alas, that doesn't change my perception of the work, sadly. I did enjoy it, and the illustrations were lovely (as expected of Quentin Blake), so it lands on a middle rating for me.

Rating: 3/5

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Title: Mor gifter sig (Mother Gets Married)
Author: Moa Martinson
Original title: Mor gifter sig
First published: 1936
Genre: Classic
Series: Mia #1
Publisher: Natur och Kultur
Format: Hardback
Pages: 284
Finished: 23/02/2019
Summary: Mother gets married and Mia can’t imagine what good that will do. Her stepfather belongs to the category of adults who don’t think a seven year old child understands more than a three months old pig. Why women want a beautiful man who makes them pregnant is one of life’s great mysteries, which even Mia’s gifted mind fails to solve. Mia’s mother struggles to put food on the table, and the best thing in the world is a home with blue flowers on a chalked mantelpiece. But every time the adults bicker and fight, it leads to new and painful departures.

My thoughts: This is a Swedish proletarian classic from the interwar period. This period is said to be the golden age of the proletarian literature of Sweden, which was why this book was assigned for me and my classmates in Swedish class. 
It was a meh book. It was under 300 pages, but felt like it was over 500. Really, it was better than I expected, but it just didn't invoke any emotions in me, which I would have wished for it to do. It's cool to read fiction that accurately portrays Sweden in different time periods, though. So that's something. So: not a great book for me, but(!) an important piece of literature nonetheless.

Rating: 2/5

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Title: All the Light We Cannot See

Author: Anthony Doerr
Original title: All the Light We Cannot See
First published: 2014
Genre: Historical
Series: --
Publisher: Scribner
Format: Hardback
Pages: 531
Finished: 22/02/2019
Summary: Marie-Laure lives in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where her father works. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.
In a mining town in Germany, Werner Pfennig, an orphan, grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find that brings them news and stories from places they have never seen or imagined. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments and is enlisted to use his talent to track down the resistance.

My thoughts: In honour of the annual book sale, I read a book that I bought on last year's sales. This was the one!
This was a Big Book™ in more than one way. As is expected of a book set during World War 2, this was heavy on the feels. I did some research to make sure Doerr wrote this story with historical accuracy, which he did, and that’s great. It gives me respect for him; that he’d take so much time to research these things. The book feels very realistic. We get to see the war from the eyes of a French girl (Marie-Laure) who becomes victim of Nazi Germany’s occupation of France, and of a young German boy (Werner) who joins Hitler’s forces to avoid a lifetime working in the mines. Both these perspectives are so interesting and gave me a new insight to the war that I didn’t have before. Werner’s story, especially, had a strong impact on me, because seeing Nazi Germany from the inside was frightening. Marie-Laure’s character was also written very well; her blindness added an unexpected element to the reading experience. Other than these two protagonists, we meet a bunch of other characters, who seemed realistic and who all had their own story that were definitely worth following. It’s strange how good writing can make a reader both love and hate a Nazi character.

All in all, it was a long and good read, but now I need to read some lighter fiction for a while.

Rating: 4,5/5

Book reviews: Through the Looking-Glass | Boy Meets Boy | Det handlar om dig

Title: Through the Looking-Glass
Author: Lewis Carroll
Original title: Through the Looking-Glass
Genre: Classic, fantasy
Series: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland #2
Publisher: Barnes & Noble
Format: Hardback
Pages: 123
Finished: 2/11/16
Summary: Alice finds herself yet again in a topsy-turvy world full of fascinating and funny characters, moving her way around a chess board world to try and get back home.

My thoughts: Okay so I was easily convinced to read the continuation to Alice in Wonderland after loving the first book, so I did. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy this quite as much, as I found less charm in this book and a lot more plot line (which would be good in most cases, but not in this). While it was still plenty random and strange, it was not as quirky and just a tad more serious. I felt like this could've been a "fake" continuation, written by someone else than Carroll. Also, even through it seemed to have been the same artist, the illustrations weren't as pretty and they were a little messy to look at sometimes. However, the story introduced some lovely characters who made this worth the read, amongst them Humpty-Dumpty and the White Knight. I'd expected to see a bit more of the Jabberwocky and the Bandersnatch, like in the movies by Tim Burton, but I've understood that his versions of Alice in Wonderland aren't as faithful as I'd first thought (nothing ill meant, of course).
To sum it up, I've thoroughly enjoyed both stories about Alice, especially the book cover. Seriously, just look at it. Totally worth the money of a poor student.

