Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
For Bookmiser Bookclub
March is the finest fan fiction I expect I will ever read. Starting with the story and people from Little Women, Brooks turns the perspective from home and hearth to the shock of the Civil War by telling her tale mainly from Mr. March’s point of view. I re-read Little Women right before reading this, so that story was fresh in my mind.
I enjoyed the old-style language and cadence of the sentences; one of the hardest things for me is to write so it sounds old but still is readable. This actually reads “older” than Little Women did to my ears, which seems appropriate as March is a well-read man who would enjoy using the rarer words and sentence structure. My paperback copy now has lots of checkmarks on lovely lines.
The story travels from March’s present, trying to write letters home after another horrendous or demoralizing day, to his past, as a young man before he met Marmee, and back again until the threads tie in the present.
While faithful to the words of the previous book, his character and others gain dimension as they gain voice. There are two amazing plot coincidences that involve the same character, but it’s fiction after all, so fine. It’s a little distracting that the Marches know lots of the major abolitionists in the period—part of the appeal of Little Women was they were regular people maybe like me—but many abolitionists *were* in Cambridge so why not? The historical detail is sound, and compelling.
I wondered how she would handle the part where March is delirious with fever in the hospital; her solution tells us more about women’s thinking in those days but took away from the strength of his story (also Amazing Coincidence Character gets to be even more angelic). The white characters are the stars, and are flawed and venal and conflicted, while the African characters are more one-note. I’ve read quite a few stories about slaves told by modern white women; while memorably horrorshow, they are starting to sound the same. Maybe based on the same reference material?
I enjoyed the old-style language and cadence of the sentences; one of the hardest things for me is to write so it sounds old but still is readable. This actually reads “older” than Little Women did to my ears, which seems appropriate as March is a well-read man who would enjoy using the rarer words and sentence structure. My paperback copy now has lots of checkmarks on lovely lines.
If a man is to lose his fortune, it is a good thing if he were poor before he acquired it, for poverty requires aptitude. (p. 113)
The story travels from March’s present, trying to write letters home after another horrendous or demoralizing day, to his past, as a young man before he met Marmee, and back again until the threads tie in the present.
If war can ever be said to be just, then this war is so; it is action for a moral cause, with the most rigorous of intellectual underpinnings. And yet everywhere I turn, I see injustice done in the waging of it. And every day, as I turn to what should be the happy obligation of opening my mind to my wife, I grope in vain for words with which to convey to her even a part of what I have witnessed, what I have felt. As for what I have done, and the consequences of my actions, these I do not even attempt to convey. (p. 65)
While faithful to the words of the previous book, his character and others gain dimension as they gain voice. There are two amazing plot coincidences that involve the same character, but it’s fiction after all, so fine. It’s a little distracting that the Marches know lots of the major abolitionists in the period—part of the appeal of Little Women was they were regular people maybe like me—but many abolitionists *were* in Cambridge so why not? The historical detail is sound, and compelling.
I wondered how she would handle the part where March is delirious with fever in the hospital; her solution tells us more about women’s thinking in those days but took away from the strength of his story (also Amazing Coincidence Character gets to be even more angelic). The white characters are the stars, and are flawed and venal and conflicted, while the African characters are more one-note. I’ve read quite a few stories about slaves told by modern white women; while memorably horrorshow, they are starting to sound the same. Maybe based on the same reference material?
Engaging and well-written, March is the story of the absent father in Alcott's Little Women, one of my childhood favorites. Alcott's book is the story of the family left behind when their father goes off to the Civil War; Brooks' book is the father's own story in that year of absence. Poignant and perceptive.
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Read about half of it and was just bored so I stopped. It was okay.
On second thought, I picked it back up because I felt that maybe I hadn't given it a fair chance, read about 20 more pages and as soon as young Henry Thoreau was introduced, the book had no chance. I hated Walden in high school, and don't need to be reminded of it now.
On second thought, I picked it back up because I felt that maybe I hadn't given it a fair chance, read about 20 more pages and as soon as young Henry Thoreau was introduced, the book had no chance. I hated Walden in high school, and don't need to be reminded of it now.
This was recommended to me, and I like the premise, but it just didn't hit for me.
I believed in the relationships and feelings and miscommunications - I felt they were written well, but I didn't care for the characters much.
It took me three tries over a year to get into this, and I never really wanted to pick it back up after I put it down. I stand by that.
I believed in the relationships and feelings and miscommunications - I felt they were written well, but I didn't care for the characters much.
It took me three tries over a year to get into this, and I never really wanted to pick it back up after I put it down. I stand by that.
As historical fiction, this was okay. Not the best I've read, but certainly not the worst. I like Little Women just fine, but I'm not a superfan, so I guess that works in my favor here. From the reviews I've seen, it appears that most LW fans don't appreciate the revisit of the LW story from Mr. March's point of view. I guess the thing I liked best about reading this is knowing that Mr. March in LW, and therefore Mr. March in March, was based on Louisa May Alcott's real life father Bronson. I read Eve LaPlante's nonfiction Marmee and Louisa not too long ago and loved it, while simultaneously loathing Bronson Alcott as a selfish, naive, hopeless dreamer who let his family freeze and starve rather than adapt to the real world. Being able to compare the real-life Alcott with the fictionalized, less-extreme March was a pretty cool exercise. Otherwise, it was a good book to pass a couple of days, but I doubt much of it will stick with me.
2016 reading challenge: a Pulitzer Prize winner
2016 reading challenge: a Pulitzer Prize winner
The book [b:Little Women|1934|Little Women|Louisa May Alcott|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1562690475l/1934._SY75_.jpg|3244642] by [a:Louisa May Alcott|1315|Louisa May Alcott|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1200326665p2/1315.jpg] is a classic that tells of the women of the March family. The father in the story is a minor character as he is away at war.
This book tells his story, predominantly during his time away at war but some background of his youth.
+++
I liked this book. Though I admit that i have not read the inspiration book, but have seen many movie adaptations. I can see why this won a Pulitzer.
I can also see why many do not like this book, especially how the main character comes across as naive and idealistic. But honestly I found that a believable thing for a man raised in the North turned chaplain during the antebellum and war times of the United States.
This book tells his story, predominantly during his time away at war but some background of his youth.
+++
I liked this book. Though I admit that i have not read the inspiration book, but have seen many movie adaptations. I can see why this won a Pulitzer.
I can also see why many do not like this book, especially how the main character comes across as naive and idealistic. But honestly I found that a believable thing for a man raised in the North turned chaplain during the antebellum and war times of the United States.
I enjoy the author's writing, she has a real grasp of storytelling. It's very easy to get caught up in the story, the characters and settings are lush and really come to life.
I was a bit disappointed in March and his internalized guilt, his naive assumptions, etc. but enjoyed the story nonetheless.
I was a bit disappointed in March and his internalized guilt, his naive assumptions, etc. but enjoyed the story nonetheless.
Got 6 pages in and at, "I saw the heavy boot of one stout soldier land with sickening force onto the skull of a slight youth, mashing the bone against the rock.", I decided I wasn't up for a Civil War book.