|
 "HOW
IS a raven like a writing desk?" This riddle is posed by the Mad Hatter during
his tea party in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. I haven't read
this book since I was a girl, and I haven't heard or seen or even thought about
Alice as anything but a 1950s era Disney movie for a long while. Recently,
while running errands in my car, I listened to a three CD Unabridged version of
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland read by David Horovitch, Jo Wyatt, and
a full cast that brings Carroll's characters to life in a whole new way.
I find I "see" a book from a new perspective when I
listen to it than when I read the same book on paper. I was so intrigued by the
Mad Hatter's riddle and other puzzles and wordplays that I ended up devoting
this past month to Alice-related reading (and listening). I had forgotten just
how brilliant this work is – I had also forgotten that Alice, as originally
written, is not just a story for children.
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (aka Lewis Carrroll) was an
1800s era mathematician and logistician who probably had insight into key
questions in theoretical physics that still exist today (for example, time
travel). He enjoyed both the logical and illogical – and was at times downright
silly. For example, when Alice tries to have a serious discussion about
education with the Mock Turtle, he recounts his own school's curriculum thusly:
"Reeling and Writhing, of course, to begin with, and then the different
branches of arithmetic: Ambition, Distraction, Uglification, and Derision." I
laughed aloud as I pondered each subject.
Next, I read The Annotated Alice: The Definitive
Edition by Lewis Carroll, with an introduction and notes by Martin Gardner,
which enabled me to read both Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the
Looking Glass. This version contains the full text as well as the original John
Tenniel illustrations. I especially enjoyed the running explanations and
discussion of the many puns, jokes, riddles, games, puzzles, tricks, and
paradoxes.
 Then,
just for fun, I read Taking Tea with Alice: Looking-Glass Tea Parties and
Fanciful Victorian Teas by Dawn Hylton and Diane Sedo. I will admit, I have
not tried any of the recipes because I am on the road, but the book itself was
a pleasure to read and the photographs are absolutely scrumptious. The authors
explore the many tea parties that Alice, the character in the stories, as well
as Alice, the real little girl on whom the stories were based, would have
attended. The obvious party is, of course, the Mad Hatter's, but an equally
delightful one is the The Roses Red Tea in the Garden party. The
authors' adaptation of Flamingo Croquet and Painting the Roses Red is just
delightful.
Each party section includes a related Lewis Carroll
passage; suggestions for menus, games, activities, invitations, costumes, party
favors and decor; specific recipes and game instructions; and the authors also
point out opportunities for practicing good manners and learning etiquette.
For more information about Lewis Carroll, go to
http://www.lewiscarroll.org/carroll.html.
On a side note: numerous readers have emailed me to ask
about sources for books reviewed here. Sometimes these books are available at
major bookstores, but often I have picked up a book in a shop or heard about it
and bought it online or received it directly from a publisher. You can always
find them online (Google rules!) and most major booksellers have a counter
where you can inquire about ordering books they do not have in the store. Email
me if you have trouble finding something.
Until next month...
Please email me at
okeefekg@gmail.com or visit my
website at www.snark-hunter.com.
Until next month…
Link to previous reviews -
January 2009 February 2009 |
