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uniquepixels's review against another edition
3.0
I won an advance copy of this book via goodreads. Also, English is my second language so forgive me for my mistakes.
First of all, I'm not really sure about this book. The first half of the book was great and I even underlined a couple of good quotes. Anna is surely and interesting women. She had a lost of adventure in her life and she's always going back. The major problem of this book is while Anna is trying to make sense with her past, we can easily get lost because the chapters are going back and forth between the past and the present. It is really hard to follow. And it seems that the book can be a little boring when the story doesn't progress.
The reason I still gave 3 stars apart from the fact that I liked the beginning, is because the author has a lot of talent in finding the perfect words in any situation. We can also see that she put a lot of time in writing this book. I will read another book of the author one day because she is definitely worth a second chance. Oh, and as for the ending, I'm satisfied with Anna and how she changed from the first pages.:-)
First of all, I'm not really sure about this book. The first half of the book was great and I even underlined a couple of good quotes. Anna is surely and interesting women. She had a lost of adventure in her life and she's always going back. The major problem of this book is while Anna is trying to make sense with her past, we can easily get lost because the chapters are going back and forth between the past and the present. It is really hard to follow. And it seems that the book can be a little boring when the story doesn't progress.
The reason I still gave 3 stars apart from the fact that I liked the beginning, is because the author has a lot of talent in finding the perfect words in any situation. We can also see that she put a lot of time in writing this book. I will read another book of the author one day because she is definitely worth a second chance. Oh, and as for the ending, I'm satisfied with Anna and how she changed from the first pages.:-)
cassandralovesfeta's review against another edition
4.0
Loved it at times. I like a character I can root for and the author does a great job of building that. Never bought in to the B plot though so if I recommend it to others it will come with that caveat.
vkshiro's review against another edition
2.0
Ehh...I didn't really understand the point of this book. There wasn't really a story and I couldn't understand the main character's motivation. For the most part, a waste of time. 1.5 stars just because it wasn't awful.
cetoria's review against another edition
5.0
The character development of Anna, the protagonist, is stunning. After finishing the book I desperately want to see her perform live, buy her albums, and sneak backstage to meet her. It's always nice to see a female character who isn't perfect, but her flaws don't consume her, human. I also liked the flashback structure of the chapters. Anna never knows what's coming next and it worked out nicely that the reader didn't either.
nixieknox's review against another edition
4.0
I gave this four stars mostly because I was prepared not to like it, so I was pleasantly surprised. This book jumps back and forth a bit in time, and the main character is not the kind of person with whom I usually identify or have sympathy for - an aging indie rocker on her second chance tour - but I really kind of fell for it. The thing that bothered me the most was that I was trying to put her character to a real-life musician but not being an indie-music fan, I couldn't. That was distracting!
All-in-all, though, a great read.
All-in-all, though, a great read.
gilmoreguide's review
4.0
In fact, I was in wonderland then, but only in some hazy amber of memory. At the time, I wasn’t anywhere. I was reaching for the train as it disappeared, flash of silver, around a curve. Now I’m trying to go back to a place I’ve never been.
Anna is a rock star. Not the classic variety but the indie variety. On her way to the top, with a record deal in hand and three albums to her name, she stepped off the ladder and went silent, but now she’s back, in Europe launching a new tour. Wonderland is Stacey D’Erasmo’s look at the journey, from its beginnings when the adrenaline and newness fuel the music to the decidedly unglamorous weeks of exhaustion, aimless hook-ups, bad food and ennui that infiltrate the passion, leaving only a painful sense of dislocation as day and night blend and everything begins to look the same.
Anna was introduced to the arts at an early age by her parents. Her father creates massive sculptures by taking large structures and cutting them apart, leaving them where they stand. It meant a childhood of travel and excitement but little stability. This artistic sensibility translated itself into music for Anna and meant that her emotional connection with her father deepened even as they saw less and less of each other.
I have had the conviction for quite some time that if I could do in music what my father did in space by sawing the train in half, then I could solve the mystery of my life.
The rest of this review can be read at The Gilmore Guide to Books: http://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2014/05/wonderland/
Anna is a rock star. Not the classic variety but the indie variety. On her way to the top, with a record deal in hand and three albums to her name, she stepped off the ladder and went silent, but now she’s back, in Europe launching a new tour. Wonderland is Stacey D’Erasmo’s look at the journey, from its beginnings when the adrenaline and newness fuel the music to the decidedly unglamorous weeks of exhaustion, aimless hook-ups, bad food and ennui that infiltrate the passion, leaving only a painful sense of dislocation as day and night blend and everything begins to look the same.
Anna was introduced to the arts at an early age by her parents. Her father creates massive sculptures by taking large structures and cutting them apart, leaving them where they stand. It meant a childhood of travel and excitement but little stability. This artistic sensibility translated itself into music for Anna and meant that her emotional connection with her father deepened even as they saw less and less of each other.
I have had the conviction for quite some time that if I could do in music what my father did in space by sawing the train in half, then I could solve the mystery of my life.
The rest of this review can be read at The Gilmore Guide to Books: http://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2014/05/wonderland/
cami19's review
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
kbranfield's review
3.0
Stacey D'Erasmo's Wonderland is an authentic portrayal of a rock star's comeback tour. Seven years ago, Anna Brundage's career and love affair crashed and burned. In the interim, she has married, divorced and lived a rather mundane life, but she decides to give her musical career one last shot.
Beginning right before the first stop in Anna's European tour, Wonderland is a little confusing as it meanders back and forth between past and present. Glimpses into her childhood highlight her unconventional and somewhat eclectic upbringing. Details of her past love affair with a married man expose the highs and lows of their failed relationship and her ongoing heartache over their breakup. Brief mention of her marriage and divorce lead to unexpected introspection. A tragic loss hints at a troubled relationship. All of the revelations play out alongside the current tour stops, one night stands and sometimes tense moments between Anna and her band mates.
While these various bits and pieces are interesting, they do not give enough information about events or characters to form a complete picture of Anna or her life. The transitions between past and present are disjointed. The characters are likable but lack dimension.
While lacking in some areas, Wonderland is definitely a hit when it comes to the rock star atmosphere. The nerves, the tension and the exhaustion of tour are keenly felt as is Anna's uncertainty about her future. Stacey D'Erasmo ends the novel on hopeful note, but like the rest of the story, it is frustratingly ambiguous.
Beginning right before the first stop in Anna's European tour, Wonderland is a little confusing as it meanders back and forth between past and present. Glimpses into her childhood highlight her unconventional and somewhat eclectic upbringing. Details of her past love affair with a married man expose the highs and lows of their failed relationship and her ongoing heartache over their breakup. Brief mention of her marriage and divorce lead to unexpected introspection. A tragic loss hints at a troubled relationship. All of the revelations play out alongside the current tour stops, one night stands and sometimes tense moments between Anna and her band mates.
While these various bits and pieces are interesting, they do not give enough information about events or characters to form a complete picture of Anna or her life. The transitions between past and present are disjointed. The characters are likable but lack dimension.
While lacking in some areas, Wonderland is definitely a hit when it comes to the rock star atmosphere. The nerves, the tension and the exhaustion of tour are keenly felt as is Anna's uncertainty about her future. Stacey D'Erasmo ends the novel on hopeful note, but like the rest of the story, it is frustratingly ambiguous.
amandamita's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
gr33nb00ks's review
3.0
A great book for music-lovers, it just wasn't as exciting as I had hoped. There are some steamy love scenes, but for an indie-rock goodness doing a comeback tour it didn't live up to my expectations. I still enjoyed the read though, I couldn't stop reading it once I picked it up and it's been a while since that has happened,