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A review by claireelyse06
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Wow. This book. I have thoughts.
First of all, this was considered a children's book? I mean, morally that's great, but this book covers some HEAVY topics like grief and death. I might read the first part to a child but after that it just gets a bit deeper than today's children can comprehend. That's not to say this is a bad book. It's an amazing book that I think every girl should be required to read.
First of all, let's talk about some of the amazing lessons in this book. First is counting your blessings. The Marches are a relatively poor family and there are multiple points in the book where the girls wish they had more than they did, and the author has them learn lessons about how important it is to be thankful for what you do have. Love and family are two of the most obvious lessons. This story is at its hard the story of family and friends and of love, which is such a beautiful thing. The sisters grow so much and learn so many lessons together. The biggest lesson, however, is carrying your burdens. Alcott realizes that life is tough. There are going to be trials and tribulations no matter what. But you do what you can and you keep on going (though the author did not put it as bluntly as I do, she did it in such a beautiful way). It was so beautiful to watch the girls grow from their struggles and become the best versions of themselves. It really was. This is going to be a hot take, but I also loved Alcott's perspective on how beautiful femininity can be. Not necessarily in the way that you may imagine for the time. But women as beautiful, caring, nurturing beings with some of the greatest internal strength. The March women are genuinely such beautiful models of what a woman is, from Jo to Amy to Meg to Beth to Mrs. March, all in their own different yet beautiful ways. Jo teaches us that falling in love does not have to be the end of our dreams. Meg teaches us to listen to others and forgive. Amy teaches us the importance of love in a marriage. Beth teaches us of the importance of virtue and a Godly attitude and the importance of loving and taking care of others to the best of our ability. I could go on and on about some of the beautiful things that can be taken from this book, but I won't. I think that every woman who reads this book will take something differnt from it and will see themselves as a different March girl.
Now for what I didn't like. The one big issue I had with this book was some of the filler stuff put in it. There were a few chapters that I thought were not necessary at all. There were also some sections that had things like poems and letters (two full chapters are just letters) that are written by the girls, and to be honest, those were kind of boring and could have been done without. I usually don't like to critique a book about its length, but I did not see those parts as adding to the story in any way, except for the two chapters that were just correspondance. They were important I just don't like reading correspondance in books. Other than that I didn't have any issues with the book.
I was invested in the plot and the characters and I loved the character development so much. And the last chapter was so nice. We need more books like this. I really want to know when we stopped writing books like this. I can definitely see that Alcott put pieces of herself into this book and I thought it was a very nice vulnerable touch. I think that made it really special.
What's so sad is that I watched the movie (the 2019 version) before reading the book and loved it, and after reading the book I am not a fan. They did poor Bhaer so dirty in the movie (tell me why they felt the need to compltely alter his reaction to Jo's stint writing "sensational" stories to sell to newspapers because it was muchhhh more, shall I say, pronounced in the book than the movie). I think anyone reading that scene in the book would have about as much a coronoary as Bhaer would if he saw 97% of the books produced today. I just find that really funny. I'm calling it now, Bhaer would definitely be a fan of guys like Michael Knowles. He just has that vibe. Which is so ironic because he ends up with Jo. But that's also beautiful? I don't know. I couldn't tell if Alcott was very conservative or very liberal for the time because she kind of kept flipflopping from the "wives subimit to your husbands" vibe to the feminist vibe? Or was the nuance just lost on me as a modern day reader? Perhaps I'm just stupid. Honestly it didn't bother me reading it, which is saying something because I don't go for the whole "submission" thing. I don't know. Alcott was a philosophy all her own in this book and I can't even begin to describe it, so do not let this paragrpah turn you off the book. It's a product of the time period and now I want to do some research on who Alcott was.
Would I read this book again? Probably, but I would skip over the added in writings of the girls that I talked about earlier. Cause I've read them once, I don't really need to read them again. But I think that was mainly to appeal to a younger audience, so fair enough I guess.
Moral of the story, read this book. You'll take something from it. I promise. And hey, maybe, like Laurie, you will begin to change into a more virtuous person. That was not meant the way it sounded. The point of the book is that we're all human beings suffering through the ups and downs of life, and must learn to bear it the best we can while being the best people we can be. And Alcott just managed to put it in the most beautiful way and give us kind of a handbook for life. So pick it up and find the life lesson that you need.
On a final note, I wish Mrs. March was my mother because she is the kind of mother who reminds me of a hot cup of tea on a rainy day. And I just love that. She's actually such an icon. Oh, and also, if you read this book for the first time and you are not very "well read" (I can't think of any other terms but that to describe it, what I mean is if you haven't read a crap ton of classic literature and poetry and philosophy, like most people) you are going to want to get an edition of this book with footnotes so that all the references to Dickens and various philosophers and stuff don't go over your head. But if you are well read in that area, then more power too you. But most people (including myself) are not and will therefore find an edition with notes very helpful.
