This unclassifable graphic novel explores notions of history, reality, Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll, a town in England called Sunderland, and all the wondrous connections that fall everywhere in between.

I received Alice in Sunderland as a gift a year or so ago, and tucked it away on my shelf in favor of whatever my current favorite comic series was at the time.  Recently, I decided to give it a shot, and within the first 10 pages I was totally engrossed.

Alice in Sunderland is more or less a work on nonfiction.  There are several narrators that guide the reader on the bizarre and intriguing journey, including Bryan Talbot, the author, playing himself.  He, as well as the other narrators, lead the reader through the intertwining histories of England, Sunderland, Lewis Carroll and his masterwork, Alice in Wonderland.  The book finds dozens of strange and coincidental (?) connections between all of these things, many subtle and full of magic, myth, and the-truth-is-stranger-than-fiction moments.  At the center of the book is the triumverate connection between Lewis Carroll, Alice Liddell (the young girl that Wonderland’s Alice is based upon), and Sunderland (a small ship-building town in England that Talbot theorizes was the basis for Alice in Wonderland).  Also explored are the origins of comics and its connection to all of the other things.

The book can drag at times when its massive cast of both history and fiction becomes confusing, but for the most part it is written for the reader.  It flows very well, as each interesting topic lasts long enough to quench the reader’s thirst while generally not going on so long that it becomes boring.  Beyond anything else, though, the book remains interesting through its completely unique style, visually, in the written word, and in it’s general concept and structure.  The artwork always complements the words and often the blending of many historical pictures and new drawings leaves the reader to explore the intricacies of the pictures as much as the words.  Often Talbot ponders the book that he himself is writing and narrating, so that the book you hold in your hands fluidly becomes part of the history that Talbot seemlessly sutures with so many other things.

Conclusion:

An interesting and inspiring read! Talbot’s book has inspired me to respect research, to find the amazing in the everyday and in history.

For: Those interested in any of the forementioned topics, especially history and its effects on everything.

Not For: Those with little patience for history and nonfiction.  Those looking for a quick read.

• Buy: @ Amazon.com