Customer Reviews

The Art of Alice in Wonderland

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

What a dissapointment this book was, having bought it online, I was unable to flip through it's pages first. If you want to seriously study the various illustrators of Alice, don't bother with this book.

First, none of the illustrations are captioned and you have to look up the credits in the back. Yet the foldout page with pictures of Alice from many illustrators is not credited at all, including a lovely image by Mabel Lucie Attwell (who's images do not appear any where else in the book.)Even the cover credits is missing one of the illustrators.

Secondly, one gets the feeling that many if not most of the images are cropped (many times in odd ways) for the sake of their precious layout. Others have touted the design of the book as being reflective of Alice's quirky world. I rather suspect the designer was trying to be trendy, with grunge-like fonts, color overlays on many of the illustrations and some used behind the text as backdrops. It just makes for difficult reading. I didn't even like the uncoated paper it was printed on.

And lastly, don't expect any discussion about the illustrations or the illustrators that created them. Even the great Tenniel himself was only alotted a paragraph or two. The only other discussion is on pages 80-81. Arthur Rackham was allowed a paragraph (and only one image) as well as Barry Moser, yet none of Moser's work was included in the book! Go figure.

If you really want to look at some lovely Alice images, you'd be better of with "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland -A Classic Illustrated Edition" compiled by Cooper Edens. At least you get to see the whole image the way it was intended.

It is always a surprise to learn how many artists apart from John Teniel have illustrated Lewis Carroll's ALICE stories: an effort to put some of them together in a single volume is welcome. But regrettably, THE ART OF ALICE IN WONDERLAND represents a nifty idea gone wrong -- indeed, run amuck! The book's overblown, frenetic, garish, incoherent, irrational design is a severe irritant and makes it extremely difficult to follow and read the text, which, itself, is not bad. The quality of the color reproductions of the ALICE art is really dreadful: they're fuzzy and washed out. Furthermore, it's necessary to consult notes (thorough and well done) at the back of the book in order to identify particular artists -- always an irksome process. For the reasons cited, I have to give the work an F: only the most dedicated ALICE groupies need bother with it. This poor effort is uncharacteristic of Smithmark, which generally issues carefully executed, well-produded titles on unusual topics at very attractive prices.

This is the most stimulating, and fun book about Alice and her art that I have seen. Alice's topsy-turvy world and it's inhabitants are vividly depicted in a book layout that is similar to the shifting, colorful, and unexpected aspects of the art and the stories. I found it to be very informative and entertaining, and enjoyed the rich variety of interpretations different artists bring to these amazing stories.

It is not for those who have not read the book itself nor watched the movie. It is a book for those who question the 'queer ways' of Lewis Carroll's masterpiece. Alice in Wonderland has been one of those classic books that most took for granted, but it is not really just for kids who'd be amused by the cheshire cat and all the other interesting characters. The book, The Art of Alice in Wonderland, rekindles what the real sense of this wonderful story is: It is written by an adult to let kids see and understand the humor of the ways of adults. The book analyzes the representation that Lewis Carroll gave to each of the events and the characters. It is a not as fictitious as most think. There are events in the book that are actually seen in our lives, often unconciously by most of us. The author shows how the conversations between Alice and the other characters and the way Carroll manipulated words were not only used as ornaments but as priceless lessons taught by a marvelous teacher. It also explains how the author came up with such a colorful world and how he built a world for children that adults should come to know about and eventually learn from. I must admit though that it is quite a disadvantage for the reader to be confused by the book's artistic layout. Although the layout was very much in line with the book's imaginary, chaotic and unique setting, it prevents more serious readers and ones who have difficulty to follow mazes, to read what I can say is but just a small and yet important part of what Lewis Carroll really wanted to convey. The Art of Alice in Wonderland is not just a book for those who'd like to see the different ways Alice has been interpreted by artists. It shows the art of the writer, Lewis Carroll himself, in revealing to us in a satirical and very queer way that sometimes the personalities that pass us by are sometimes nothing but a pack of cards.

I was disappointed as soon as I saw this book. I have just now, after several months, begun to look at it more closely.

At first, I thought that the art that was included in the book was from some kinds of modern cartoonish sources that didn't show the variety of assays made at this subject over the years. On second look, these are many many different applications, including advertising, which is interesting after all.

Also, I was disappointed to see that the book was filled with a breathy essay that was, as far as I could see, a superficial rehash of things I have read many times already. But, I see that it is more a discussion of the many venues that have taken the character images in "Alice" for inspiration. Still, the copy is very difficult to read because of graphic issues. I think this book might be a paean to Madison Avenue, etc. Not the usual voice one hears discussing our "beloved" Alice, but potentially a fresh angle.

But, in closing, the final disappointment, though the title of the book gives the art first billing (and the ruminations of our author no mention at all), all attributions as to the sources of the different representations are not captioned, nor are they in the body of the essay, but are in an appendix at the back of the book. Tacky.

Personally I own and particuarly enjoy this title. It displays an array of Alice-art and text in a graphically overwhelming sense that I believe is very close to the nature of the story itself, very anti-logically yet pleasingly.