Photobucket
Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to My Book Buddies. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Nov BOTM: Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin
Topic Started: Oct 29 2010, 03:55 PM (772 Views)
mary024
Member Avatar
Head Honcho. Gyeah!
 *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *
Ha! No worries Vikks, I still have to catch up on your BOTM selection!

You know, Alice's POV bugs me too. I'm really trying to spin it in a way that feels normal. Little girls will have crushes, but this thing with Dodson is disturbing!
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
aragorn
Member Avatar
Just.Keep.Swimming.
 *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *
I'm only 75 pages into the book, but I also think the "relationship" between Alice and Dodgson is creepy and icky. What is it with these girls and Picketts and that guy?
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
aragorn
Member Avatar
Just.Keep.Swimming.
 *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *
burgandykat
Nov 17 2010, 12:44 PM
What I found doubly icky was how she portrayed Alice in that section. It was like Alice at age 7 wasn't just crushing on him but lusting after him.

Thank god for the Leo story that follows all that otherwise I probably would have stopped reading.
I wanted to vomit in my mouth at Alice in those scenes.

I'm surprisingly flying through this book. So far the little of Leo I have read, I like him. And Mr. Ruskin seems like a pedophile. The agreement he made with Alice was really gross too.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
aragorn
Member Avatar
Just.Keep.Swimming.
 *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *
Finished the book. Not sure I really liked the book. The beginning was too icky for me. I really felt for Alice...she was too young to understand that her infatuation for Dodgson was not natural...he knew and he still pursued it. I really liked Leo, but not sure how I felt about their relationship. Was he in love with real life Alice or the Alice in Wonderland character??? I felt that Ina was jealous of Dodgson being more obsessed with Alice over her, till the very end.

Regi was the perfect man for Alice since he hadn't read the books or could careless about the character. He gave her a normal life away from Oxford.

The death of Alan and Rex was so sad. I really liked both men, but I guess it fit for Alice to die alone. And she was alone, despite Caryl. He cared more about getting as much money out of his mom as "Alice" then about her well-being.

It was an interesting read.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Vikks14
No Avatar
Comfy chair
 *  *  *  *  *  *
Quote:
 
There's a lot of speculation that Dodgson was a pedophile, which Benjamin uses whole heartedly to move her story forward. What I found doubly icky was how she portrayed Alice in that section. It was like Alice at age 7 wasn't just crushing on him but lusting after him.



yuck
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
mary024
Member Avatar
Head Honcho. Gyeah!
 *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *
I would have found this book really interesting if it weren't so marred by Dodson's relationship with Alice. I just couldn't get past that in the story and it affected how much I liked the book overall.

Take away Dodson and I found it an enjoyable read. I related Alice a lot to child stars and how they must struggle with their identity and their worlds. I found that aspect of the story very interesting. Her relationship with Leopold was sad, as how she handled life without her "true love" and the affect it had on her family.

More to say, but gotta write my review first. :)
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · 2010 · Next Topic »
Add Reply

Misty Woods created by Helena & Cory of ZNR