Book Review: Alice, I Have Been

TITLE: Alice, I Have Been
AUTHOR: Melanie Benjamin
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: Historical fiction
PREMISE: Alice Liddel, the inspiration for Alice in Wonderland, tells her story.
MY REVIEW: I have a confession to make: I had no clue that Alice Liddel existed and that there was an actual girl who the book was based around. Yeah, I know. I fail as a book lover. So in that aspect, this book was really interesting to me. I will warn you, if you don't want your views on Alice in Wonderland tarnished forever, this book may not be for you.
But if you want some insight to Alice Liddel herself, this book is really interesting and definitely well written. This is an excellent first novel that makes these historical figures come alive and helps you easily picture and understand the events happening. I will say, that the first parts of it kind of dragged (and were a little uncomfortable to read what with the pedophilia implications) but once you get through it, it's pretty good. There are some great lines in it and it's very thought provoking.
So all in all, a very interesting look at Alice in Wonderland in a way that I don't think has been done before. Benjamin is apparently working on a second historical novel and I have a feeling I'll picking that one up as well, depending on what it's about (I'm kind of hoping she does one on the Peter Pan kid...because after that last bit at the end, I'm very curious about what his life was like).
WHO SHOULD READ: older Alice in Wonderland fans interested in the story behind the book
MY RATING: Four out of Five white rabbits

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