A review by caribbeangirlreading
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.0

My neighborhood book club chose Little Women for our Mach 2020 read. I DNF'd it so fast that I gave myself whiplash. The heavy handed preachiness was a NOPE for me. Fast forward to March 2023. My classics book club chose this book. I decided to give it a second chance but let the audiobook narrator do the heavy lifting for me. What made it an interesting read (and discussion) this time around is that we all did some background research on Louisa May Alcott's life and how the book came to be written. Understanding that LMA never wanted to write Little Women but was forced by poverty to write a book that would sell, and put food on the table, opened my eyes to the hypocrisy of this book. Same for book two (Good Wives). Understanding that her publishers forced her to write an ending she despised, made for interesting reading. She basically gave her readers the middle finger when she refused to have Jo marry Laurie. What LMA really wanted was for Jo to remain an unapologetic "spinster," just like she was.

In conclusion, I still feel that Little Women (Book 1) is a heavy handed and preachy morality tale for girls that needs to stay in the 19th century. If I had daughters I would not let them read this book. Good Wives (Book 2) is a little better. There is SOME character development but thank heavens for audiobooks and being able to skip/speed through the awful portions, because there were a lot of them. 
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