Customer Reviews

Alice Through the Looking Glass

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(30)

 

 

Some of the poetry seems to be missing from the work, it really bothers me. You're better off to buy a copy than use this free one.

I was very disappointed to discover that this version of the book is missing pretty much all the poetry. The songs are shortened and details are left out. I advise purchasing the book rather than downloading the free version. This is one of my favorite books from my childhood and I sorely missed "The Walrus and the Carpenter". Not to mention the loss of the Jaberwocky. On a side note- I'd forgotten that the many Alice in Wonderland movies often combined the two books.

The poems are missing from the book, which makes it an incomplete work. Sometimes, I guess you get what you pay for.

Although the plot is just a charming as ever, the poetry is missing. It's free, so nothing lost, but the sense just isn't the same without the poetry.

This is a shamefully incomplete edition of THROUGH THE LOOKING-GLASS. It's a travesty which omits the important poetry.

This edition is a VERY POOR kindle choice. 5 stars are for the book itself. I sampled many Alice in Wonderland and all the Through the Looking Glass books I could find available (at Amazon and Gutenberg org - though today I discover some I missed). I believe I found that the best available editions, if you want both, are:

The BLTC at 1.79 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (BLTC Press Edition) - this edition is very well formatted with all the Tenniel illustrations that I recall and is the one I purchased myself.

The Bompacrazy at .99 Alice in Wonderland (Illustrated) or Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Illustrated) (these two appear to be exactly the same from the samples as both have the 'blotted out' picture of the Drink Me tag): this is almost as good a choice, though not quite as well formatted. The sample has a Rackham illustration (and there may be more) as well as the many Tenniel, though, which is a plus.

The free Gutenberg org versions - lacked the improved linking and formatting, but there are various illustrated editions; may be worth it to you if .99 is too much or you are looking for something other than Tenniel.

I did see a kindle version of an 'Original First Edition' Alice which appears to be illustrated by Arthur Rackham - in case you are looking for that one instead of the better known John Tenniel version. Alice In Wonderland - Original First Edition Version Published For Kindle - Lewis Carroll That edition has no Tenniel illustrations in the sample; also the text seems to be abridged (or just maybe an earlier version?) and the formatting is poor. Note that the picture of Alice looking at the Cheshire Cat in a tree that appears on this linked product page is not the cover that appears on the downloaded sample; the cover that does appear is of Alice walking with the Duchess and looks like this kindle book: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass - now for more typical Amazon mis-linked craziness, this latter edition has Tenniel illustrations, but beware that they are very small thumbnails and enlarge to very poor quality. I do not recommend either of these editions. The Rackham is available at Gutenberg for free.

Today I discovered the Master Edition The Complete Alice in Wonderland (Kindle Master Editions) which I missed before (likely because I was concentrating on Through the Looking Glass, which has far fewer editions, and then pursuing the 'matching' Alice in Wonderlands). Today the price is .89 and I am going to buy it. It is at least as well formatted as the BLTC (based on the sample) and has even more Alice writings (beyond Wonderland and Looking Glass) as well as essays and historical info and other 'add-ons'. He has all the illustrations from Tenniel and additional ones from Holliday and Carroll (I think he should add Rackham's, too).

As many others have said, the basic Kindle edition is a very poor choice, and most others also lack the illustrations. Thank goodness for samples.

Re Through the Looking Glass, it was the chess board appearing in the BLTC sample (and not in the BompaCrazy sample) that finalized my choice in their favor (before finding the Master). Here are the BLTC and BompaCrazy links:
Through the Looking Glass - BLTC
Through the Looking Glass (Illustrated) - BompaCrazy

I hope this review helps you find your best choice far more quickly than I did.

The Alice in Wonderland books are two of the most read books ever. So why does this free copy of "Through the Looking-Glass" leave out the famous poems? It upsets me when a work is abridged. Are all "free" Kindle downloads like this?

Avoid this version. The "community of volunteers" was not interested in doing justice to this literature.

It's a wonderful story, but as everyone else has pointed out the poems are missing, I'm not sure why. it does mess up the story a little. Humpty Dumpty explains the lyrics to the jaberwokey and it took a few seconds to realize he had been reciting a poem before hand which you are left to assume must be the jaberwokey.

There are three reviews to this edition that talk about Trevor Brown's contribution, including the cover, to this book. Surely these comments should have been attached to a different book. This book is illustrated by Helen Oxenbury, and there is no attribution anywhere, including the cover, that has to do with Trevor Brown.
By the way, the Oxenbury illustrations are typical of her style. Frankly, as a collector of Carrolliana, I find Oxenbury's illustrations to be far too precious to hold the interest of adults, but others might find them to be appropriate for a child. The edition is well printed, on good paper and with solid color.