(re) Visions: Alice

This book is amazing.

I could stop now, but that’s a little too brief: let me clue you in on this phenomenal new offering from Candlemark and Gleam, a small, independent publisher who is new to the print realm.

The first in a planned series, “Alice” is a collection of stories based on Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. As a bonus, especially for all of us who haven’t read some of our childhood favorites in recent years, the entire first half of the book is actually the original story.

In the first re-telling, author Kaye Chazan stays close to the timeline of Alice and her characters remain in England; Alice, however, is now Aelister, a young boy with both a gift and a sense of adventure. Aelister runs away from home and meets the Duke, who takes him under his wing and proposes to teach him…many things. (What Aelister Found Here)

Well-written, compelling, and leaving the reader wanting more – Chazan is a fantastic story-teller!

The second installment, written by Amanda Ching, goes much more in-depth regarding character development; it also jumps around between time periods a bit more that this reader can follow, on occasion. Rather than focusing on Alice, or a character much like Alice, this story tells the tale of Mary Ann, a servant who finds herself dropped into the near-original Wonderland.

A bit darker than Carroll’s version, Ching nevertheless manages to incorporate and develop the characters as told from a different point of view.

The third story reads like a vintage detective novel. Hilary Thomas’ characters come to life as Jack Knave, head of security for the queen, pokes and prods various underworld individuals such as Jimmy Cheshire, Frank Duchess, and Kingsley, the queen’s sidekick, to learn who and what is Alice, a mysterious stranger new to the city of Wonderland. (Knave)

Thomas could certainly develop this into a series in her own right. The character development, writing, and comedic interchanges are all impeccable.

And finally, C.A. Young’s rendition of Alice takes a whole other twist and turn, dropping (literally) gallery owner Toby into Wonderland – a place even more magical and fantastical than Carroll’s version, albeit a little darker, a little stranger. Alice is bit different from the sweet young girl we’ve all come to expect…. (The World in a Thimble)

As always from this publisher, Young’s installment is perfectly edited, well-written, and leaves the reader turning page upon page to find out what happens next.