Rating: 3/5

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Title: Boy Meets Boy
Author: David Levithan
Original title: Boy Meets Boy
Genre: YA,contemporary
Series: --
Publisher: Knopf
Format: Paperback
Pages: 186
Finished: 29/12/16
Summary: Life as Paul is far from easy right now. His best friend Joni cut ties with him and the gang, all for that guy Chuck! And Tony, his other best friend, has been locked up inside his house by his hysterical parents to be converted. And then there's Noah. Noah, with the greenest green eyes, doesn't even want to look at him anymore after he accidentally kissed his ex, Kyle, in the school's broom shed...

My thoughts: I had high hopes for this novel, and while it was charming, it didn't live up to my expectations. Sure, it was cute, but far from extraordinary or gripping. Quite frankly, it was like any other teenage romance novel, and it didn't impress me. While the language was vibrant and beautiful, the story in itself was not. I could relate to most of the characters, while to some I could not, and I feel like there were characters who were far more interesting than Paul and Noah, who had too little time in the spotlight. I found Noah remotely enticing, Joni couldn't have been less compelling to me by the end of this book, and Paul was alright, though not very fascinating.
There are good things to be said about this book, of course. All the good characters, and the language and the mercifully short chapters (thanks Mr Levithan). It was also suitably long for a story of its kind, and I never felt like things were being dragged out. In the end, it was good, but not amazing.

Rating: 3.5/5

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Title: Det handlar om dig (It's About You)
Author: Sandra Beijer
Original title: Det handlar om dig
Genre: YA, contemporary
Series: --
Publisher: Rabén & Sjögren
Format: Hardback
Pages: 256
Finished: 29/12/16
Summary: After a party under the summer night sky, nothing is the same anymore. Suddenly every Friday night, every dark dance floor, and every stolen beery is about him. About the three beauty spots on his cheek, about sentences in Russian on a park bench and about explosive text messages that are never answered. If he could only look a little closer, get in touch a bit more often, come a little closer. If he could only see, if only for a moment, that everything is about him.

My thoughts: Woah, if I thought Twilight was an obsessive romance novel, it has now been defeated. I could barely ever relate to the main character, who was fifteen and spent next to every night out partying, kissing guys, drinking, and smoking. And believe me, if it had been a good book, I wouldn't have a problem with that.
Firstly, after 256 pages in the main characters POV, I still barely know anything about her. She is so completely obsessed with this guy who she isn't even happy together with. She was like a shell without any personality, because everything was about him. Him here, him there. I wanted to grab her and shake her and tell her "hey he sucks, but your best friend Alice is super cute and cares a lot about you, why don't you give it a try with her, eh?".
Secondly, their relationship is destructive, yet she always wants to get back together with him, and even when she doesn't want that she still stalks him and attends parties she knows he'll be at. And I didn't like him either; he was a hypocrite and a douchebag through and through. She kind of was too, but he was worse somehow.
Ah, nope, it could still have been a good story, but in the end it only left me frustrated and in a need to strangle someone (preferably the Russian love interest who still goes without a name). The writing was pretty good, but in the end you need a good story combined with the writing to make something good. I didn't really expect to like this book, but I expected more than this.

Rating: 1.5/5

Book review: The Little Prince | Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close | Ett öga rött | Alice in Wonderland

Title: The Little Prince
Author: Antione de Saint-Exupéry
Original title: Le Petit Prince
Genre: Children, Classic
Series: ---
Publisher: Wordsworth Editions
Format: Paperback
Pages: 109
Finished: Early 2016
Summary: A pilot crashes with his plane in the middle of the desert. Expecting to be miles away from civilizations, he is shocked to meet a little boy there, a little prince.

My thoughts:
Did you know this book is one of the five most sold books in the world? Or so Wikipedia tells me, at least. Impressive, isn't it? Just under it is Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Most sold, amongst the purely fictional works (or the Bible would've won), is A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.
The Little Prince was written by a French pilot, such as the main character of the story, whose name was Antione de Saint-Exupéry. This story was released for the first time in 1943, about a year before he and his plane disappeared somewhere. Rather ironic, when you think about it.
So I adored this little book. It's so quirky and I love the fun illustrations that come with it. It's been a while now since I read it, so I don't remember much, but I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed it and it wouldn't surprise me if I were to reread it again in the future.

