September in Wonderland

I love fall. Though I can honestly say I love all of the seasons, fall is definitely my favourite. Warm sweaters, cool breezes, colourful leaves, pumpkins (and everything pumpkin spice). I could go on forever about how much I anticipate this season.

And cute babies chasing after leaves...

It goes without saying then, that I love things that feel like fall. (You know what I mean: books and stories that have that Autumnal feeling. The feeling of red, gold and brown, of cinnamon spice, of crisp air, of tart apples with brown sugar, of early evening and the embrace that is coming home out of the cold, of beginnings and endings.)

I also love Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass.

Bear with me here.

For all the stories that claim to be like Alice in Wonderland, I've never actually found one that comes close. This includes the film adaptations of the story itself.

You see, both books have no real purpose. They are stories in their purest form. Alice's adventures are like dreams - they resemble the real world in the sense that the objects and characters within them are recognizably familiar, but the events that occur and the rules that govern them often have no relation to the real world. So while the concept of a sheep, a boat and knitting are familiar, suddenly finding oneself in a boat with a sheep knitting with several needles is entirely absurd.

Unlike most stories, there is no overarching plot to the Wonderland books. There isn't really good and evil. There isn't much in the way of character development. There is no grand goal or quest. There is simply curiosier and curioser.

Except for the fact that Through the Looking is actually the move set of a finished chess game... But I digress.

Disney's adaptation tells the story of a little girl improving her character and finding her way home from a dark, terrifying fairy world. Not too far from the truth, but they skip all the really good (weird) bits and make the plot much more cohesive. Tim Burton just took the most popular characters from the story and inserted them into some grand tale about good and evil that had no resemblance to the source material.

Image Source: http://www.costumersguide.com/alice_halloweencostumes.shtml

My favorite adaptation is the 1999 TV movie with Whoopi Goldberg, Martin Short, Gene Wilder, Miranda Richardson etc. Despite Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 33%, I felt it most loyally portrayed the events of the stories. Although, once again, they provided it with some overarching plot about stage fright to give it cohesiveness.

The closest thing I've ever encountered to a true "Wonderland" story is Miyazaki's Spirited Away. The world is populated by a variety of unexpected creatures and the rule set of the spirit world is vague and fluid. Yet, Chihiro doesn't question the world so much as adapts to each situation she encounters. Once again, though, there is significantly more plot and character development in Spirited Away than the Wonderland tales (which isn't necessarily a bad thing).

Image source: http://spiritedaway.wikia.com

This week, I finally discovered a story that truly feels like Alice's adventures. An autumnal Wonderland. Nonsense and fairy stuff in a package wrapped with orange paper and smelling of cinnamon and woodsmoke. Throw in a dash of Kafka and zest of satire and I'm hooked.

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making is all of these things.

Image source: https://www.goodreads.com

It is simultaneously a traditional tale about a girl's adventures in fairyland (her name is September by the way), a critique of bureaucracy, honesty and adulthood, and a self-aware piece of literature that has a frequent tendency to break the fourth wall in the most meaningful ways. Like autumn, it is both vibrant and heartbreaking.

It comes recommended by Neil Gaiman, Tamora Pierce and Holly Black.

Like in the Wonderland stories, there isn't much of an overarching goal driving the main character. September's tumble into fairyland is whimsical and her encounters are circumstantial. Though she has many meaningful adventures and completes grand tasks, she takes on each as she comes across it. Much like Alice, she has no destination but travels through the world as through a dream. Improving on Wonderland, in my opinion, there is a significant amount of character development and metaphor which lends to the rich emotional atmosphere. 

The point is, if you love Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, if you're looking for a unique Autumn read or you're just generally into all things magical and bizarre... I highly, highly recommend this book. 

Added bonus: It's the first in a series!

Are there any stories that remind you of Autumn? If so, feel free to share in the comments!