Disability in Wonderland: Health and Normativity in Speculative Utopias by Amanda Martin Sandino (review)

Reviewed by: Disability in Wonderland: Health and Normativity in Speculative Utopias by Amanda Martin Sandino Megan Marshall (bio) Disability in Wonderland: Health and Normativity in Speculative Utopias. By Amanda Martin Sandino. McFarland & Company, 2023. Speculative fiction has a history of presenting readers with visions of utopias in order to critique or reimagine our world, and as such, provides excellent sites for critical inquiry of contemporary issues. In her in-depth study of utopian Wonderlands, Amanda Martin Sandino has conducted a multifaceted exploration of narrative utopias through the lens of disability studies and related critical theory. Her work in Disability in Wonderland: Health and Normativity in Speculative Utopias uses "criptopia"—environments that challenge compulsory able-bodiedness standards in contemporary society—as the linchpin for seven chapters that are organized into three periods: Early Wonderlands, Middle Wonderlands, and Contemporary Wonderlands and the Underland. Sandino's study looks to provide an analysis of how selected exemplars in speculative fiction, notably those set in so-called wonderlands, contribute to our ongoing understanding of disability in social, historical, and political contexts. In her Introduction, Sandino presents an overview of early wonderland texts, most notably Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), and J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan (1904) to provide historical context for the early wonderland [End Page 333] narratives that provide the foundation for those that have followed. She also emphasizes the importance of understanding the use of specific terms, which she frames as keywords that provide the framework for these chapters. Included here are terms such as "criptopia" (defined above), "crip futurity" (connoting a future in which, unlike typical utopias, disability has not been eradicated), and "speculative fiction." This is followed by an overview of three wonderland periods around which she frames her chapters. Chapter 1, "Crip Futurity and Literary Utopias," addresses the socio-medical models of disability in the United States and the United Kingdom in both historical and present contexts. Sandino cites the common parental hope for babies that are "healthy and happy" in order to discuss the ways that the medical model is put into practice at the start of one's life, noting how the innate parental desire to celebrate the birth of "healthy" babies implies that the birth of a baby who is not "perfect" is a cause for consternation. She then juxtaposes this discussion with canonical speculative narratives, effectively highlighting the prevailing anti-disability rhetoric in a handful of texts. For instance, her discussion of Samuel Butler's Erewhon and Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Herland provides a critical inspection into the ways these narratives have, historically, justified eugenics, euthanasia, and ostracism of disabled or otherwise non-normative bodies. The second chapter, "Finding Criptopia in Baum's Oz Series," builds upon the previous by examining Baum's original Oz series as a criptopia where differences—such as those embodied by the famous trio: Scarecrow, Tinman, and Lion-can be acknowledged (and celebrated) as unique strengths, whereas Dorothy's normate status offers little advantage or power. Sandino contrasts the source material with the more popular 1939 film adaptation, shedding light on what might not have been included or fully realized in the film, in order to provide a clear analysis of how Baum's work offers an exceptional framework for the study of criptopia's potential. While Sandino does acknowledge that the Oz texts still include elements of the medical model (given the ways the trio seek to "fix" their perceived deficits), she stresses that the series still serves as an excellent tool for considering criptopia's potential. Chapters 3 and 4 address "Middle Era Wonderlands" and "alienation" in order to explore how speculative fiction addresses and unpacks mental and physical trauma while providing readers with themes of resilience, ingenuity, and hope. Sandino's analysis of works from the 1940s to the 1980s, such as C.S. Lewis's Narnia books and Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are particularly insightful as she explicates clearly the ways that Wonderlands have been able to address cultural anxieties stemming from periods where childhood was often punctuated with loss and poverty, often due to catastrophic events such...

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