Rating: 4/5


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Title: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Author: Jonathan Safran Foer
Original title: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Genre: Contemporary
Series: ---
Publisher: Penguin
Format: Paperback
Pages: 326
Finished: 23/10/16
Summary: Nine-year-old Oskar Schell is an inventor, amateur entomologist, Francophile, letter writer, pacifist, natural historian, percussionist, romantic, Great Explorer, jeweller, detective, vegan, and collector of butterflies. When his father is killed in the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Centre, Oskar sets out to solve the mystery of a key he discovers in his father's closet. It is a search which leads him into the lives of strangers, through the five boroughs of New York, into history, to the bombings of Dresden and Hiroshima, and on an inward journey which brings him ever closer to some kind of peace.

My thoughts:
This book had me sad 4 pages in, and it had me crying by the end of it. The story is like a punch to the gut, and it left me feeling emotional and a little overwhelmed. I read this for English class. We were asked to pick one book to read for novel discussions, and I'm happy I picked this. It's a great book, really, however at times the sadness became too much. I mean, the whole book is just pages upon pages filled with tragedy and depression, though in the most beautiful way (still left me feeling hollow though). Another thing that bothered me slightly was Oscars character, and how he at times felt a bit too unreal for a 9-year-old. Even if he was special, his character was a little exaggerated at some points and it didn't feel natural. Other than that, I really recommend this book! It's not a favorite, but it's absolutely worth the read!

Rating: 3.5/5

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Title: Ett öga rött (An Eye Red)
Author: Jonas Hassen Khemiri
Original title: Ett öga rött
Genre: YA, contemporary
Series: ---
Publisher: Månpocket
Format: Paperback
Pages: 251
Finished: 23/10/16
Summary: Halim har genomskådat allt. Han har genomskådat Integrationsplanen. Han har genomskådat fiskpanettsrasismen i matbespisningen, han har kommit till insikt om hur Allahs makt hänger ihop med ödet och varför intellektuella liknar halta kameler. Tyvärr har han också genomskådat sin pappa, som har övergett Kampen och i stället bara talar om vikten av att tala bra svenska.
Men Halim har en egen plan: han ska bli Sveriges mäktigaste revolutionsblatte. En tankesultan, som knäcker koderna och får de snyggaste gussarna.

My thoughts:

(Ett öga rött translates to An Eye Red - the incorrect grammar is intentional)
So we had to read this for Swedish class, the main reason being we'd study the language of the writing, which doesn't follow the V2 rule (ah Swedish stuff I'm too lazy to explain). I had a hard time getting used to the grammar and the flow of the writing in the beginning, but I got into it pretty quickly. I found the language pretty interesting, but I had other major issues with this novel.
Firstly, the main character. Or really, it's all about the main character. His name is Halim, and he's a second generation immigrant to Sweden (don't really remember where his parents were from). That's chill, that's all cool, but the novel is in diary form and let me tell you, Halim is not holding back on the racist comments. Or the sexist and homophobic comments either. Like chill bro, learn some respect. He'd use words (in Swedish) that would be translated to fag, whore, bitch, nigger, blackhead and more. I found this offensive and was unsettled by reading it. Halim also made a lot of bad decisions which I couldn't really understand, and the way he treated the people around him was so rude. He also mentions his masturbation moments a lot. I didn't appreciate that much...
Anyway, I read it for the different grammar, not for the plot. Would not reread.

Rating: 1.5/5

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Title: Alice in Wonderland
Author: Lewis Carroll
Original title: Alice in Wonderland
Genre: Classic, fantasy
Series: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland #1
Publisher: Barnes & Noble
Format: Hardback
Pages: 124
Finished: 27/10/16
Summary: Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, "and what is the use of a book," thought Alice, "without pictures or conversations?"
So begins the tale of Alice, following a curious White Rabbit down a rabbit-hole and falling into Wonderland. A fantastical place, where nothing is quite as it seems: animals talk, nonsensical characters confuse, Mad Hatter's throw tea parties and the Queen plays croquet. Alice's attempts to find her way home become increasingly bizarre, infuriating and amazing in turn.

My thoughts:

I finished the first part yesterday night, and I'll be moving on to part two, Through the Looking-Glass, and I'm looking forward to watch the movie by Tim Burton after that!
I found this book so entertaining! The illustrations are amazing, and the story is so strange and full of things to philosophise about, all the hidden meanings in the text. Seriously though, Carroll must've been high on something when he wrote this, and I love it. Alice is a little know-it-all, though I still enjoyed her character, and she's being bossed around by all the other quirky characters and it's just so fun to read. It's a short book, so I don't have much more to say about it except that you should go read it right now! It's wonderful!

Rating: 4.5/5