review of novels


Book report and Review of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” by Lewis Carrol

Title                              :Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Author                         : Lewis Carrol
Place                            : New York
Publisher                       : A tor Book (Tom Doherty associates) 1992
Edition                                    : First Tor edition
ISBN                           : 0-812-50418-6
Pages                           : 110
Genre                          : fiction


Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known by the pen name Lewis Carroll, was brown in 1832 in Daresbury Parsonage, the oldest of an archdeacon of the Cruch of England and his cousin-wife. The boy enjoyed a fine education, first at Richmond, then at rugby, and Finally at Oxford University, where he remained for nearly the rest of his life as a teacher.
The clever boy became a sedate cleric and a somber teacher, with a biting sarcasm he used on those he felt inferior to him, especially his students. He indulged his fantastic imagination and his gift of playfulness only with his “child- friends,” as he called the little girls whom he photographed and told stories to. The best known of these was Alice Lidell, the youngest daughter of the dean of the college where Dogson taught.
After the famous punting expededition on the Isis on July 4, 1862, when Dogson spun out over that “golden afternoon” the story of Alice’s Adventures under Ground to the lidell sisters, Dogson put the tale down in a hand-writing, hand- illustrated book which he gave to Alice the next Chrismas as a gift. Three years later, in 1865. On the suggestion of fellow cleric and writer George Macdonald, Dogson enlarged the story, changed the title to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and got political cartoonist John Tenniel mad with his changes, suggestion and advice. But the book was eventually published under the name of Lewis Carrol, an alias Dogson had used before for some of his  poetry, and thus launched into international fame.
The book is a fiction, a classic children's book. This book is totally imaginative book. It tells the story of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world (the Wonderland of the title) populated by peculiar and anthropomorphic creatures. The tale plays with logic in ways that have given the story lasting popularity with adults as well as children. It is considered to be one of the best examples of the literary nonsense genre, and its narrative course and structure have been enormously influential, especially in the fantasy genre.
While this is generally considered a "children's book", Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland can only be fully appreciated by adults or teenagers. It contains so many private jokes, grammar puns, and other such stuff that a child would not understand it, really. So the parents should read the book to their children.
This book tells about Alice’s journey in other word. Her ife gets strange when she sees a rabbit wearing a coat and gloves. Then she follows him down a hole. Her journey is started from this hole which brings her into wonderland.
This book is imaginative ideas that Carroll placed within this extremely random book. Yes, there really isn't much of a single plot. It jumps from place to place. Just like a real dream.
The book consist of twelve chapters:
Chapter 1  -Down the Rabbit Hole
Chapter 2  -The Pool of Tears:
Chapter 3  -The Caucus Race and a Long Tale:
Chapter 4  -The Rabbit Sends a Little Bill:
Chapter 5  -Advice from a Caterpillar
Chapter 6  -Pig and Pepper
Chapter 7  -A Mad Tea-Party
Chapter 8  -The Queen's Croquet Ground
Chapter 9  -The Mock Turtle's Story
Chapter 10            -Lobster Quadrille
Chapter 11            -Who Stole the Tarts
Chapter 12            -Alice's Evidence
The book is enjoyed by most, but fantasy lovers and mature young adults seem to really love it. Once you read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, you get hooked and you have to read more. Carroll paints a vivid picture of Wonderland and all of it's crazy inhabitants you find around every corner. Each chapter has a different plot and character even though the complete novel has a pretty well known main idea. Carroll keeps it interesting all through the book. You can really tell that he's trying to get the point across of the world not being perfect and it would be better if people just went with the flow.
Nevertheless, this book is for children but I recommend you to read this book. Because this book is really fun and we will enjoy the story. As to the story itself, there's little I can say. In some ways, it's like reading a familiar story but in others it's amazing how much can be lost or glossed over in the pop-cultural offerings that sprang from it. Reading this piece of classic literature gives you some insight not only into the time it came from, but also into the heart of childhood that is timeless and can be recaptured at least in part, if we'll pause and exercise our imagination.








