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There are currently 26 member reviews
for Alice I Have Been
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Barbara E. (rockville, MD)
Not so innocent Alice?
I really loved this book. The author grabbed my attention from page 1 and held it until the end. Her writing is lyrical and evocative, especially in the sections dealing with the very young Alice. The author is so perceptive about a young girl on cusp of adolescence and the thrills and fears and confusion that she goes through as she experiences her first crush and wants to grow up but is reluctant to leave innocence and childhood behind. The bewildering array of emotions that this very young Alice experienced ranging from happiness to discomfort to deep sorrow are wonderfully evoked. All of the Alices presented in this book have distinctive voices and personalities that ring true.
There is much here for book club discussion, especially the issue of Dodgson's attachment to little girls. Was it innocent? Is the discomfort experienced looking at his photos and reading his books carefully a product of our 21st-century sensibilities or does it transcend time and place?
I highly recommend this book.
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Doreen P. (Hamilton, MT)
Alice I Have Been
I simply loved this book! The author effectively weaves a fictional tale based on factual historical information and creates a wonderful and very believable account of what may have happened to the real Alice in Wonderland. I found the historical information fascinating and it made me want to do more research into the lives of both Alice Liddell and the Rev. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll.
Although Lewis Carroll bordered on pedophilia, I believe that he never crossed the line by actually committing any lewd acts against children. This book reinforces that belief. The author never resorts to far fetched or unreasonable antics in portraying the characters, and always stays true to the Victorian setting.
Alice In Wonderland has always been one of my favorite childhood books. I never knew the facts about Lewis Carroll or who he based his stories on. Now I do! This book also made me want to re-read Alice In Wonderland with a fresh viewpoint.
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Rachelle G. (Chicago, IL)
Alice I Have Been
Melanie Benjamin weaves a fantastic mix of fact and fiction as she tells the story of the girl who inspired 'Alice in Wonderland' and the woman she grew up to become. This is a wonderful and engaging story that kept me hooked from the start.
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Mary O. (Boston, MA)
Alice fact or fiction?
When I picked up 'Alice I have been", I feared I would not be engrossed in the story and would be disappointed. Instead, I found the book immensely readable and I was hooked from page 1! It made me want to read "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" again. Who was Alice? Was she tired of living with the "Alice I have been" or was she always that Alice? Ironically as her life plays on from childhood through her elderly years, you see how her fate was sealed at age 10 and her life then changed forever by her actions and choices. Clearly she is haunted by being "Alice" for the rest of her life and life beyond the rabbit hole was just as fascinating, traumatic and adventuresome as the storybook tale. "Alice I have been" blends fact and fiction in a tale about the "real person" who inspired Lewis Carroll. Who is the REAL Alice is left to the power of human imagination.
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Christine E. (Royal Oak, MI)
Alice in Wonderland?
The author fleshes out the missing parts of Alice Liddell's life, the person that was the inspiration for Lewis Carrol's "Alice in Wonderland". The result is a very good read.
While reading the book one wonders what the real relationship was between Alice and Charles Dodgson (aka Lewis Carrol). Was he simply an artist who became to attached to his subjects or was he a pedophile. There were a few scenes in the book that suggest the latter.
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Mary S. (Pinson, AL)
Alice I Have Been
I absolutely loved Melanie Benjamin's book Alice I Have Been. I was hooked from the very first chapter and could not put it down. I did not know anything about Lewis Carroll (Rev. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) who wrote Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. This was truly an interesting story. Historical fiction based on true facts is one of my favorite genres. I will definitely be suggesting it to my book club.
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Anita P. (Honeoye Falls, NY)
A Must for Anyone Who Has Read Alice in Wonderland
In my mind, the writing of this story is akin to a beautiful woman dressed in an overcoat. You can see she is beautiful, and you are basically dying for her to remove her coat so you can see if she's really as gorgeous as you think. And she won't take off the darned coat! The writing just aches with suspense despite the simplicity of the story, a fictionalized autobiography of Alice Pleasance Liddell, the inspiration for Alice in Wonderland.
The story covers three distinct time periods: Alice's childhood, her young adulthood, and her elderly years. The first section raises the question of whether the author of Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll, is in fact a pedophile, and it does it with tremendous subtlety and without one ounce of unnecessary graphic description....
My only issue was that the first two segments were so well done and engaging that the third segment paled a bit in comparison. It felt a bit rushed as we fast forward to Alice in her eighties and that detaches the reader a bit from the character we've really grown to care about.
The bottom line is Alice's life is a far cry from Wonderland, and I found it just as fascinating as the story she inspired.
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