Wow. Where to begin?
I guess I will being with the warning, if you have read anything about this book, you will know that there is some graphic, violent sexual content so that is DEFINITELY something to be aware of.
If you can get past the dark, this is easily one of the best disturbed and twisted re-tellings that I personally have ever read.
Each page took me further into this gruesome world and whilst I wanted to dislike it (I was skeptical because of the above) I couldn't help myself, the world, the two protagonists and the story grabbed me and took me down the rabbit hole with Alice herself.
I love the nods to the original story and I do believe that you will get more out of this book if you know the original story, there is still plenty to get out of it if you have never read the Lewis Carrol originals. The familiar characters get completely twisted into something new and gruesome, that of nightmares as opposed to what the traditional Alice in Wonderland lovers will recognise.
I also dare you not to fall in love with Hatcher. Which might seem strange at first, but wait till the end to judge me. There is also a beautiful parallel between two different rabbits which I thought was just a gorgeous use of imagery and play on the original plot.
Speaking of plot...
In a warren of crumbling buildings and desperate people
called the Old City, there stands a hospital with cinderblock walls which echo
the screams of the poor souls inside.
In the hospital, there is a woman. Her hair, once blond,
hangs in tangles down her back. She doesn’t remember why she’s in such a
terrible place. Just a tea party long ago, and long ears, and blood…
Then, one night, a fire at the hospital gives the woman a
chance to escape, tumbling out of the hole that imprisoned her, leaving her
free to uncover the truth about what happened to her all those years ago.
Only something else has escaped with her. Something dark.
Something powerful.
And to find the truth, she will have to track this beast to
the very heart of the Old City, where the rabbit waits for his Alice.
Even re-reading the plot makes me want to dive head first into this novel again. I will admit that this kind of dystopic horror novel is my thing, so maybe that is why I was so willing and ready to suspend disbelief, but I really do believe this a great book. I also loved that Alice is 26 when you meet her as there seems to be a gap between YA novels and Adult novels that this book fills perfect, appealing to the twenty/thirty-something audience perfectly.
The book is a perfectly crafted nightmare and I cannot wait to read Red Queen (regardless of the reviews which seem to put it at so-so).
Have you read it? What did you think?
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