Mini Review: Little Women

Who hasn't read and loved Little Women by Louisa May Alcott? Well, I was surprised to discover that many of my friends and acquaintances are Alcott-virgins!

I first read the book when I was about seven. It was an abridged, picture book edition with the most wonderful illustrations that made it clear that the illustrator had a soft spot for Jo: She was drawn so that her hair was certainly not her "one beauty".

After I'd read the book at least a dozen times, I went on to read the unabridged edtion as well as the sequels Good Wives, Little Men and Jo's Boys.

I recently recommended it to a Tots to Teens reader who said she didn't "dare" read it because
classics were boring. Well, this one definitely is not. I happen to think everyone should read Little Women at least once in their lifetime. Which has got me wondering ... if you could pick five books (of anyy genre) that every man, woman and child had to read, what would they be?

Have a think about it. And in the meantime ...

 

Title: Little Women

Author: Louisa May Alcott

Main characters:
1. Meg March
2. Jo March
3. Beth March
4. Amy March
5. Laurie Lawrence
6. Marmee (Margaret March)

What it's All About:
Four sisters help their mother cope with life during the American civil war. Dad is a clergyman and is away, doing his bit for the war effort. The family is poor, but respected. Their next door neighbour is wealthy Mr Lawrence and his orphaned grandson, Laurie, who is soon befriended by the March sisters.

The book sees the sisters and Laurie get into all sorts of difficulties which they generally triumph over. The story starts with the girls being given copies of the bible for Christmas. They use it and John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress as guides to life. Surprisingly, there's nothing preachy about the book.

What I Like about It:
1. The fours sisters, who are so different in character and looks. (I have three older sisters, but I didn't identify with Amy! I wanted to be Jo - doesn't everyone?)
2. The friendship between Jo and Laurie that later develops into a very innocent and sweet romance.
3. Jo, of course. She wanted to be a writer. *I* want to be a writer! She had a bad temper, but she was brave, funny and loyal. I can see why Laurie was smitten. Not for too long though, damn him!
4. Hope, love and charity is the book's message, but not in an icky, holier-than-thou way. This is just a really warm, feel-good story that is high on my list of favourite comfort reads.

What I Dislike about It:
1. The way the Jo-Laurie relationship turns out.
2. Amy is a bit of a pain in the neck.

Other books I've Read by the Same Author:
Good Wives
Little Men
Jo's Boys

If You Like the Sound of This Book, You Should Try:
The Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. These books also feature a family who struggle financially but manage keep their spirits up despite their poverty and the many hardships that befall them. There are also four sisters.

Reviewed by Daphne Lee

Comments

[Lisa]

Hey,
i agree with you i fell in love with all the little women as soon as i opened the cover!! Keep up the good work

[Maya]

hi daphne,

how about Anne of Green Gables? i loved that book...in the same vein like Little Women and Little House on the Prairie.

[Pai]

I started reading Little Woman when I was eleven. I loved it immediately and have since been rereading that book and the sequels to it five years later! I know that practically everyone thinks Amy's annoying, but I actually found that I had a lot in common with her (at least, when i was still a little kid). The fights between her and Jo (especially the one where she burns Jo's book) would have been something I would do to my sister! Anyway, at least Amy's a lot nicer in the second book.

[Daphne]

I keep seeing a LMA book that's the sequel to something else ... Excuse me, I'm all fuzzy-headed at the mo ...

[Daphne]

Fatin:Yeah, i know I shld try reading LMA's other books. Arrrrghhhh ... there's just so little time ...

[fatin]

Oh, wow! I just love Little Women. I started reading it when I was 10, and I absolutely love it. Later, I read the sequels too! Little Women is a must read especially for girls. You should try and find other Louisa May Alcott's books like Eight Cousins and its sequel Rose Red(if I'm not mistaken with the title). Little Women was one of the books that attracted me to read classics.

[Erna]

Haha...am not that wonderfullah. I saw the BBC version of it and was intrigued enough to hunt it down in the library. It is a wonderful book, one I would put on any "books kids should read" list.

[Daphne]

Ahhhhhhh!!! Erna, you're the first person I've "met" in Malaysia (apart from my husband) who has read The Box of Delights!! Isn't it WONDERFUl. I think you're wonderful for having read it!! :-)

Bebe: It's Beth who's sickly. Meg is broody!! :-)

[bebe]

Alas! I haven't got around to reading Little Women yet :D I must've read an abridged version a long time ago, as "annoying Amy" jolted my memory, and also sickly Meg and tomboy Jo.

[Erna]

I love Little Women! At first, I couldn't quite get used to the Bauer romance but I loved the stories about the orphanage.

Yeah, Amy was soo irritating. I couldn't really relate to her at all.

Five books? Hardlah. But books I think everyone should read at least once in their lives are:

1. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carrol's other works are rather...disturbing but this book is enchanting in its whimsy.

2. The Hobbit - A grand tale and one I'd love to read to my kids. Bilbo will always be my favorite halfling. I especially like how Bilbo shows Gollum mercy and how he tries to do the right thing by giving up the Arkenstone.

3. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett.

4. Oliver Twist - The first book I remember making me cry.

5. To Kill A Mockingbird - Jem & Scout are my favourite children in fiction ever.

Other books/works I'd recommend for anyone's reading list:

The Name of the Rose - Umberto Eco
The Master & Margarita - Mikail Bulgakov
George Bernard Shaw's Plays Pleasant
All My Sons - Arthur Miller
A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
Anna Karenina - Tolstoy
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
The Phantom Tollbooth - Norton Juster
The Box of Delights - John Masefield
The Importance of Being Earnest - Oscar Wilde

Don't think I'll ever grow up as I much prefer childrens' books to adults.