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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is a beautiful rendering of the clash between the best held ideals and the ugly realities of the world, and particularly war. Brooks captures how the attempt to do what is right, to follow your most pure convictions falter and hurt not only those whose ideals they were in the first place, but those closest to the idealist. Her depiction of the way we injure those we try to shield from our own shortcomings and the ugly realities we encounter is touching and vivid.
All this book managed to do was take a minor character in a beloved classic and turn him into an insufferable idiot
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Absolutely gripping and relentless depiction of the moral quagmire that was the Civil War. Brooks is an eloquent writer and her imagined story for Mr. March from Alcott’s Little Women is masterful. There is much to praise, particularly the unflinching but compassionate depiction of abject horrors of slavery and war. However, I want to call out one aspect that I really appreciated: most of the novel is in first person - March telling his story - but there is a brief section in Marmee’s voice in which Brooks cleverly provides her take on events and her actual emotions previous recounted by March. The contrast and what it reveals about both characters and their relationship is revelatory.
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Such heart
If you loved Little Women then you'll enjoy this take on what the dad, of littler women, was going through. I have loved all of Geraldine Brooks books!
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I’ve never read Little Women, so I did not know the context of this book until I got to the afterward.
That being said, the book can certainly stand on its own. It was captivating and challenging.
That being said, the book can certainly stand on its own. It was captivating and challenging.