September Group Read: March

[Katy]

Thought I would get the thread up and going as I am going to be out of the country for the next couple of weeks. I am rereading Little Women to prepare for reading March although I don't think that is a prerequisite. But it has been a while since I've read Little Women too.

Penguin books has a nice reading guide to go along with March available here: http://us.penguingroup.com/static/rgu...

That might help some of us to get the conversation started. Haven't read the book yet, so I can't tell you if I like it. But because I nominated the book I think I had better get on it. Talk to you all when I get back in September!

[Sheila , Supporting Chick]

I'm still waiting for my copy to arrive. I did read Little Women just last year for the first time, so I still have the details of that story in my mind pretty well. It will be interesting to see how Mr. March's story compares.

Kathy, have a great vacation, and "see" you in September!

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

I chose March for my in-person evening bookclub for next April but I may join in with this! I have a copy already.

[Jennifer W]

I had never read Little Women until I heard of this book and felt I should read LW first. It would be interesting if some of our participants had read only this one.

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

I've read Little Women many times but I do think March can be a stand-alone novel as Mr. March's part in Little Women is so very small overall. March seeks to fill that absence so to speak. Looking forward to it!

[Rebecca]

I am intrested in this read. I read CloudSplitter by Russell Banks so the part about John Brown and Harpers Ferry will be familiar.

[Susan]

I bought and read this when it first came out, but then passed the book on to friends. The author spoke at the 2007 Thoreau Society annual convention, and discussed the relationship between (real-life) Bronson Alcott and Thoreau and Emerson. I'm looking forward to revisiting the book next month; this time I'll use the library!

[Katy]

I'd like to find a nice book that discusses the relationship between Alcott, Thoreau and Emerson.

Just started March. The writing is well done, I can see the horrors of the Civil War that she describes in these first few chapters. A good contrast with the sweetness that you see in the beginning of Little Women.

[Rebecca]

Great comment Kathy. I was just thinking the same thing today. The chapter with Grace for me was horrific. March's tales definatley caught me off guard.

[Nancy]

Kathy - check on a book called "American Bloomsbury"which I think might be what you are looking for. I have a copy at home but I'm traveling at the moment and not all these wonderful posting features work on my phone!

[Katy]

Nancy (NE) wrote: "Kathy - check on a book called "American Bloomsbury"which I think might be what you are looking for. I have a copy at home but I'm traveling at the moment and not all these wonderful posting featur..."

That does look interesting. Thanks. I think I'll have to find a copy to read. I do notice it is available as an e-book so I might just have to get it now.

by Susan Cheever

[Katy]

I love how Brooks has used Thoreau and the Emersons as part of her story. She also describes the Civil War very realistically. I can see how this book won a Pulitzer.

[Katy]

Rebecca wrote: "Great comment Kathy. I was just thinking the same thing today. The chapter with Grace for me was horrific. March's tales definatley caught me off guard."

I'm assuming you are talking about (view spoiler)[ Grace's whipping. (hide spoiler)]. I agree I was unprepared for that too, but I think that is one of things that makes the story believable. The innocence of those not directly involved, and the cruelty of slavery even by those deemed good masters.

[Sheila , Supporting Chick]

I will admit I enjoyed this book, but I wonder what the author of Little Women, Louisa May Alcott would think of how her Mr. March was portrayed. (if she was still alive)

[Jennifer W]

Sheila, I wondered what she would think of Mrs. March. Mrs. March in March was presented as a firebrand, but in LW, she seemed so docile and perfect. I preferred her in March. :)

[Sheila , Supporting Chick]

Good point, Jennifer! I did also like the mother's character better in March, probably because she actually "was" a character! LOL In Little Women the mother was just so...perfect.

I wonder what the girls would have thought if they had known everything going on?

[Rebecca]

I finished and I wonder the same Sheila. I really enjoyed the book. However I am not quite sure the tie in with Brown was realistic? I was looking for some insight in the afterword but found nothing.
I thought the quote towards the end was a powerful statement by Marmee which still rings true today. I myself have been very angered over the treatment of our soliders. The countless stories of men struggling with PTSD. How many of them could not get the care needed and their families ended up suffering too.

I like that this book was taken from Mr. March's view. The conflict with him and Marmee at times. March seems to embrace her intellect and spit fire but at times he also seemed to be ashamed when she would speak.

I think Marmee was very harsh on Grace in the end. I thought it sad she had to work so hard to convince her that he never loved her although I know he really did. Did others think Grace did this out of respect for March? or did she do it to just let it go?

[Katy]

Jennifer W wrote: "Sheila, I wondered what she would think of Mrs. March. Mrs. March in March was presented as a firebrand, but in LW, she seemed so docile and perfect. I preferred her in March. :)"

I agree, but remember how Mrs. March explained to Jo about learning to control her temper and then explained that Mrs. March had quite a temper when she was younger also -- I am thinking that perhaps this is where Ms. Brooks got the idea of the "firebrand?"

