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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was my first Geraldine Brooks novel, and I have to say her writing is really lovely. She embodies the voice of a historic narrator so much so that I forgot, at times, that this was historical fiction and not a text written in 1862.
Many reviewers said they couldn't connect with the narration or the plot, but I found the story of March captivating. I also found it horrifying and very moving. The war scenes were difficult and painful to read, of course, but Mr. March's savior complex was very compelling for me, and I think this aspect of his character wouldn't have come through without the extreme horrors he witnessed and felt responsible for as a Union Army chaplain.
Having just read Little Women, I appreciated Brooks' take on Marmee's character as well. Her involvement with the Underground Railroad and her great compassion for enslaved people is exactly the type of social justice Marmee would fight for and I was happy to read about it! Her passionate outbursts of anger and frustration in her early years of marriage speak to that canonized conversation between Marmee and Jo in Little Women where Marmee cautions Jo about curbing her anger and how she, Marmee, also had to learn to do so when she was young.
Geraldine Brooks hides lots of other Little Women Easter eggs throughout her novel, and they add some much needed lightness to what is otherwise a darker and more somber family story than what, I suspect, a lot of Little Women fans probably want from this book. This fan thoroughly enjoyed it, though!
Many reviewers said they couldn't connect with the narration or the plot, but I found the story of March captivating. I also found it horrifying and very moving. The war scenes were difficult and painful to read, of course, but Mr. March's savior complex was very compelling for me, and I think this aspect of his character wouldn't have come through without the extreme horrors he witnessed and felt responsible for as a Union Army chaplain.
Having just read Little Women, I appreciated Brooks' take on Marmee's character as well. Her involvement with the Underground Railroad and her great compassion for enslaved people is exactly the type of social justice Marmee would fight for and I was happy to read about it! Her passionate outbursts of anger and frustration in her early years of marriage speak to that canonized conversation between Marmee and Jo in Little Women where Marmee cautions Jo about curbing her anger and how she, Marmee, also had to learn to do so when she was young.
Geraldine Brooks hides lots of other Little Women Easter eggs throughout her novel, and they add some much needed lightness to what is otherwise a darker and more somber family story than what, I suspect, a lot of Little Women fans probably want from this book. This fan thoroughly enjoyed it, though!
medium-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
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very much worth reading. Especially for anyone who's read Little Women or who has a passion for historical fiction!
I'm sorry to say I hated this. It did not match with my understanding of the March parents at all. I was happy when I read the afterward to at least understand where Brooks came up with the direction she decided to go, but I simply didn't like either of the characters Brooks writes about. I tried to pretend that the book didn't refer to already existing literary characters, but it didn't help.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked this book much better than I thought I would. I'm still not a big fan of Civil War novels, though....not yet, anyway.
I read this for a challenge. It is not a genre i would generally choose and as a novel does not persuade me to read more of the genre. I am never sure why anyone wants to read such depressingly awful accounts of slavery and war. I am even less convinced by its link to "little women" which is, in my opinion the most awful book on the planet
DNF. Geraldine Brooks writes beautifully, but a story from the perspective of Mr. March was not needed.