Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

"Have regular hours for work and play; make each day both useful and pleasant, and prove that you understand the worth of time by employing it well.  Then youth will be delightful, old age will bring few regrets, and life become a beautiful success, in spite of poverty."
                 -Marmee's advice, from the novel

When I heard that PBS was airing a miniseries called "Little Women" as a part of Masterpiece Theater in May, I thought it would be interesting to read or reread the classic novel in June. Several book club members agreed it was a fine idea.

As I began to read I started to doubt whether I had read this book as a youth or had just seen the 1949 movie because much of the plot was unfamiliar and I surely did not realize how LONG it was! And one could not accuse Alcott of either being concise or of using a limited vocabulary! I thought I would never finish the novel so it definitely was not a page-turner. I will rate it a 3.

I was able to view the first Masterpiece showing but missed the second. Somehow my DVR did not record it. I thought the first part followed the book pretty well and I enjoyed it. I have just seen a trailer for a new film version, a modern retelling, to be released in September. I look forward to seeing it. Perhaps we can get a group together. I found out there was another movie done in 1994 and I will check the library for that one. I somehow think this is a story I will like better in movie form, a rare occurrence.

The "little women" of the novel are the March sisters: Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, ages 16 to 12, respectively, at the start of the novel. Each has her own unique personality and talents. All struggle with their poverty and at times, sibling rivalry. Their father, Mr. March, is away, involved in the Civil War, so the mother and sisters must carry on without him. Through it all Marmee (mother), tries to teach her girls how to be good people and how to achieve happiness. One reviewer of the book calls it a "morality tale." It does get pretty didactic, at times. (see the quote above) I think the overarching theme of the novel, though, is the importance of family and the power of love.

A good companion novel for Little Women is March by Geraldine Brooks. I read it 2 years ago and rated it a 5. I enjoyed it very much. Here is a description from Wikipedia:
March is a novel by Geraldine Brooks. It is a novel that retells Louisa May Alcott's novel Little Women from the point of view of Alcott's protagonists' absent father. Brooks has inserted the novel into the classic tale, revealing the events surrounding March's absence during the American Civil War in 1862. The novel won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for fiction.

My blog post for March is dated August 24, 2016, if you want to read it.
I will continue this post after our Page Turners meeting this week.
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Our meeting today was enjoyable with  a lovely spread of edibles. Interestingly a number of attendees had NOT read the book---perhaps the first time ever. Many had read it years ago or had seen the movie or PBS miniseries. Our group average rating was 3.4---kind of a middling reaction. We all agreed that the novel strongly illustrates women's independence and the love of family. Jo was the favorite "little woman" for several and a few of us thought Amy's transformation was a bit unbelievable. One person reminded us of The Pilgrim's Progress and how it was used in the novel as an underlying theme. We decided it would have been helpful to have read that classic ahead of time. A few people in the group felt we enjoyed Little Women more as a younger person. We are looking forward to seeing the updated film version when it is released in September, hopefully as a group.

The Mapmaker's Children by Sarah McCoy

"Listen carefully. Never be ashamed of our cause. I wish that my funeral attendants not be any of these policing Pharisees but the barefoot and impoverished slave children of Virginia. Hold them close to you, my dears. Be their angels. The abolishment of slavery does not end with me. You must carry on. I have given this same revelation to your living brothers by letter. You girls, Ruth, and little Ellen are the mothers of the next generation, which I pray will know no nation that places shackles on another man and stands on his back.....Promise me, daughters."
              -John Brown at the time of his execution, from the novel

A friend loaned me this book, knowing my love for historical fiction. It was an uncorrected proof which may have had something to do with my lack of enjoyment at first. By the middle of the novel I was more involved with the characters and ended up appreciating the story. I will rate it 3.5.

Sarah Brown is the daughter of John Brown, the abolitionist martyr of Harper's Ferry fame. She is a talented artist who discovers she can use her skills to make escape maps to help in the efforts of the Underground Railroad (UGRR).

Alternating with Sarah's story (1859) is that of Eden Anderson who, along with husband Jack, has just moved into an historic house in New Charlestown, WV in 2014.They soon make a few discoveries, like a secret space and a doll's head, that lead them to the conclusion that the home was a station on the UGRR.

The connection of Sarah and Eden seemed predictable but it was actually more intricate than I had thought. The reader really doesn't know all the who's who and what's what until near the end.

One of my favorite characters is Chloe, the dog "nanny." She is an 11-year-old going on 30---very perceptive for her age. I taught kids of that age for many years so I was impressed by her intelligence and maturity.

Recently I heard of a novel called Cloudsplitter by Russell Banks which apparently involves the story of John Brown as remembered by his son. Sounds like the perfect companion book for this one! I'm putting it on my longggg to-read list.