[Katy]

Sheila wrote: "Good point, Jennifer! I did also like the mother's character better in March, probably because she actually "was" a character! LOL In Little Women the mother was just so...perfect.

I wonder wh..."

Perhaps because we see Mrs. March from her daughters' perspective in Little Women that she appears near perfect. In that book the point of view is almost from a childhood innocence, whereas in March we get the more realistic adult point of view.

I am loving all your comments. I think this book certainly making me think a bit harder on the reality of war and life and how different people have such different perspectives on the same situation.

[Sheila , Supporting Chick]

Rebecca wrote: "I think Marmee was very harsh on Grace in the end. I thought it sad she had to work so hard to convince her that he never loved her although I know he really did. Did others think Grace did this out of respect for March? or did she do it to just let it go? "

I think Grace did it out of respect, and also because she was a slave and she probably felt she "had to" say things like this. With her position in society, I don't think she would have allowed herself to say she loved him, or that he loved her.

[Renee]

The book March is actually written from Mr Marches diaries. It is a more accurate portray of the family then Louisa May's fictionilized books. Louisa wrote little women so that a lesson was learned in each chapter. This was done so the book would get published.

Brooks research also included letters March had written.

So she would have probably been nostaligic for her papa.


Sheila wrote: "I will admit I enjoyed this book, but I wonder what the author of Little Women, Louisa May Alcott would think of how her Mr. March was portrayed. (if she was still alive)"

[Katy]

Renee wrote: "The book March is actually written from Mr Marches diaries. It is a more accurate portray of the family then Louisa May's fictionilized books. Louisa wrote little women so that a lesson was learned..."

I am unfamiliar with these diaries you are talking about. Could you give a URL or link to them? Or are you referring to Louisa May Alcott's father's diaries?

[Katy]

Renee wrote: "The book March is actually written from Mr Marches diaries. It is a more accurate portray of the family then Louisa May's fictionilized books. Louisa wrote little women so that a lesson was learned..."

I have answered my own question. In the back of my copy of the book, Ms Brooks has written an Afterword that I had not read yet. I read it last night and it discusses what she used in her research, and how she took liberty from her sources to develop the story. I also have "An Introduction to March," and "A Conversation with Geraldine Brooks." All are worth reading.

I am just on Part II of the book, and should finish in a couple of days. I don't think skipping to the back information has hurt my read any.

[Sheila , Supporting Chick]

The added material in the back does say though that "The Mr. March of Little Women departs from Bronson Alcott's biography in many important respects. Bronson was an educator, not a minister of religion...Also since Bronson was already sixty-one when the Civil War broke out, he did not go south with the troops as does Mr. March, who is portrayed as more than a decade younger."

It also states that "the character of Grace Clement is entirely fictional"

And in the "A Conversation with Geraldine Brooks" section, it states "The idea of an attraction between March and Grace is entirely imagined and not at all suggested by Bronson Alcott's biography."

So I still wonder what Louisa May Alcott would think of having Mr. March (based on her own father) represented in the way that he is. Would she be appalled that her father is represented having a relationship with a slave?

[Katy]

Finished the book. Great read.

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

Nancy (NE) wrote: "Kathy - check on a book called "American Bloomsbury"which I think might be what you are looking for. I have a copy at home but I'm traveling at the moment and not all these wonderful posting featur..."

I read that several years ago, well worth the read Kathy!

[Nell]

I read this book 2 or 3 years ago with an in-person book group. Reading this discussion, I realize that I've forgotten some of the details so I found a copy and re-read the ending. Others have commented about how Marmee treated Grace. I'm struck by how kind Grace was to Marmee - offering her both solace and arranging a safe and comfortable place for her to stay. Marmee was upset to learn the truth from Grace but she accepted Grace's kindness and hospitality and followed Grace's advice for instilling a will to live in March. Grace saved March's life at least twice. Ultimately, it's Grace who sent March back to Marmee and the "little women". I think she did that because she loved him.

[Renee]

Yikes, I was referring to Alcotts father's diaries. I read some excerpts from the diaries at a book event where Brooks spoke.

Alcotts parents were very different from the people she wrote about in Little Women


Kathy wrote: "Renee wrote: "The book March is actually written from Mr Marches diaries. It is a more accurate portray of the family then Louisa May's fictionilized books. Louisa wrote little women so that a less..."

[Renee]

I have to remind myself that it's fiction when I read this type of book. I love them but they are not a biography.

My question to the group is How true to the real story does a book like this need to stay?

[Nell]

There is no real story. This is a novel based on a fictional character from another novel. Mr. March is mentioned in Little Women as the absent father away in the war, but does he appear? I can't remember if he arrives home at the end of Little Women - it's been decades since I read it. He seemed mostly a shadow. I loved what Brooks did creating his story.