These books by Lewis Carroll are classified in the genre of “nonsense literature”, and rightfully so. The author must have considered children to have very short attention spans indeed, as the scene changes every time you think you’ve got a fix on what is going on. The characters are irritably irritable, and the use of “logic” in conversations totally absurd. Whether the author was inspired by his supposed mental problems or he was one of many “artistic” opium smokers at the time, he managed to produce a work that is singularly dumb. How parents could actually read such nonsense to their children, even in an age of restrictive Victorian mores and social life, is utterly perplexing, and the status of these works as “classics” clearly came about because of the author’s connections rather than the quality of the work. An illustrated book with no words would have done just as well. Better, even.

If you have not read these short works yet, I truly recommend not wasting your time. If you simply must experience the sheer pointlessness for yourself, however, get the audiobooks–ideally from your local library rather than wasting good money on your own copies–so you may at least occupy yourself doing something useful while they play.