Just as the name suggests, Wonderland: An Anthology consists of a wondrous collection of fantastical short stories inspired by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. They’re all worth the attention but it could take me pages and pages to review each story individually, so I will instead highlight some of my favorites. The book begins with an introduction by Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane that provides a quick look at all the ways in which Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has been adapted over the years since its original publication in 1865. This classic novel has inspired movies, books, video games, and music, and it’s had a long-lasting and impactful influence in pop culture.
The first story I would like to address is Juliet Marillier’s “Good Dog, Alice!” This short story left me speechless but with a satisfied smile flitting about my cheeks. It tells the tale of a young, nameless girl that owns a dog named Alice. The girl is warned about that name since only troublesome folk carries those five letters around. The girl trains her dog to crunch (eat on command!) and, with the help of a “Drink Me” potion, she executes her revenge on a tutor that has placed too many a hand on her young body. There’s something deeply satisfying about someone getting their just desserts.
Next up, in Angela Slatter’s “Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em,” Alice is transported into another time-period entirely. Gone is the sweet, curious girl we all know and love. She’s been replaced by a being who transcends time and space and is stuck in the limbo of agelessness. She is tired and vengeful and hoping to rid the world of Rabbit. The impatient rabbit from the classic has also been replaced by someone who uses bodies as currency and leaves an unnatural transgression of nature in his wake. Out of all the stories in the anthology, I felt that this one jumped out the most. The story struggles against its seams, and it left me begging for a full-length novel that I can drink up, without worries of shrinking or expanding attached.
Through “Black Kitty” by Catriona Ward, we experience a more innocent albeit dark presentation of magic, the looking glass, and Alice. In this story, we see Wonderland through the eyes of Dinah the cat. Despite Alice not being the central character, the recurrent themes of Wonderland are there: a world in organized chaos, longing for escape, and magic. This is a tale I didn’t know I needed in my life.
My definitive fave is one written by Laura Mauro. “The Night Parade” is a wonderful retelling of a dive into Wonderland. This time, there is no Mad Hatter, no Red Queen, no White Queen, and no Cheshire Cat. Instead, we have the Kitsune, Kappa, Tanuki, and Yokai. Japanese mythology permeates Wonderland in a way that suits it. The mystical and magical elements of Japanese lore blend in and enhance the disquieting tone of Wonderland, and turn the landscape into a murkier, more dangerous world of magic. If I could have a Japanese retelling of this classic, I’m sure I would favor it over the original. Mauro’s storytelling is captivating and persuades you to keep on reading. She pulls a veil over your eyes, one through which you can only see the smallest glimpse of what is going on.
Wonderland: An Anthology entrapped me in more ways than I can explain, but a thought that accompanied me from the beginning through to the end was a wonder of whether or not the book would address Charles Lutwidge Dodgson’s, a.k.a. Lewis Caroll, strange obsession with Alice Liddell, the child who inspired Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Much of the relationship between the man and the 11-year-old is heavily speculated upon and there’s not a lot of evidence to suggest any concrete findings. Nonetheless, Mark Chadbourn, author of the short story “Six Impossible Things,” writes about the aftermath of a family torn apart by an older man, named Charles Dodgson, taking pictures of Alice Liddell and then wanting to marry her. The story is raw and heart-wrenching, and is written in a simple language riddled with repetition, which only furthers the sense of despair.
Out of the 19 stories in this book, there was only one I didn’t like, “Wonder Never Cease” by Robert Shearman. Though Robert Shearman’s tone is nothing short of skilled, and how he formats his story is reminiscent of The Buddhas in the Attic. Unlike the Buddhas in the Attic, this story fails to move me. Initially, the tale appeals to me. Alice going down the rabbit hole and then falling out of the rabbit hole and into modernity is intriguing. Shearman turns Alice into a dimwitted, unambiguously toxic character, one that seems to act in representation of someone who has lost her mind. Furthermore, he places Alice in the realm of not knowing who she is, and when she does discover who she is: she finds out that she is a mother. Though this might not be to my liking (as the trope of women not feeling complete until they bear children is overdone and borders on essentialism), I’m sure someone will find this story just as fantastical as I have found all the rest.
I would like to finish on a pleasant note. This book’s one true hidden gem is one which is called “There Were No Birds to Fly” by M.R. Carey. Where is Alice? I asked myself. We cannot have Wonderland without Alice, but can’t we? M.R. Carey would beg to differ. You’ll find yourself lost in this tale of the Walrus and the Carpenter. Unique and underexplored, you’ll enjoy diving into their chaotic psyche.
This anthology does a great job of adapting the characters and the themes behind Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland into many different genres, such as westerns, love stories, mysteries, thrillers, sci-fi, post-apocalyptic, and alien riddled worlds. Even with the continual recycling of characters, at no point do you get tired of it. They are killed off but reborn into a diversity of personas. There’s something about Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland that is so truly timeless, and this book makes a wondrous example of it.
This book will be released on September 17, 2019. I highly recommend you pre-order or buy a copy. You can preorder through Amazon. It’s a worthwhile read, and I can assure you, you won’t regret it.
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars