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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
sad
tense
slow-paced
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My rating is a 4.5. I love "Little Women," both the book and the movie. I read Pilgrim's Progress because it was referenced in Little Women. Finding a book that explores that world and characters was an unexpected gem.
I love the story of the father. His idealistic voice fit perfectly with my concept of the March's family. I also really enjoyed the events he struggles through. I was worried it would just be a war novel at the beginning in the sense of having battle after after battle. That was not the case at all. We see him struggle through a battle and then be reassigned to a plantation run by a northerner and worked by "contraband" or former slaves. I did wish he had stumbled with unknown bias as he worked with the former slaves. There are also wonderful flashbacks of his life with Marmee, how they meet, fall in love, and start a family as well as their struggles.
My biggest complaint and why this is not a pure five star review is the voice of Marmee. My childhood perception of her was the ideal mother, feisty yet refined, with passion but someone who has learned better how to function in the world. The Marmee in this novel is more flawed and less certain of her actions. If it had mostly been when she first met March when she was younger, that would have been fine. Yet her voice at the end of the novel, which would have coincided with Little Women, clashed too much with my image of that character that I have had in my thoughts since childhood.
I love the story of the father. His idealistic voice fit perfectly with my concept of the March's family. I also really enjoyed the events he struggles through. I was worried it would just be a war novel at the beginning in the sense of having battle after after battle. That was not the case at all. We see him struggle through a battle and then be reassigned to a plantation run by a northerner and worked by "contraband" or former slaves. I did wish he had stumbled with unknown bias as he worked with the former slaves. There are also wonderful flashbacks of his life with Marmee, how they meet, fall in love, and start a family as well as their struggles.
My biggest complaint and why this is not a pure five star review is the voice of Marmee. My childhood perception of her was the ideal mother, feisty yet refined, with passion but someone who has learned better how to function in the world. The Marmee in this novel is more flawed and less certain of her actions. If it had mostly been when she first met March when she was younger, that would have been fine. Yet her voice at the end of the novel, which would have coincided with Little Women, clashed too much with my image of that character that I have had in my thoughts since childhood.
4 1/2 stars. Geraldine Brooks is a masterful writer. Her book Caleb's Crossing was easily a 5 star book for me, so I was excited to read this Pulitzer prize winning book which centers on Mr. March, the largely absent father from Little Women.
I was not disappointed in the writing, and parts of this book literally took my breath away because they felt so real. However, I do not necessarily love the storyline that she chose for Mr. March, which keeps me from giving it 5 stars. Little Women was my favorite book for a period of my elementary years and this book is much grittier (which it should be) than that book. I guess that I am a romantic at heart and prefer the over-romanticized tone of Little Women to this one. That does not take away from the quality of this book, however, and I recognize that it is a worthy Pulitzer Prize recipient. I was gripped; I was moved, and I will unquestionably remember this book.
I was not disappointed in the writing, and parts of this book literally took my breath away because they felt so real. However, I do not necessarily love the storyline that she chose for Mr. March, which keeps me from giving it 5 stars. Little Women was my favorite book for a period of my elementary years and this book is much grittier (which it should be) than that book. I guess that I am a romantic at heart and prefer the over-romanticized tone of Little Women to this one. That does not take away from the quality of this book, however, and I recognize that it is a worthy Pulitzer Prize recipient. I was gripped; I was moved, and I will unquestionably remember this book.
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
A little uneven. I started out not sure why I was reading it (apart from the whole Pulitzer Prize thing), began to love it, then started to find it very frustrating. As you probably know, it's a retelling of [book:Little Women] from the absent father's perspective, showing both his experiences during the war as well as his background and romance with Marmee. Descriptions of the South and New England both are evocative and beautiful and there are really some lovely vignettes and details throughout, but the two main characters tended to grate with their near-constant moralizing.
Not passing the Bechdel Test and just not keeping my interest. Jumps around too much in time.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I gave this book a four because it held my attention throughout the book; I don't know if it is a "great book".
The aspect of the civil war this book focuses on is race relations during the Civil War. All the Marches are shown as being highly committed abolitionists.
In real life while she was an abolitionist, Louisa May Alcott (and her mother) did not share Bronson Alcott’s (Louisa May Alcott's father) idealistic view of the world. The Alcott women in real life felt that Bronson Alcott should have been a better provider to the fanily rather than working to change the world.
The aspect of the civil war this book focuses on is race relations during the Civil War. All the Marches are shown as being highly committed abolitionists.
In real life while she was an abolitionist, Louisa May Alcott (and her mother) did not share Bronson Alcott’s (Louisa May Alcott's father) idealistic view of the world. The Alcott women in real life felt that Bronson Alcott should have been a better provider to the fanily rather than working to change the world.