Alice in Sunderland

I picked up "Alice in Sunderland" by Bryan Talbot at the library because I had enjoyed Talbot's previous work, "The Tale of One Bad Rat." Like "One Bad Rat," "Alice" is a graphic novel on several subjects that overlap in several odd and unexpected ways. In "One Bad Rat," this was by telling a fictional story which involved Beatrix Potter, the English Lake Country, child abuse, and rats. "Alice" is a nonfictional meander through the history of the city of Sunderland and the life of Lewis Carroll, the writer of "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass." The story is told through the perspective of an actor onstage, sometimes wearing a white rabbit mask, who tells the story of Sunderland and of Alice to the only other person in the theater (barring some ghosts), a rude blue-collar type of fellow who interjects frequently with his own observations. Another character, the Pilgrim, walks the streets of Sunderland telling stories of its great and grand history. Both the Pilgrim and the Performer are clearly avatars of Talbot, and both speak as him throughout the story.

I had never heard of Sunderland before, so I suspected Bryan Talbot was making the whole thing up. As it went along, and it was tied into more and more pieces of British history, my doubt was marginalized and I became more fascinated with stories like the monkey hanged as a French spy and the tale of the Langdon Worm. The style of the comic, which incorporates pictures and others' pictures in with Talbot's own drawings, and often forgoes traditional panel borders for larger pictures or flowing panels where the Pilgrim goes from one place to another, helping to impress upon the reader the immensity and complexity of the story of Sunderland.

The Lewis Carroll parts are interesting. Talbot addresses with significant gusto several things he considers myths about Carroll and his masterwork, including that he came up with the story spontaneously in a single afternoon, that he was socially maladjusted, and that Carroll was a nerdy Oxford don who rarely dealt with others. Talbot also goes to great lengths to show that the Northeast, and particularly Sunderland, were a great influence upon Carroll in the creation of "Alice in Wonderland." My impression of Lewis Carroll certainly changed.

"Alice in Sunderland" is a very interesting and well-done book, which shows the hidden depths of its two subjects. It's infinitely readable and I would recommend anyone who wants to experience something new should read it immediately.