Sylvie and Bruno, and Sylvie and Bruno concluded, both by Lewis Carroll
A while ago, I was arguing on the internet about how great the Lord of the Rings actually was. And, in the course of the argument, somebody said "Alice in Wonderland was much better." I thought back to the time when I read AIW, I was in Seventh grade. I read through it quickly, as well as its sequel, "Through the Looking Glass" Now, we happened to own the complete works of Lewis Carroll, so I decided to keep on reading, so I read the next story, Sylvie and Bruno. I remembered it as being better than AIW, but I couldn't exactly remember why, so I decided to read it again. And, as always, I record the fiction books I read here, so, here goes...
Almost all books have a plot, sometimes more than one. Sylvie and Bruno is no acception. However, many times the plot is just used as a backdrop, and the real stuff of the book is in the characters, the descriptions of the settings, or the conversations. Sylvie and Bruno is definately one of these. It is basically a story about how three adults sit around and talk a lot, and are occasionally visited by fairies. The three people are the unnamed narrorator, his good friend and doctor, Arthur, and the woman Arthur is too afraid to say "I love you" to, Lady Muriel. Occasionally, Lady Muriel's father, the Earl. Most of their conversations are very interesting, both to children and to adults.
Some of the things described are semi-complicated principles (like free-falling), written in ways that children might understand, but that adults might find interesting. The fairies they are visited by are, (suprise) Sylvie, a lovely little fairy princess, who is positively the nicest character I have seen in any book, and her little brother, Bruno, an adorable little boy. He is my favorite character in the book, he is very intelligent for a little boy, and talks in the most adorable manner. And, occasionally he tells stories, which are the coolest things in the world. Occasionally, the narrorator travels to the fairy world, where he can't be seen.
There, we meet several other characters, including the Professor, the classic absent-minded scholar who everyone respects, but doesn't really know anything (kind of like some professors I know); the sub-warden, the evil uncle of Sylvie and Bruno, who seeks to steal the kingdom from Sylvie and Bruno's father; Uggug, the incredibly stupid son of the sub-warden; my Lady, the wife of the sub-warden, who is as stupid as Uggug; and the other professor, who is even more absent minded than the regular professor.
As for the plot, there are two major plots. The main plot is that Arthur is in love with Lady Muriel, and trying to show her, while being too scared to do it. The other plot is that the Sub-warden has seized the kingdom of Outland from its rightful owner, the Warden (father of Sylvie and Bruno). They escape to a foreign country, fairyland, where they find a haven. I will say again that there isn't much that goes on in terms of plot, its more of the every day happenings that make this story a classic.
One might wonder, and I will speculate here, on why Lewis Carroll wrote this book. Alice in Wonderland is suppossedly about drugs (because one scene where Alice eats and drinks stuff which changes her), although I don't give much credit to that. Lewis Carroll has been depicted as any number of things, including drug-addicted, a paedophile, a saint, even Jack the Ripper. I won't attempt to say which of these he was or wasn't (although I will say that the evidence of him being Jack the Ripper is quite small), because any attempt of mine to ascertain it based on what little I know about him would be almost certainly wrong. I will, however, try to look at the things that he has written in Sylvie and Bruno.
First of all, it is a children's book, through and through. It would easily be rated G, the only few instances of any slightly questionable material are several fairy tales in it, in which violent things happen (a lion eats a fox, for instance). It is my belief, that Carroll was trying to recapture innocence in the book, both to create an innocent world for himself to enjoy, but also for him to help advise children to remain innocent, to keep their childhood as long as possible. Sylvie, in her perfection, became a symbol of what you should be, always polite, not knowing evil. When asked whether she would like everyone to love her, or for her to love everyone, she picks the latter.
Bruno, on the other hand, is imperfect, (although still innocent). He doesn't like his lessons (which Sylvie glady both recieves and teaches). And when provoked, can become angry, (as seen in the chapter, "Bruno's Revenge"). However, he doesn't hold a grudge, as Bruno's revenge later becomes the best gift Sylvie has ever recieved. It is my belief that the book was written for children, to guide them with examples, and to challenge them with dialouge and adult concepts. Furthermore, it might have also been to challenge adults to become more childlike, both be showing them examples of innocence, and by showing them puzzles and thoughts that few adults stop to think about.
Overall, I think that Sylvie and Bruno, and Sylvie and Bruno concluded are two very good books. They present characters you love to love, situations you can understand, and a simple life you wish you could have, not one free of conflict, but rather one that is not centered on conflict. It is a great piece of literature, and enjoyable by both children and adults.