Great Stories and Narration

I previously listened to another narrator reading Alice and Looking Glass. It was so bad it turned me off the story. Jessica Renfro has such a beautiful voice that is so easy on the ears. I would easily listen to more books narrated by her. I could feel the emotions in her voice.

This collection was great. I liked Through the Looking Glass the best. I loved the bonus book of The Hunting of the Snark. I had never heard of it so was happy it was in there. I love reading less known stories by famous authours.

This is the perfect collection to buy if you are wanting to listen to these books. The stories are great and no one can beat Jessica Renfro's narration!

I received a copy of this audiobook at my request, and I have voluntarily left my review.

2 people found this helpful

Extreme Exercises in Absurdity

July 26, 1951 - 85 years after the original children's novel debuted, Walt Disney released Alice in Wonderland. I was born almost 30 years after that. Alice in Wonderland has always been the blonde girl in the blue dress with the Winnie-the-Pooh-Voiced Cheshire cat in my consciousness, like most in my generation.

Last week when I began listening to the collection of Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, and the Hunting of the Snark by Lewis Carroll, narrated by Jessica Renfro, I was pretty sure I knew what I was in for. I've never read it, aside from sections here and there out of context, such as the famous Jabberwokky poem. The audiobook included a brief historical introduction that may have colored my interpretation just a little, but considering how much Pop culture from Disney to Jefferson Airplane have hijacked Alice, a little historical background probably helped to 'cleanse the palate' a little before I launched in. In particular, hearing that Carroll himself detested people looking for meaning in the story, I found interesting. The introduction did delve a little into the themes (not morals, but just ideas per se) explored in the three works in a way that made me more aware of them as I listened. Some of those themes, I would have definitely picked up on myself, while others beyond what the editors pointed out have also come to my mind. And a few of their conclusions I pretty well dismissed out of mind.

Jessica Renfro narrated this classic & did an admirable job. Her read of the narrative was in a general North American accent, while providing the characters with variations on British. Her recitation of poetry, in character as Alice, or whatever other character was speaking was superb.

Now - For my title 'Exercises in Absurdity' - Lewis Carroll was undoubtedly the precursor to Dr. Seuss. If a word doesn't rhyme and you need it to, just make up a different word, of course. Pretty sure Shakespeare is actually the original precursor in that respect, but the direct line from Lewis Carroll to Theodore Seuss Geisel is just a little too obvious to miss. L. Frank Baum is probably in that line as well. I grew up loving Dr. Seuss for many of the same reasons that makes Carroll's writing fun. Do good writers follow rules? Undoubtedly, but I think some of the best write their own rules and are willing to throw out any number of rules that just don't work for them. If you want a rhyme & there's just not a word for it, make one up.

Both of the 'Alice' books are drenched in pun, double & mistaken meanings, and tangential conversations based on homonyms. I'm not going to declare that men have a monopoly on that type of humor, but there's a reason that it's 90% of what qualifies as "dad jokes." My oldest son and I could probably riff indefinitely on things as simple as setting the table. But I'm pretty sure Lewis Carroll could beat us both into the ground. I was surprised a couple of times when he missed the opportunity though. Just a few sentences after explaining why they called a particular turtle a toroise because "he taurght us," he completely missed the opportunity to explain that whitings are called thusly because (Channeling Eliza Doolittle's dad here) they always keep us "witing."

The history of how these stories began definitely explains some of the absurdity. These are the stories Carroll told to Alice and her sisters. He after the fact, compiled them for publication. The nature of it being a story told to kids & from the perspective of Alice, a child, still v astly ignorant of "real life," is if nothing else, an exploration of the absurdities of adult life. Have you ever thought about how you would explain what you do every day to someone from 500 years ago? Or equally absurd, to someone from 500 years in the future?

The bizarre politics, consequences and so much more of adulthood are just about as difficult to explain to a small child. The amount of ridiculous rules we go by, social, cultural and otherwise are every bit as mind boggling as the peculiar adventures Alice experiences.

All in all, I would rate this classic 5 frumious stars out of 3.1415926538 pancakes. Everyone should eventually read or listen to it. Renfro's performance of the audio is equally as gyre & gimbling.

I received a promo copy of this audiobook in return for an objective review. Enjoy my incombobulum.

Magical

I have always loved this story and the narrator more than brings the characters to life. Alice almost seems like she is right in front of you!

What an adventure!

I loved this book! It took me on the adventure of lifetime. It was great to hear the story and have it play out like a movie in my head as I listened! Highly recommend this book! Fantastic narration. I am voluntarily leaving my review after receiving a free copy of the audible book.

Great Adaptation

The historical introduction is a good bonus to the excellent performance of this classic tale.

This is a fine narration of these books

This is the third book I’ve read/listened to by this author. I enjoy the stories. They are Classics for a reason. I was curious to listen to this rendition.

This is the first book I’ve listened to by this narrator ( Jessica Renfro ) and I would listen to another. Her reading is well done. She uses interesting voices for the various characters and has a good cadence to her narration.

There are no explicit sex scenes, excessive violence or swearing.

I was given this free review copy audiobook by Audiobook Giveaways at my request and voluntarily left this unbiased review.
Please feel free to comment on whether you found my review helpful.

Story
Narration

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,etc

I really enjoyed this telling of Lewis Carolls Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,Through the Looking Glass and Hunting of the Snark.I especially liked the hitorical introduction. We all know Alices story,but Jessica Renfro's narration makes it come to life in a different way.She did a wonderful job. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

interesting

this audiobook is good for those who want to know the back story of Alice in wonderland if your not interested in that there not sure what to say it had interesting parts to it

A good read, if you like Wonderland

I received this book for free, though the review is left of my own accord.

You arent reading this review for a review on the actual books by Lewis Carroll. They are classics and are considered such for good reason. If I give a negative review it would likely do nothing to dissuade you from choosing this book. More likely, you are reading this to gauge my opinion on the narrator. Why should THIS collection of Wonderland stories, this narrator, be the one on whom you spend your money?
Her pacing is good. She does voices for the different characters. She SINGS the songs and poems in the character's voice. Plus her voice is pleasant. I dont know if that's enough, but if you are looking to listen to these stories, I think Jessica Renfro does an excellent job overall.

Ch 2: History, etc
Ch 3-14: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Ch 15- 26 Through the Looking Glass
Ch 27-36 The Hunting of the Snark: An Agony in Eight Fits

Monty Python for an Earlier Generation

Most people are fairly familiar with Wonderland. But while bits and pieces of the Looking Glass are pretty well-known, the story in its entirety is not nearly as popular with the general public. Fewer still know the Hunting of the Snark. Experiencing this literature again as an adult was an interesting experience. It's ridiculous, crazy, outrageous... and thought provoking. It's like peeling the layers back from an onion. Okay, it's a crazy kid's tale--oh, wait, it's allegorical--or is it a parody? Maybe I'm overthinking everything, LOL.

If you're a nerd like me, you may enjoy the historical info at the beginning that includes the major themes with possible explanations. It's dry as toast, but there's good stuff in there. Fear not, however. If you're not the nerdy literary type you can easily skip the dry stuff and go right into the trippy stories.

A note about the narrator: at times, the sweet Alice voice bordered on boring for me. But the character voices seemed to hold true to their historical styles. She really shines with her varying accents quickly and unerringly presented in the poem told by the knight in Looking-Glass. That alone was worth listening to.