From the Bookshelf of Should have read classics…

Little Women (Little Women, #1)

Louisa May Alcott

Start date: November 1, 2013

Finish date: December 31, 2013

Discussion: Children's Group Read

Why we're reading this: This is the group read for the childrens classic. It runs for two months.
[close] This is the group read for the childrens classic. It runs for two months.

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What Members Thought

May 31, 2010 Misha rated it it was amazing

Shelves: literary-fiction, classics, 1001-books, favourites, 19th-century, made-into-a-movie-or-a-show, feminism-gender-sexuality

This book doesn't need a review. I read it when I was 10 and it has remained one of my favorites ever since. This tale of the March sisters will always stay with you.If this classic fails to touch you , then I don't think you are human! ...more

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May 16, 2011 Anne (Booklady) Molinarolo rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: great-literary-fiction, classics, permanent-library, young-adult, summer-2012

I am so glad and grateful that Louisa May Alcott was cajoled into writing a novel for girls. LITTLE WOMEN has stood the test of time since it was published as two separate works: “Little Women” and “Good Wives.” We readers are privy to a fictionalized story of the Alcott family to a certain extent, but yet a totally different household is described. Set in Massachusetts during and in the immediate years after the Civil War, Alcott introduces strong characters that have truly become beloved by ma I am so glad and grateful that Louisa May Alcott was cajoled into writing a novel for girls. LITTLE WOMEN has stood the test of time since it was published as two separate works: “Little Women” and “Good Wives.” We readers are privy to a fictionalized story of the Alcott family to a certain extent, but yet a totally different household is described. Set in Massachusetts during and in the immediate years after the Civil War, Alcott introduces strong characters that have truly become beloved by many a reader.

The four March girls – pragmatic Meg, free spirited Jo, sweet Beth, and artistic but childish Amy – live in genteel poverty with their devoted and strong Marmee. Mr. March is away, serving as a Chaplin in the Civil War. Despite their impoverished status, the girls are happy; they have one another. They work. They play: clever productions abound due to Jo’s pen and wild imagination. Music is gentle Beth’s contribution, while Amy loves beautiful things and tries to capture them in her art. Their circle becomes larger as the “good boy” next door shares their fun and gives what he can to the Marches and Teddy seals his status as the little women’s adoptive brother.

The second half of LITTLE WOMEN opens with Meg’s wedding. Mr. March is now home fully recovered from pneumonia that shook the sisters, but little Beth seems weaker from the life threatening illness that almost tumbled the March foundation. Even old Mr. Lawrence is changed. No one really sees Beth’s withering health and life goes along. Jo leaves home to work as a governess to a family friend. She has to put distance between her and “her boy.” She has plenty of time to write and soon finds her destiny. Amy is abroad traveling with her Aunts March and Carol and also meets her destiny.

I never tire reading this wonderful story. Miss Alcott is an exquisite writer. Some words may be outdated, but great writing is not. Her characterization rings true to each girl and Laurie, though I am still mystified why Alcott chose Marmee to get Meg’s first kiss after she was declared married to her groom. Amy was another surprise – I had always thought she was shallow and spoiled, but she is the character who underwent the most transformation. I finally liked all four sisters. Like so many of my favorite books, I put LITTLE WOMEN back upon my shelves feeling bittersweet that I finished it.
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Dec 25, 2009 Julia rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: american-literature, classics, 19th-century, comfy-lit

It's a pity I didn't read this book earlier as I'm quite sure that this would've been another childhood/youth favourite just like Anne of Green Gables or Else Ury's Nesthäkchen: Nesthäkchen, Bd.1, Nesthäkchen und ihre Puppen: Bd. 1. Still, it was a lovely read for the Christmas holidays and I really liked Alcott's description of the four sisters, so different in character from each other and still united in love. Each has to struggle with the faults of her character and succeeds through hard wor It's a pity I didn't read this book earlier as I'm quite sure that this would've been another childhood/youth favourite just like Anne of Green Gables or Else Ury's Nesthäkchen: Nesthäkchen, Bd.1, Nesthäkchen und ihre Puppen: Bd. 1. Still, it was a lovely read for the Christmas holidays and I really liked Alcott's description of the four sisters, so different in character from each other and still united in love. Each has to struggle with the faults of her character and succeeds through hard work and earnest effort - a very Puritan view towards the world and it's obvious that the author was inspired by the ideas of the transcendentalists, movement in which her father was very active. Some of these ideas - like the platonic friendship between men and women and the fact that also women may be proud of earning their own living seem strikingly modern, other values are of course a little bit outdated and Alcott's style might be too preachy for some contemporary reader. The ultimate goal in life seems to find a loving and caring partner, have a family and care for parents and children, not self-fulfillment - this idea vexed me a little bit at some points, while being typical for the era in which the work was written. Still, at the end the artistically talented Amy and the literary Jo - modelled clearly after the author herself - start to produce art again, which is better and more mature because of their deepened understanding of the world, and that quite satisfied me.

Despite of the time passed, one can still identify with the characters and the situations, and this is definitely an achievement. The plot may be simple, but it's well-wrought and kept me interested throughout the story and it had some interesting and touching twists and turns. Apparently a big part of the book has been written based on Alcott's own childhood and experiences and so she might be right when she says that true art needs to contain a certain amount of truth. I'm looking forward to reading Little Men and Jo's Boys to see how the destiny of the March sisters, their parents and husbands develops. ...more

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Sep 03, 2009 Krissy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed

Little Women has been on my to-read shelf for years. Finally, I thought I would read it after the Shining. Like in the TV show Friends. But I ended up reading the sequel to the Shining first. So I read Little Women after Misery. That works too. Interestingly, both feature main characters that are writers and write novels within the novel.

There is a lot of love and hate for this book. Now that I’ve read it- I get it. First the love. This is Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. That should be enough Little Women has been on my to-read shelf for years. Finally, I thought I would read it after the Shining. Like in the TV show Friends. But I ended up reading the sequel to the Shining first. So I read Little Women after Misery. That works too. Interestingly, both feature main characters that are writers and write novels within the novel.

There is a lot of love and hate for this book. Now that I’ve read it- I get it. First the love. This is Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. That should be enough said. It’s a classic. Tried and true. More than that though, the writing is beautiful and heartfelt. You can feel the love that family shares for one another. Even though its setting was over 150 years ago I could relate to the characters and their struggles.

Now the hate. My god for such little women this is a huge book. Painfully slow at times. But, when you think about the time period and the audience for which it was written, it makes sense. What else are they gonna do- put it down and go watch TV? Or milk a cow? Sew some socks? Read the cliff notes version? These past readers would probably choose to read a whale of a novel over their other possible past times.

I would probably get burned at the stake for suggesting this…but it might resonate for more modern readers if it was edited more thoroughly. For example, cut huge chapters that don’t seem to focus on plot or character development, chapters that focus more on “a day in the life” or little life lessons. Then- release those chapters individually as Little Women 1.1, 1.2 novellas. I know this is pointless. People can read Little Women for free on kindle. But I found myself thinking I would appreciate the culture, class and style of the book a lot more if it were a tad shorter. And offering the cut outs as “extras” would be a good way for someone who couldn’t get enough to extend their journey.

I both loved and hated this book. I likely will not read it again, but I am very glad that I read it. Side note- the movie version with Winona Ryder is amazing. I could only envision those actors as the characters in the novel. I felt it cut through a lot to the heart of the story.

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