First of all, this was considered a children's book? I mean, morally that's great, but this book covers some HEAVY topics like grief and death. I might read the first part to a child but after that it just gets a bit deeper than today's children can comprehend. That's not to say this is a bad book. It's an amazing book that I think every girl should be required to read.
First of all, let's talk about some of the amazing lessons in this book. First is counting your blessings. The Marches are a relatively poor family and there are multiple points in the book where the girls wish they had more than they did, and the author has them learn lessons about how important it is to be thankful for what you do have. Love and family are two of the most obvious lessons. This story is at its hard the story of family and friends and of love, which is such a beautiful thing. The sisters grow so much and learn so many lessons together. The biggest lesson, however, is carrying your burdens. Alcott realizes that life is tough. There are going to be trials and tribulations no matter what. But you do what you can and you keep on going (though the author did not put it as bluntly as I do, she did it in such a beautiful way). It was so beautiful to watch the girls grow from their struggles and become the best versions of themselves. It really was. This is going to be a hot take, but I also loved Alcott's perspective on how beautiful femininity can be. Not necessarily in the way that you may imagine for the time. But women as beautiful, caring, nurturing beings with some of the greatest internal strength. The March women are genuinely such beautiful models of what a woman is, from Jo to Amy to Meg to Beth to Mrs. March, all in their own different yet beautiful ways. Jo teaches us that falling in love does not have to be the end of our dreams. Meg teaches us to listen to others and forgive. Amy teaches us the importance of love in a marriage. Beth teaches us of the importance of virtue and a Godly attitude and the importance of loving and taking care of others to the best of our ability. I could go on and on about some of the beautiful things that can be taken from this book, but I won't. I think that every woman who reads this book will take something differnt from it and will see themselves as a different March girl.
Now for what I didn't like. The one big issue I had with this book was some of the filler stuff put in it. There were a few chapters that I thought were not necessary at all. There were also some sections that had things like poems and letters (two full chapters are just letters) that are written by the girls, and to be honest, those were kind of boring and could have been done without. I usually don't like to critique a book about its length, but I did not see those parts as adding to the story in any way, except for the two chapters that were just correspondance. They were important I just don't like reading correspondance in books. Other than that I didn't have any issues with the book.
I was invested in the plot and the characters and I loved the character development so much. And the last chapter was so nice. We need more books like this. I really want to know when we stopped writing books like this. I can definitely see that Alcott put pieces of herself into this book and I thought it was a very nice vulnerable touch. I think that made it really special.
What's so sad is that I watched the movie (the 2019 version) before reading the book and loved it, and after reading the book I am not a fan. They did poor Bhaer so dirty in the movie (tell me why they felt the need to compltely alter his reaction to Jo's stint writing "sensational" stories to sell to newspapers because it was muchhhh more, shall I say, pronounced in the book than the movie). I think anyone reading that scene in the book would have about as much a coronoary as Bhaer would if he saw 97% of the books produced today. I just find that really funny. I'm calling it now, Bhaer would definitely be a fan of guys like Michael Knowles. He just has that vibe. Which is so ironic because he ends up with Jo. But that's also beautiful? I don't know. I couldn't tell if Alcott was very conservative or very liberal for the time because she kind of kept flipflopping from the "wives subimit to your husbands" vibe to the feminist vibe? Or was the nuance just lost on me as a modern day reader? Perhaps I'm just stupid. Honestly it didn't bother me reading it, which is saying something because I don't go for the whole "submission" thing. I don't know. Alcott was a philosophy all her own in this book and I can't even begin to describe it, so do not let this paragrpah turn you off the book. It's a product of the time period and now I want to do some research on who Alcott was.
Would I read this book again? Probably, but I would skip over the added in writings of the girls that I talked about earlier. Cause I've read them once, I don't really need to read them again. But I think that was mainly to appeal to a younger audience, so fair enough I guess.
Moral of the story, read this book. You'll take something from it. I promise. And hey, maybe, like Laurie, you will begin to change into a more virtuous person. That was not meant the way it sounded. The point of the book is that we're all human beings suffering through the ups and downs of life, and must learn to bear it the best we can while being the best people we can be. And Alcott just managed to put it in the most beautiful way and give us kind of a handbook for life. So pick it up and find the life lesson that you need.
On a final note, I wish Mrs. March was my mother because she is the kind of mother who reminds me of a hot cup of tea on a rainy day. And I just love that. She's actually such an icon. Oh, and also, if you read this book for the first time and you are not very "well read" (I can't think of any other terms but that to describe it, what I mean is if you haven't read a crap ton of classic literature and poetry and philosophy, like most people) you are going to want to get an edition of this book with footnotes so that all the references to Dickens and various philosophers and stuff don't go over your head. But if you are well read in that area, then more power too you. But most people (including myself) are not and will therefore find an edition with notes very helpful.