Report and Review of “Round the World in Eighty Days” by Jules Verne

Title                                         : Round the World in Eighty Days
Author                                     : Jules Verne
Retold                                                 : Margery Green
Place                                        : Jakarta
Publisher                                   :PT. Gramedia pustaka Utama
ISBN                                       : 0-333-02736-1
Year                                        : 2003
Page                                        : 128
Genre                                      : fiction
           Jules Verne was French – fro Nantes, in the south-west of France. He wrote Around the World in Eighty Days in 1873. ‘Can we do this great journey now, with our new trains and ship? He asked?
           He was always interested in journeys, in his time and the future. In 1869 he wrote Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea, about a journey under the sea; that journey was only really possible years after he died. And he wrote about a journey to the centre of the world in Journey to Centre of the Earth (1864). This was not possible in Verne’s time and it is not possible today. Perhaps it will be possible in the future.
           Round the World in Eighty Days was written during difficult times, both for France and for Verne. It was during the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871) in which Verne was conscripted as a coastguard, he was having money difficulties (his previous works were not paid royalties), his father had died recently, and he had witnessed a public execution which had disturbed him. However despite all this, Verne was excited about his work on the new book, the idea of which came to him one afternoon in a Paris café while reading a newspaper.
            “Round the World in Eighty Days “is a fiction, a classic novel. This book was originally published as episodes in Le Temps in 1873, and they became an immediate sensation. And in a case of life imitating art, the episodes' actual readers wagered on the outcome.   
           The book is for adult or teenager. This book is about the fantastic adventure story. An Adult or a teenager will be easy to read and enjoy story. The story is a comedy filled with exotic locations, cultures, and suspense along the way so they will enjoy to read it.
           This book tells about an English gentleman and his French servant, Passepartout. The English gentleman, Mr. Phileas Fogg, enters into a wager whereby he will circumnavigate the globe and return to his starting point exactly 80 days from the starting date. The wager was between Mr. Fogg and friends in the “Reform Club”, an organization of wealthy men.
           This voyage would not have been possible earlier than the 1870s as the innovations such as railroad travel and steam engines would have made this time frame impossible. Mr. Phileas Fogg was nothing if not methodical. He diligently planned the entire journey including rail time tables and financial budgeting.
           The travelers had many adventures along the way. The team had to deal with bank robberies and travel on the backs of elephants. In India, they combated savages that were about to sacrifice a woman. The travelers saved the woman and escaped with their lives. In the United States, the adventures battled native American Indians that attacked their train. Passepartout was captured by the Indians during the fight and Mr. Fogg was forced to delay his travels and give chase to the Indians with a troop of US cavalry at his side. The chase was successful in saving Passepartout, but resulted in Mr. Fogg losing valuable time in his journey. He was now likely to lose his wager.
           Even though Mr. Fogg and company were now significantly behind schedule, he was not going to give up. The group desperately tried to move very quickly and slowly, but surely, he made up lost time. After 81 days had passed, the travelers entered London. Mr. Fogg believed that he had lost the wager. As methodical and organized as Mr. Fogg was, he did not take into account the fact that by traveling Eastward, he would actually gain an additional day. While Mr. Fogg and Passepartout actually slept 81 times, only 80 days on the calendar in London had passed. Mr. Fogg had won his wager.
            “Round the World in Eighty Days” by Jules Verne is a novel about the adventures of Phileas Fogg and his servant Passerpartout. The plot structure is simple and follows a linear line; there is hardly any interchanging of the past and present; neither is there much interpolation. One day while Phileas Fogg is with some fellow whist players; he reads in a newspaper that it is possible to travel around the world in eighty days. No one believes this is true, except Phileas. Phileas bets his challengers, that he can make the journey in eighty or under days, and then leaves along with his servant immediately. The plot then traces Fogg’s journey around the world, the obstacles that he overcomes and the lasting love that he finds. The main plot is definitely based on the nature of the challenge and whether Fogg will be able to travel around the world. The subplots are intertwined with the main thread and include Detective Fix’s suspicion that Fogg is a robber, Aouda’s love for her savior Fogg and Passepartout’s profuse buffooning and blustering.
            While the plot structure throughout the narrative remains simple, variety is added through the range of exciting adventures that Fogg and his companions experience. The simple plot helps as it provides a strong foundation to the wide range of experiences in the journey. A complicated plot combined with undulating adventures would have only added confusion and would not have helped much. In fact, the plot is very neatly portrayed in the title of the book itself -Round the World In Eighty Days.
           This book is a classic adventure novel. it is a fantastic journey by an Englishman and his manservant in 1873. The story is a comedy filled with exotic locations, cultures, and suspense along the way. Phileas Fogg, an Englishman, with his French manservant, Passepartout, create an unusual pairing with their distinct cultural backgrounds. The journey challenges both Phileas Fogg and Passepartout in many ways, but both men come out as winners in the end. Fogg and Passepartout journey around the world to win a simple wager, but they leave an incredible story about loyalty and friendship in their wake.
           “Round the World in Eighty Days”  is a very easy read and an exciting adventure story. Although this is somewhat different than other works by Verne, it is easily one of the classics of the time. We don’t need to consult the dictionary in order to understand the story. For all those reasons, I recommend you to read this book. It is good for adults who have a good imagination and like adventure very much.



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