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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love when contemporary authors use a classic novel as a starting off point for a new story. If done well, a "spin-off" tale can make you rethink the original and give it new depths. Such is the case with Brooks' acclaimed novel "March," which tells the story of Mr. March, the absent father from Little Women. Brooks creates a thoroughly human man, one who is fallible and (mis)guided by personal feelings. Yes, he is learned and eloquent. But he is all too human and Brooks makes a wise and daring choice to make him so.
The first part of the novel is really about the Civil War, which is all interesting and whatever. But I believe that where the story really gains depth and emotion is in Part 2, where Marmee March comes to tend to him in hospital. The narrative shifts to her point of view. Through her, we see how miscommunication (or lack of communication) threatened the March marriage and changed the course of the family's lives together. It is also in this part of the novel that we realize that the real story is about the Marches as a couple, not simply individual characters.
The very best part of "March," however, is the conclusion, which is told from Mr. March's perspective once again. The timeline of the novel parallels that of Little Women, as Mr. March returns home to his family. Yet the joyous reunion of Little Women is replaced with a fragile and unsure detente in Brooks' hands.
In summary, this is a very good novel that anyone who has ever read or knows anything about Little Women must read.
The first part of the novel is really about the Civil War, which is all interesting and whatever. But I believe that where the story really gains depth and emotion is in Part 2, where Marmee March comes to tend to him in hospital. The narrative shifts to her point of view. Through her, we see how miscommunication (or lack of communication) threatened the March marriage and changed the course of the family's lives together. It is also in this part of the novel that we realize that the real story is about the Marches as a couple, not simply individual characters.
The very best part of "March," however, is the conclusion, which is told from Mr. March's perspective once again. The timeline of the novel parallels that of Little Women, as Mr. March returns home to his family. Yet the joyous reunion of Little Women is replaced with a fragile and unsure detente in Brooks' hands.
In summary, this is a very good novel that anyone who has ever read or knows anything about Little Women must read.
challenging
dark
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
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Finally got around to reading this...At times I found it powerful and was caught up in the story (usually my ultimate goal), but I also thought a number of moments rang false. The narrative was better when it wasn't trying to be consistent with a fact presented in Little Women, and I wonder if this connection was necessary at all. I'm still deciding whether I like the device used in this book of building on someone else's character and expanding it into a novel.
What a great way to start 2024! I loved this book. While Little Women glosses over much of Mr. March's wartime experience, this book seeks to fill in the gaps from his point of view. However, I strongly object to the inclusion of the premarital sex scene between him and Marmee. It does not seem true at all to either character and I prefer to think of them as Louisa May Alcott presents them, as highly virtuous and upstanding. I also appreciated seeing Mr. March wrestle with his own fallibility and his guilt over how he should or could have done things differently.
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
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:
Complicated
She's done it again. Brooks is such a phenomenal author, but she does like to rip your heart out. It will be another year or two before I have sufficiently recovered to read another of her books.
March focuses on the absent Mr. March from Little Women. Jumping around a bit to tell us about his young adulthood as a traveling salesman in the South, how he met Marmee, how he built and lost a fortune, the action primarily follows him during his year of service in the Union Army as a chaplain. The book does away with any romantic notions we may have had about the adult Marches, the work of an army chaplain, the men fighting on behalf of the Union, or the glory of fighting for freedom. It is visceral in its descriptions wartime amputations, lashings of slaves, and marriage.
I loved the book, but it does not provide a gentle landing.
March focuses on the absent Mr. March from Little Women. Jumping around a bit to tell us about his young adulthood as a traveling salesman in the South, how he met Marmee, how he built and lost a fortune, the action primarily follows him during his year of service in the Union Army as a chaplain. The book does away with any romantic notions we may have had about the adult Marches, the work of an army chaplain, the men fighting on behalf of the Union, or the glory of fighting for freedom. It is visceral in its descriptions wartime amputations, lashings of slaves, and marriage.
I loved the book, but it does not provide a gentle landing.
Aside from the fact that I trudged through the first 100 pages, this book was really very good. I know very little about the Civil War, so I enjoyed reading an account that was heavily researched but engaging. Not something I'd read twice (a small list to be sure, anyhow), but I'm glad I picked this title for a book discussion.