Book Review: Alice on a Friday Night

IndieBookView

Jan 12

Alice on a Friday Night

by Dessi Nikko

Genre: Literary Fiction

Print Length: 258 pages

Reviewed by Erin Britton

Alice on a Friday Night by Dessi Nikko, featuring striking illustrations by Diana Naneva, is a provocative story that offers a sometimes mind-bending glimpse into the turbulent life of the eponymous Alice.

"I'm Alice. But Alice in reverse. First I shattered all the mirrors I could find in the Looking-Glass World. Then I crashed into Wonderland, eager to meet every mad hatter, every shade of insanity, and creep through seven years of bad luck for every mirror I'd broken."

Alice is a young woman who finds herself at a crossroads in life, working at a bar to make ends meet while fervently seeking a more unique and fulfilling path. "I don't know if the crisis of being 24 is an officially recognized thing, but that's definitely what I'm going through. […] I plan for the past, all the while regretting the tremendous mistakes I might make in the future." While Alice hopes that such preoccupations at a relatively young age might eventually save her from a midlife crisis, she nevertheless tempers them with more common worries: what to wear, how to behave, who to impress, etc.

Despite the big issues at stake, most of these worries might seem like the typical concerns of youth, except what sets Alice apart from most others of her generation is her insatiable curiosity, which she applies with near-scientific precision in an attempt to understand other people. "I thought stereotypes were bullshit. I thought people were the same everywhere. But then I saw for myself. Even if we're all born the same, our environment is a great influence too." Still, for all her observational prowess, Alice is determined to be an active participant in life, eagerly plunging into the depths of human experiences, even those recognized to be dark and tumultuous.