My first exposure to this classic children's story was when I watched the 1951 Disney version, "Alice in Wonderland." I remember as a kid, loving it, but actually feeling a bit scared by it. As a kid, I was actually pretty terrified of the idea of falling through a rabbit hole, and getting lost all by myself, in a strange land. Add in the scary character of the Queen of Hearts, and I swore to myself, never to wander off around alone, as a strange rabbit might appear and force me to follow him! I had a pretty wild imagination when I was a child. It's bad, because this often is the cause of my nightmares. Review: First of all, I have to say, this is still one of those stories that have the most unforgettable characters ever made. Lewis Carroll created such whimsical characters such as the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat, the Caterpillar, the Queen of Hearts, the talking flowers, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, and so many more. It's kind of amazing to say the least that all these unique characters all come from one story!
The best part though, in my opinion, coming from an adult reader, is the symbolism of this story. Almost all the characters play a part of something in real life -- a metaphor, in a way. The wordplay as well, are witty and clever. Both are done in an extremely subtle way, that most would overlook them. That is probably one of the reasons why this is a classic, and has been around for so long. I feel as though children, as this book was intended for, would see this as a fun book with fun characters. Adults, on the other hand, while they will still appreciate it for the same reasons, would also love this as it will challenge them, and teach them subtle messages, while bringing them back to their childhood all at once.
I highly recommend this novel to any reader, no matter how old or young they are. Do not miss it, as this is a timeless piece of literature that everyone should definitely read at least once.