The story in one page
Alice sits bored on a riverbank until she follows a rabbit down a hole into a world where standard reality has resigned. She struggles to maintain her composure while constantly changing size, enduring strange lectures from creatures, and failing basic math tests. Her identity feels increasingly fluid, leading her to wonder if she has been replaced by someone named Florence. After navigating the logic of agitated pigeons and other inhabitants, the frantic absurdity concludes as she wakes up. Her sister later envisions Alice grown into a woman who shares these memories with a new generation of children.
Who's who
- Alice
A girl who insists on logic in an illogical underground space.
- Pigeon
An irritable bird convinced that Alice is a neck-stretching serpent.
- Sister
A passive observer who imagines Alice's future at the conclusion.
What it's really about
- Identity instability
- The protagonist constantly questions who she actually is.
- Educational failure
- Formal schooling provides no tools for surviving this dream.
Why it's memorable
- A girl stuck in a house with one foot poking up a chimney.
- The terrifying arithmetic where four times five equals twelve.
The ending, explained
Spoilers — show the ending
The entire escapade dissolves as Alice wakes up. Her sister drifts into a vision of Alice growing up and retelling these same adventures to her own children.
For your book club
- Why does Alice assume she has been replaced by Florence?
- How does the dream space reject standard Victorian schooling?