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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
I had high hopes as I love historical fiction and I struggled to finish this.
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-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
I had such high hopes for this book, and it was another "meh" type of book. Geraldine Brooks was so fantastic with "People of the Book" and I've been looking forward to reading more of hers. It fell flat for me.
"March" tells the story of Mr. March (from "Little Women")... it's all his side of the story. I don't read a lot of Civil War-era historical fiction, so it was pretty interesting. I loved the snippets and hints of what we know from Little Women, and adding in real people (Emerson, Thoreau, etc.) made it even more interesting, especially as Louisa May Alcott's father was a contemporary and a friend to these real people characters. It was like Brooks took what we know of Alcott's father and what we read in Alcott's books to make this character. That was fantastic.
I felt like I was just slogging through most of the book, however. I just didn't find it as captivating as I had hoped. We had a few chapters towards the end that came from Marmee's point of view. I wish that had been done throughout the story. It really showed the idea of there being three sides to every story: Hers, his, and the truth. By the end of the book, I was quite enjoying it. It just took most of the story to get me there.
"March" tells the story of Mr. March (from "Little Women")... it's all his side of the story. I don't read a lot of Civil War-era historical fiction, so it was pretty interesting. I loved the snippets and hints of what we know from Little Women, and adding in real people (Emerson, Thoreau, etc.) made it even more interesting, especially as Louisa May Alcott's father was a contemporary and a friend to these real people characters. It was like Brooks took what we know of Alcott's father and what we read in Alcott's books to make this character. That was fantastic.
I felt like I was just slogging through most of the book, however. I just didn't find it as captivating as I had hoped. We had a few chapters towards the end that came from Marmee's point of view. I wish that had been done throughout the story. It really showed the idea of there being three sides to every story: Hers, his, and the truth. By the end of the book, I was quite enjoying it. It just took most of the story to get me there.
What can I say, I'm a big fan of Geraldine books and I loved this. Great story, interesting characters and good writing. March tells the story of the absent father in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women.
Mr March is an interesting character. He is a minister in the universalist tradition and so has basically kept the morality of Christianity removed from the power and hope that is in Christ. As the story proceeds we see this as he ministers to the dying and he realises that he really has nothing to offer. As he confonts the moral complexity of war and the behaviour of people around him, and ultimately his own failures and limitations he comes undone and he really never comes to terms with these things.
I loved the way Brooks handled the juxtaposition of of March's view of himself, the people around him and the events compared with those of the other characters. It was particularly illuminating when we see some of the events from Marmies point of view. While she is also passionate about social justice issues she is also a realist and I had to cheer late in the book when she concludes that she loves this ruined man. That is what love is all about seeing the flaws but loving anyway.
Mr March is an interesting character. He is a minister in the universalist tradition and so has basically kept the morality of Christianity removed from the power and hope that is in Christ. As the story proceeds we see this as he ministers to the dying and he realises that he really has nothing to offer. As he confonts the moral complexity of war and the behaviour of people around him, and ultimately his own failures and limitations he comes undone and he really never comes to terms with these things.
I loved the way Brooks handled the juxtaposition of of March's view of himself, the people around him and the events compared with those of the other characters. It was particularly illuminating when we see some of the events from Marmies point of view. While she is also passionate about social justice issues she is also a realist and I had to cheer late in the book when she concludes that she loves this ruined man. That is what love is all about seeing the flaws but loving anyway.
I must admit, it's been ages since I read Little Women. I'm not a hardcore fan. I'm not sure which is better in this case ... is the connection to that book the hook and draw, or will readers be a little disillusioned by the harsher look at war, and the imperfections of Mr. March (and Marmee).
While checking out thrift stores for books for my Little Free Library, I found a paperback copy and picked it up. Having a physical copy will move a book up my TBR, even though I still go with digital options overall. Here, I went with the audio BUT ... as Part2 started, I had to switch to reading. It was the same, male narrator, who had been voicing the first person Mr. March thus far, now suddenly he is Marmee? The same voice? First person, being read by a man, the same man/voice we already associate with Mr. March????? I don't care if it costs more to bring in a second (female) narrator. Do it! If it was third person ... okay, but not first person. I don't want to hear a man's voice reading about straightening her dress and caring for her husband. The final two chapters switched back to Mr. March's POV ... and I switched back to the audio. I was glad I had been able to borrow this from the library (although my main/local one didn't carry it). If I'd purchased this from Audible, I would have tried to return it. I'm going to select the Kindle copy for my format recorded here on Storygraph!
