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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
Geraldine Brooks imagines what the father of Little Women did during the Civil War and his backstory as a young yankee peddlar in the South before the war. Certainly this story is not what I imagined. I have always thought of Mr. March as a male version of Marmee, all kindness and goodness. This Mr. March was much more problematic. This is a good story, well-told and largely based on the life of Louisa May Alcott's father, Branson. I visited the Alcott family home many years ago, but now want to visit Fruitlands, the Utopian community established by Branson Alcott. It has been many years since I read Little Women and would like to revisit that as well.
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
medium-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
This book likely gained an extra 1/2 star because of my fondness for Little Women. I really enjoyed the new story with some of my favourite characters and the window into what Mr. March may have encountered while away at war.
This is a fiction story about a fictional character, Mr. March, father to Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. Set during the Civil War, Brooks traced Louisa Alcott's real father and used him as a basis for the father character in this book.
This book tells the story of Mr. March - the largely absent father in "Little Women". March has enlisted and gone off to be the chaplain for northern soldiers fighting the Civil War in the south. Marmee (Mrs. March) plays a role - as the recipient of his letters home and as the woman he pursued in his flashbacks. March's story is interesting and I learned a lot about the non-combat side of the Civil War. But March is an insufferable fool and a pious idealist. I became frustrated at his sometimes childish behavior and kept waiting for him to realize his personality flaws. By the time he does, he becomes so depressed and melodramatic that I'm fed up with him. Fortunately, that's when Marmee's story takes off and we get a somewhat refreshing point of view. She's flawed as well, and all her idealistic notions about blacks is quickly stripped away by her inner voice.
The details are absorbing, and the author keeps the story moving nicely. Although the characters are frustrating, I admit they are interesting, and it's fun to imagine that the perfect life portrayed in "Little Women" had a less superficial one.
The details are absorbing, and the author keeps the story moving nicely. Although the characters are frustrating, I admit they are interesting, and it's fun to imagine that the perfect life portrayed in "Little Women" had a less superficial one.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-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 enjoyed the first half of the book, but not the 2nd half with Marmee's voice/chapters. Geraldine Brooks is a great author and she did her homework when writing this book.