Little Women

Rating:
Summary: For All Times
Review: Buy this book now because in a year or two you'll want to read it again -- no matter what your age.

I think I read Little Women first as a preteen. I identified strongly, probably like most girls, with the protagonist Jo, a tomboy who struggles to find her place in society. But as the years have worn on, I have found myself returning again and again to this enthralling story. The book has an emotional impact unlike any other I have encountered.

The girls' antics will make you laugh; alternately, the book features two of the saddest scenes you will ever read. If you want to become engrossed in another world, affected profoundly not just by the fictional girls but by the knowledge that this book is semi-autobiographical for Louisa May Alcott, read it. Little Women is wholesome but not boring; classic but not hard to read; better than all of the Little Women movies combined. At the heart of the book is pure love and goodness -- what we all long for in life.

Rating:
Summary: Just okay
Review: I really dont know what the hype is over this book. Its considered a classic, yet, it is boring reading. I didn't find any of the characters of any interest and the pace is slow.

Rating:
Summary: From "Little Women" to "Good Wives"
Review: Louisa May Alcott wrote many books, but "Little Women" retains a special place in the heart of American literature. Her warmly realistic stories, sense of comedy and tragedy, and insights into human nature make the romance, humor and sweet stories of "Little Women" come alive.

The four March girls -- practical Meg, rambunctious Jo, sweet Beth and childish artist Amy -- live in genteel poverty with their mother Marmee; their father is away in the Civil War. Despite having little money, the girls keep their spirits up with writing, gardening, homemade plays, and the occasional romp with wealthier pals. Their pal, "poor little rich boy" Laurie, joins in and becomes their adoptive brother, as the girls deal with Meg's first romance, Beth's life-threatening illness, and fears for their father's safety.

The second half of the book opens with Meg's wedding (if not to the man of her dreams, then to the man she loves). Things rapidly go awry after the wedding, when Laurie admits his true feelings to Jo -- only to be rejected. Distraught, he leaves; Amy also leaves on a trip to Europe with a picky old relative. Despite the deterioration of Beth's health, Jo makes her way into a job as a governess, seeking to put her treasured writing into print -- and finds her destiny as well.

There's a clearly autobiographical tone to "Little Women." Not surprising -- the March girls really are like the girls next door. Alcott wrote them with flaws and strengths, and their misadventures -- like Amy's embarrassing problem with her huge lobster -- have the feeling of authenticity. How much of it is real? A passage late in the book portrays Alcott -- in the form of Jo -- "scribbling" down the book itself, and getting it published because it feels so real and true.

Sure, usually classics are hard to read. But "Little Women" is mainly daunting because of its length; the actual stories flow nicely and smoothly. Don't think it's just a book for teenage girls, either -- adults and boys can appreciate it as well. There's something for everyone: drama, romance, humor, sad and happy endings alike.

Alcott's writing itself is nicely detailed. While certain items are no longer in common use (what IS a charabanc anyway?), Alcott's stories themselves seem very fresh and could easily be seen in a modern home. And as nauseating as "heartwarming" stories sometimes are, these definitely qualify. Sometimes, especially in the beginning, Alcott is a bit too preachy and hamhanded. But her touch becomes defter as she writes on.

Jo is the quintessential tomboy, and the best character in the book: rough, gawky, fun-loving, impulsive, with a love of literature and a mouth that is slightly too big. Meg's love of luxury adds a flaw to the "perfect little homemaker" image, and Beth just avoids being shown as too saintly. Amy is an annoying little brat throughout much of the first half of the book, but by her teens she's almost as good as Jo.

"Little Women" is one of those rare classic novels that is still relevant, funny, fresh and heartbreaking today. Louisa May Alcott's best-known novel is a magnificent achievement.

Rating:
Summary: Little Women
Review: MY SYNOPSIS:
The Marchs are the picture of a happy home: with conscientious and righteous Father, who is serving the Union cause as a chaplain, and wise and generous Marmee, who watches over her girls with love and care. Then there's the little women: sixteen-year-old Meg, who is pretty and mature; free-spirited, fiery Jo, who is determined to become a famous writer; timid Beth, who always puts others before herself; and young Amy with her artistic tastes and airs. There's also the March's lonely neighbor, Theodre Laurence (Laurie), who befriends the girls and supplements their experiences and family.


MY REVIEW: This heartwarming story about four sisters growing up during the Civil War visits upon themes of family, transcendence, sincerity, and duty. In a novel based upon her own family and experiences, Louisa May Alcott chronicles the first of three books about the March family, which is the universal story of the family unit and the self in the face of the world: how each lives and how happiness prevails in morality and truth.

Alcott's novel caters to all audiences, regardless of age and gender. As a children's book, as it is often placed, Little Women serves as a record of the coming-of-age of four girls as: Amy bears injustice at school, Jo struggles with personal, literary, and romantic issues, Meg faces society and Vanity Fair, and as life threats Beth's solitude. As a piece of classic literature, Little Women serves testimony to the emerging conscious and individual. It's impossible to resist the gentle lessons and the charming, dimensional characters that stimulate the reader to the same awakening and discovery of value.

Rating:
Summary: One of my favourite books!
Review: The story of four sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy is one that will forever be a part of American liteary culture. Set in the mid-1800s in a small New England town, Louisa May Alcott invites the reader into the home of these four sisters as they deal with the struggles of having a father off fighting in the Civil War, having to mature and grow up supporting themselves with little jobs here and there and finding out about the joys of love, children, and the sadness of death. This coming of age novel follows Jo mainly as she is faced with the day to day choices that will help her sisters and mother make it through the harsh New England winters. My nana gave this book to me and I hope to continue on the tradtion of passing this book on. It's a wonderful book to be shared by mothers and daughter and granddaughters alike since it shows the true spirit of women.

Rating:
Summary: Little Women Leave Big Impact
Review: The story of four sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy is one that will forever be a part of American liteary culture. Set in the mid-1800s in a small New England town, Louisa May Alcott invites the reader into the home of these four sisters as they deal with the struggles of having a father off fighting in the Civil War, having to mature and grow up supporting themselves with little jobs here and there and finding out about the joys of love, children, and the sadness of death. This coming of age novel follows Jo mainly as she is faced with the day to day choices that will help her sisters and mother make it through the harsh New England winters. My nana gave this book to me and I hope to continue on the tradtion of passing this book on. It's a wonderful book to be shared by mothers and daughter and granddaughters alike since it shows the true spirit of women.