In addition to that audio "error" (in my opinion) - I was frustrated with the Table of Contents, it was difficult to switch between formats, as the breaks weren't consistent. The TOC in Kindle was just the most basic chronological listing. There were chapter headers, I don't know why these were not included on the TOC. The physical book, per usual for today's publications, doesn't even deign to provide a TOC. I did like that the chapter headings were printed along the top of the pages. Still, trying to find a specific spot requires a lot of random flipping, rather than knowing exactly what page a chapter/part starts on. While there were headers, they weren't super informative (Bread and Shelter, Scars, Yankee Leavening ...) When there was the switch to Marmee's POV, I would have appreciated a note indicating that. Not that it was that hard to figure it out, but there were moments of confusion. I had to stop the audio, pull up the Kindle copy, see if I'd missed something (especially as mentioned above, because it was the exact same voice/narrator).
As for the story itself - it was very bloody, lots of death and violence (it IS war), huge focus on slavery - which did have some enlightening moments. SO many words that aren't really used regularly today, some I'd want to stop and look up, highlight (espaliered, caducity, encomium, serried, alluvium, apogee, nadir, catarrh) ... there were lots more, those were ones I just stopped to record. Others that I know but notice - hectored, sibilance, desultory, excoriation. I made more notes in the Marmee section, I guess just feeling some connection to thoughts and feelings.
I feel now I should probably re-read LittleWomen.
While checking out thrift stores for books for my Little Free Library, I found a paperback copy and picked it up. Having a physical copy will move a book up my TBR, even though I still go with digital options overall. Here, I went with the audio BUT ... as Part2 started, I had to switch to reading. It was the same, male narrator, who had been voicing the first person Mr. March thus far, now suddenly he is Marmee? The same voice? First person, being read by a man, the same man/voice we already associate with Mr. March????? I don't care if it costs more to bring in a second (female) narrator. Do it! If it was third person ... okay, but not first person. I don't want to hear a man's voice reading about straightening her dress and caring for her husband. The final two chapters switched back to Mr. March's POV ... and I switched back to the audio. I was glad I had been able to borrow this from the library (although my main/local one didn't carry it). If I'd purchased this from Audible, I would have tried to return it. I'm going to select the Kindle copy for my format recorded here on Storygraph!
In addition to that audio "error" (in my opinion) - I was frustrated with the Table of Contents, it was difficult to switch between formats, as the breaks weren't consistent. The TOC in Kindle was just the most basic chronological listing. There were chapter headers, I don't know why these were not included on the TOC. The physical book, per usual for today's publications, doesn't even deign to provide a TOC. I did like that the chapter headings were printed along the top of the pages. Still, trying to find a specific spot requires a lot of random flipping, rather than knowing exactly what page a chapter/part starts on. While there were headers, they weren't super informative (Bread and Shelter, Scars, Yankee Leavening ...) When there was the switch to Marmee's POV, I would have appreciated a note indicating that. Not that it was that hard to figure it out, but there were moments of confusion. I had to stop the audio, pull up the Kindle copy, see if I'd missed something (especially as mentioned above, because it was the exact same voice/narrator).
As for the story itself - it was very bloody, lots of death and violence (it IS war), huge focus on slavery - which did have some enlightening moments. SO many words that aren't really used regularly today, some I'd want to stop and look up, highlight (espaliered, caducity, encomium, serried, alluvium, apogee, nadir, catarrh) ... there were lots more, those were ones I just stopped to record. Others that I know but notice - hectored, sibilance, desultory, excoriation. I made more notes in the Marmee section, I guess just feeling some connection to thoughts and feelings.
I feel now I should probably re-read LittleWomen.
Ugh. That took far too long for such a short book. While the prose is exceptional, I found the story lacking to compel me, though it could simply have been the state of the world in which I'm reading it, and I'm sorry Mr March but you are nowhere near as gregarious and charming as your little women.
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-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
A fine idea and one that Brooks executed as well as ever, here is insight into the father figure in "Little Women" and the socio-political reality that didn't touch those charming sisters at all, at least compared to their parents. The slow and tragic spiral from man of courage and "moral certainty" to one that is so haunted by the atrocities he witnessed and--in his opinion--caused, is well wrought indeed. But thank goodness for the perspective of Marmee in the last part of the book that reveals a fuller account of a marriage full of sacrifice, omission, self-denial, and misunderstanding. This makes great companion reading to the book that inspired it and provides a strong dose of reality and balance into an otherwise sheltered narrative.
Little Women was a childhood favorite of mine, so it was interesting to read this book that took the perspective of the father away at war. I really liked the couple chapters where we saw Marmee's point of view on the whole situation, and almost wish there had been more of that interspersed with Mr. March's chapters. Still, a good read for any fans of Little Women!
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A very raw read, so raw that I can't call it a pleasant experience; but very well done.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Physical abuse, Slavery, Blood, Medical content, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Incest, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Excrement, Grief, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Classism
Minor: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Suicide, Terminal illness, Vomit, Religious bigotry