Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site topaz.ARPA
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxn!ihnp4!houxm!mtuxo!mtunh!mtung!mtunf!ariel!vax135!timeinc!phri!pesnta!amd!amdcad!decwrl!decvax!mcnc!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!columbia!topaz!Postmaster@bbn-vax
From: Postmaster@bbn-vax
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Alice through the eye of a needle,'' Gilbert Adair
Message-ID: <2447@topaz.ARPA>
Date: Sat, 6-Jul-85 00:14:51 EDT
Article-I.D.: topaz.2447
Posted: Sat Jul  6 00:14:51 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 3-Jul-85 08:16:29 EDT
Sender: daemon@topaz.ARPA
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.
Lines: 27

From: dm@bbn-vax.arpa


After seeing the positive review of this book in sf-lovers, I rushed right out
to buy it.

Nano-review: read Miss Manners, instead.

Micro-review: wait 'til it comes out in paperback, and get it to read to your
four-year-old kid.

Review: a pale imitation of Lewis Carroll.  Too many authorial
intrusions in the manner of: ``I sure hope YOU understand what I mean, dear
Reader, I certainly don't!'' Not enough puns.  There's some good level
confusion stuff (particularly the Emu's typographical poem), but overall I
found the whole thing somewhat tiresome.

I think Douglas Hofstadter should take up writing ``Alice'' books.  Or maybe
Rudy Rucker.  Or maybe they should collaborate (Rucker could restrain
Hofstadter's cute-glands and Hofstadter could restrain Rucker's glands
(although a soft-core Alice might be kind of interesting... Wasn't there a
hard-core Alice done once?).  Maybe Martin Gardner should drop by occasionally
while they're at it.  Or Dan Dennett.

I remember a long time ago the ``Chicago Seed'' (probably the most beautiful
of the underground papers) ran a parody of Alice in Wonderland where a good
deal of the wonder was chemically stimulated.