Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

When reading Alice on one's own, it's easy to have one's attention seized by Carroll's many fanciful characters--the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat, and so on. Listening to Shelly Frasier read it reminds one of a crucial aspect to this story: It's a little girl who's experiencing these adventures, and, as Frasier's subtly inflected voice reminds us, Alice can go from excited to terrified in an instant. In addition to getting her voice just right, Frasier masters all of Carroll's other verbal gymnastics, from the Dormouse's snores to the dreamy illogic of the Caterpillar, and, of course, the nonsensical verse. This is a great pleasure. G.T.B. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine

March 1, 2002
An edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll contains all of Arthur Rackham's original artwork from the 1907 edition (published after Sir John Tenniel's illustrations). Pen-and-inks dot the text; full-page paintings, such as one sepia-toned frame showing Alice, in a delicate rose-patterned dress, addressing the hookah-smoking Caterpillar, plus a sewn-in satin bookmark make this an elegant gift choice.

The time-honored puns, delightful logic, and surreal scenes in ALICE weave in and out of contemporary animations, commercials, rock videos and, most recently, computer games. To narrate the work is to take on the daunting task of performing a well-known classic. Narrator David Horovitch and a host of London-based voice talents read their parts with almost too much reverence. They know it is a classic and deliver it as such, making these fine performances sound slightly rote. The Queen sounds angry. The caterpillar--sleepy. Alice--very Victorian. It all has the nineteenth-century feel of adults presenting children's literature to children. Somewhere out there Lewis Carroll may be responding with a Cheshire smile. B.P. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine