Product Description

In an alternate version of the future where Hitler had conquered the entire world during WW2 and developed society into his vision of utopia, an SS officer is on a mission to find and exterminate the last imperfect human on Earth. Following his trail leads the young Nazi to a small town hidden in the middle of the desert; a place that has been cut off from society for so long that it has developed its own strange and disturbing culture. Thus begins Mellick's dreamlike adventure that takes a young descendent of Adolf Hitler's design and sends him down the rabbit hole into a world of imperfection and disorder, where even the laws of reality itself don't seem to apply. A tribute to both Franz Kafka and Lewis Carroll, "Adolf in Wonderland" is a perfect read for fans of the bizarro genre.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #194046 in Books
• Published on: 2007-12-18
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 180 pages

Customer Reviews

A Good Read, But NOT The Author's Best
Adolf In Wonderland is definitely an interesting read, but definitely not CM3's best, either in writing or execution.

It appears like it could be so much, with such a witty name, and parts of it really are- the amnesia of our main character makes him forget his name. Hitler's name is on his jacket and other characters think he is Hitler. The repeated use of this really creates a suspenseful atmosphere that hits on many levels. The repetition is also used to great effect as "Adolf" recites his mantra- his search for the "Imperfect Man", that, in such a micro-world of freaks, seems to be impossible, if not completely ludicrous (I think that was the point).

The majority of CM3's books are very short- and they are written that way on purpose. In most cases they would be hurt by being any longer, but that is not the case with this book. I think that there was so much here that would have been relevant and entertaining, that never made it. This book could have been a bit longer, added more scenes that played off of an Alice in Wonderland theme, etc.

Of course, I might be biased against this book, and looking for more- when someone mentions Surrealism and Nazis in the same sentence the works of David Britton come to mind. Maybe if I hadn't already those this book might have lived up to my expectations.

Overall though, this is still a good installments in CM3's canon. For someone who is looking for a surrealistic Nazi tale and doesn't want to be completely offended and horrified, Adolf in Wonderland is your book.
Read it.

Bizarro goes down the Rabbit Hole
I've read many of Carlton Mellick's books and I have to say that each one shows us unique and strange worlds, and yet all of them are distinctly his. Adolf in Wonderland is no exception. Here Mellick is riffing on Lewis Carroll's classic, but he throws in the themes of Nazism and perfection as a stark contrast to a weird world where normal just doesn't exist.

Reading Adolf in Wonderland feels like tumbling down the rabbit hole itself, twisting in an ever downward spiral. The story warps and turns, and of the few things that are explained, they don't make logical sense (it all makes perfect nonsense, though). Just as one surreal, scary, and disgusting situation screams past, Adolf is thrown into another that is even more strange, more sick, and more twisted.

All the while Adolf balks at the bizarre and, right up to the very end, believes that he can still accomplish his mission despite the enormous setbacks. The point, as the afterword says, is that the more emphasis that we put on perfection, the harder it becomes to attain. As Adolf falls farther and farther into an abyss of strangeness, we get the feeling that we're being dragged along by our ears with him, tripping over all the weird stuff.

Little of this story makes sense, but then again, that's the point. I think Mellick wrote Adolf in Wonderland as a sort of experiment in bizarro. To see what the genre is capable of in terms of putting forth, dare I say it, literary meaning. The point of the story comes across quite well, and the bizarro style is clearly evident, but I feel the plot suffers from a lack of structure that Mellick's other books clearly had. Everything is kind of jumbled up with no sense of order.......

....but then again, that's the point.

Don't over-analyze.
I'm sorry, but I have to disagree with anyone who has anything even remotely negative to say about this book. The reviews thus far have been positive, though I am concerned by some of the critical statements.

Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but you should keep in mind one of the few defining characteristics of Bizarro fiction. It should be fun. Here I believe Mellick has succeeded and will continue to succeed in his writing. His stories, no matter how simplistic or weird they may appear, are always fun.

Whether you spend an hour with his work as in the case of War Slut, or several days in the case of Satan Burger you will be entertained. Adolf in Wonderland is a nice medium between Mellick's two extremes.

And don't let the artwork scare you off! Buying a book with a swastika on the cover doesn't make you a hateful person. Mellick addresses the perception of anti-semitism in the author's note. As other reviewers here have mentioned, the main theme is unachievable perfection, the folly of Hitler's master plan.

In short, enjoy the story, it is money and time well spent.