Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Audible Edition)

Title: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Author: Lewis Carroll
Page Count: 92
Rating: B
Keywords: Classic, Wonderland, Dreams
Genre: Children's Fiction
Narrator: Scarlett Johansson
Duration: 2 hours 44 minutes
Younger Readers: This is a children's book, thus it is appropriate for even young children. No language or sexual content

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (commonly shortened to Alice in Wonderland) is an 1865 novel written by English mathematician Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells of a girl named Alice falling through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures. The tale plays with logic, giving the story lasting popularity with adults as well as with children. It is considered to be one of the best examples of the literary nonsense genre. Its narrative course and structure, characters and imagery have been enormously influential in both popular culture and literature, especially in the fantasy genre.

My Review:

This was just as insane, if not more so, than I had expected. A large part of Wonderland's charm is its ridiculousness. At times it was a bit difficult to follow, though this was probably due more to the fact I was distracted than the story itself, and there was some confusion. As a child I rather enjoyed the Alice in Wonderland movie, but now that I am an adult I was surprised to find that Alice is not as likeable as I had found her previously. She comes across as a rather rude and bratty. Despite this I was happy to finally read the classic.

Scarlett Johansson's reading was not what I was expecting. It was a great deal of fun as she manipulated her voice into deep and high characters alike. There was no struggle attempting to forget who was reading. She simply became Alice, the mouse, the queen, etc. I am quite sure that I would not have enjoyed this audiobook, or story itself, with a less skilled reader. There is a strong feeling that this is geared towards children, and this goal was absolutely reached. It is silly, fun, and engaging. Children leery of reading would likely enjoy this performance.

As an adult reader, I enjoyed it well enough but do not intend to listen again. For children, this is perfect. It is short enough to not grow tedious on very young readers and the performance is likely to entice giggles and great fun. A great idea for long car rides, extended travel, or even bedtime.