Review: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

2019 CHALLENGE: 1 RE-READ PER MONTH 02 / 12

4 stars. THIS BOOK IS SO STRANGE! I fucking loved it as a kid but wow - this book is a really, really bizarre acid trip. In a good way.

I know so much has been said about Lewis Carroll and the possible inspiration for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I can't personally add anything about that, except that I hope it's not true and I hope this classic remains untarnished. Because it's truly a one-of-a-kind, unprecedented and kind of unmatched as far as children's literature goes.

(Also, there’s no evidence that Lewis Carroll did drugs. Just sayin’.)

Now that I'm older and more well-read, this reminded me of a lot of my favorite authors growing up: Roald Dahl, Clive Barker (the Abarat series features an interested sort of Wonderland), CS Lewis, Norton Juster, etc. This really felt like kind of a warm up for books like that, or like it sprouted branches and now we can enjoy it’s fruit. It's charm and wit will probably keep inspiring authors as long as books exist. I also personally love books like Alice (Christina Henry) and other dark renditions. 

But the one thing that really stuck out during my re-read was how much I absolutely love Alice. What a badass, world-hopping, roll-with-it warrior!  

"The table was a large one, but the three were all crowded together at one corner of it: 'No room! No room!' they cried out when they saw Alice coming. 'There's plenty of room!' said Alice indignantly, and she sat down in a large arm-chair at one end of the table."

I love her.

“One of the jurors had a pencil that squeaked. This of course, Alice could not stand, and she went round the court and got behind him, and very soon found an opportunity of taking it away."

She's fantastic. Alice couldn’t stand the squeaky pencil, so she took it away.

"Hold your tongue!' said the Queen, turning purple. 'I won't!' said Alice." 

I don't understand why Alice isn't more regularly recognized and featured as a young feminist heroine. She's so cool and clever and, of course, curious. 

I was also really into the way Lewis Carroll handled the lack of explanation for events. I'm always intrigued by books that don't give you a chance to question things. I know that some people prefer answers to EVERYTHING, they hate ambiguity. I see the beauty in it. I suspect Carroll was aware that children wouldn't mind, even poking at the concept a bit:

"'What IS the use of repeating all that stuff,' the Mock Turtle interrupted, 'if you don't explain it as you go on? It's by far the most confusing thing I ever heard!'"

Not as confusing as it may seem, ha. It definitely comes across as a book that's "just for fun," but I wouldn't be surprised if there was playful meaning behind every joke, every twist of dialogue, every story and riddle and interjection. That's what makes it so rewarding for children and adults - the magic and the meaning. It's not for everyone, but it's hilarious and weird and an amazing piece of writing and completely worth your time.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland on: Amazon | Goodreads

Review: The Virgin Suicides

2019 CHALLENGE: 1 YOU HAVEN'T READ THAT YET?! PER MONTH 02 / 12

5 stars. No surprises here. I love the movie, I loved reading Middlesex, and thematically this checks all the boxes for me. I was struck, however, by a couple of things: first, the uniqueness of the narrative voice. First person plural is rare, successful first person plural is unheard of. To Eugenides’ credit, it really works, and it was refreshing to fall into a sort of collective, shared headspace. I fell in love with the boys who fell in love with the Lisbon sisters; their quiet and honest sense of obsession and horror is totally unselfconscious.

Second, the playful and subtle way Eugenides illustrates how incapable people are at handling grief. In examining so closely the reaction to the girls’ suicides (not a spoiler!), we see people lose all sense of self-awareness. An entire community flounders and stumbles around in fear and curiosity and humor. We see an astounding lack of sensitivity from neighbors, “friends,” acquaintances. There is painfully misplaced judgment and blame. We see clumsy attempts to heal and help. The only people who truly try to understand are the narrators - and they don’t really get there. This felt very real.

Third, I thought this book would examine more deeply what it means to be female. I expected the point would be that the girls’ femaleness would inform their deaths, not necessarily the other way around. That’s not a critique, just an observation. Aside from Cecelia’s perfect explanation to her doctor, this was more about youth and tragedy than female youth and female tragedy. Being desired, desiring others, desiring more … all explored with a superficial eye. But it’s not just about the girls. It’s about the boys.

It’s about the boys’ lust and their coming-of-age in middle class suburbia; their memories and their shared reminiscence of an impactful event that changed their perspective forever. It’s about the loss of innocence and an attempt to grapple with something that simply cannot be explained. It’s about adults not having all the answers. It’s about seeing another person through a fog - or a lens - or a telescope of your own making, of your own perceptions. Or perhaps through a coating of dusk, muck, grass, smog, bugs.

I thought this would annoy me - the prevalence of the male gaze. But the girls do have agency. They’re awkward, strange, nerdy, mistake-making teenage girls and the boys (the men) later recognize this. Perhaps we would be more forgiving of girls if we remembered that. They’re not perfect, mythical, beautiful, ethereal creatures too special for this world. They’re just girls.

This was a satisfying read in the sense that I knew I would love it. But it’s not a happy book. Also …

Otter insulation? Otter insulation? EW.

The Virgin Suicides on: Amazon | Goodreads

Review: In Cold Blood

2019 CHALLENGE: 1 YOU HAVEN'T READ THAT YET?! PER MONTH 01 / 12

5 stars. This year, I decided to create and implement two reading challenges. The first: 1 re-read per month. I'm really interested in revisiting old favorites - many of them books I read as a child or a young person - and this is meant to get me out from under the pressure to consume everything new and shiny. My first re-read was The Westing Game - and it was hugely delightful.

The second challenge: 1 you haven't read that yet?! per month. There are some books out there (classics, bestselllers, Want to Read lingerers) that I just haven't forced myself to read, for whatever reason. This challenge is meant to make it happen. I had so much fun developing my lists/plans for both of these, but I'm keeping them under wraps so I can tinker/change my mind. 

My first you haven't read that yet?! is Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. I know - HOW. How have I not read this. But it's true. I finally finished it yesterday and wow - there's so much to unpack. Based on advice from my husband, I went in completely blind and resisted the urge to Google, even when my fingers itched to. I let myself absorb the story as it unfolded.

The story, as it turns out, is the story of a murder - the horrific, tragic murder of a family of four in their farm house in Holcomb, Kansas. In Cold Blood, written as the first "nonfiction novel," explores the crime from every angle. Showcasing an incredible eye for detail, Capote sets the stage with care and paints detailed pictures of each victim and each perpetrator. He examines closely the events leading up to and after the murder, placing the rippling consequences in sociological and psychological contexts. We get to know these people - the victims, the survivors, the witnesses, the investigators. By the end, we feel deeply affected by the murders and intimately familiar with the murderers.

What can I possibly say? Capote literally invented a genre here. He birthed a type of writing. It's obviously an incredible technical accomplishment, both in terms of style and approach. The level of journalistic work required must have been insane. Yes, he distorted the truth in places, created scenes where perhaps he shouldn't have, but we know that going in by now. The hype is REAL. It's a must-read.

So yes, it's a gamechanger from a methodological perspective. But it's also a profoundly emotional read. Capote was obviously the OG murderino, but I don't think even he anticipated the many complexities or the distressing twists and turns this case would take.

One thing emerged very clearly for me, a quarter of the way through the book: Capote was obsessed with - infatuated with, maybe - Perry Smith. He never excuses Smith's behavior, nor does he minimize the tragedy of the Clutters' deaths. He confronts the horror head-on, in fact, brutally walking us through Smith's cold, twisted thought process upon killing four innocent people for $40. But he's fascinated with Smith and pays distinct attention to his upbringing, his past, his family, the circumstances that led to his predicament. 

It's an almost loving portrayal, and his death feels almost just as tragic as the original murders. I finished this book after watching the Ted Bundy documentary on Netflix (Ted Bundy is having a moment), and I couldn't help but juxtapose the two killers and the forms of justice they faced. 

Killing Ted Bundy was an ultimate and satisfying consequence, because it completely robbed a manipulative psychopath of his control. That man was never going to stop. He was never going to stop hunting. He was driven almost beyond self-preservation to possess things - situations, authority figures, courtrooms, juries, women. I find myself supportive of the death penalty here as justice for his victims and as prevention of his future crimes.

Killing Perry Smith and his partner feels far less satisfying. It's just not the same. There is a spectrum here and Smith - to me, based on this book - does not land near Bundy. Like Capote, I will not excuse his actions or distract from the complete suffering faced by the Clutter family. But like Capote, I see layers here. I see reasons. I see explanations. I see circumstances beyond Smith’s ability to control.

It's a moral quandary that I won't even attempt to navigate beyond that. I am tired and my brain is squishy from considering all this. But it's beautiful that this book inspires these types of questions. In Cold Blood is truly extraordinary, and I can see why Capote struggled with it. I'm so glad I read it and I'm sorry it took me so long.

In Cold Blood on: Amazon | Goodreads

Review: The Westing Game

2019 CHALLENGE: 1 RE-READ PER MONTH 01 / 12

5 stars. This book is pure brain food. I like to think of it as a nice blend of Agatha Christie and Flannery O’Connor. You’ve got the clever, wholesome Christie mystery fun mixed with O’Connor’s bold, scathing characterizations. Makes one very tasty, very satisfying read.

The Westing Game opens with our cast moving into Sunset Towers, a new apartment building adjacent to an old mansion belonging to Sam Westing. When Mr. Westing dies (…is murdered?), he, via his lawyer, brings together sixteen of the Towers inhabitants to play a game worth … (drumroll, please) … his entire inheritance.

He leaves instructions for each “heir,” plus specific clues for everyone. We, as readers, get to watch from a front row seat as a feisty African American judge, an entitled, egotistical housewife, an attention-starved secretary, a sparkly, smart little girl, and more unlikely suspects race to solve the puzzle and win the game.

This would be a really bizarre book if it wasn’t written so cleverly, with so much humor, and with so much heart. It’s clear here that Ellen Raskin loved this book - loved writing it, loved playing with the readers, and loved her characters, deeply.

Like Christie’s books, this is a classic whodunnit and like Christie, Raskin drops the mic with the satisfying snap of a puzzle piece being pressed perfectly into place. Like O’Connor, Raskin paints each character with care and with brutal honestly. It keeps things fresh and immensely enjoyable.

And, yes, this probably would’ve been an even better read at 12. But I found myself really captivated by The Westing Game, and really invested. In fact (yikes), I actually found myself tearing up a bit at the end. Who, me? The ice queen with a heart of stone?! I’m meltinggggg…… I know. I just fell in love with these characters and it made me so happy to … well, you’ll see.

This book is full of nostalgia and goodness. I’m so glad it kicked off my re-read challenge for 2019, because it proved how rewarding this exercise can be. So come on! Read The Westing Game. Bask in the glow of transparent tryhards, charming youngsters, charming oldsters, twists, turns, and the joy of unlikely friends.

The Westing Game on: Amazon | Goodreads