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Book 39: Little Women, Louisa May Alcott. 388pp
I've probably read this book a hundred times, albeit most of those readings would have been in my early teens. I think the last time I read it all through was when I was 17, and the impression I got then was far different from the early teen years impression.
Again reading it I see it in a bit of a new light. I can look back now and see how it had a quiet, steady, and powerful influence on my life - what choice wisdom is tucked into the story and the characters. Good morals, a desire to do what is right, and a cast of characters that is very true-to-life and leave examples worth following. I could always identify with Jo - saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, impatient, klutzy, stubborn, and prickly. At various stages I identified with the other girls as well, but not in the same way.
Reading it this time I found pleasant but a little strange at the same time due to the odd quaintness of a writing style I'm not really used to anymore. Louisa borders on being moralistic and preachy without quite preaching, uses the passive tense way more than she should, and yet there is still a lot of charm there. It's not a writing style I care to imitate myself, although I found oh-so-many terms and phrases as I read through that popped up in my diaries many a time.
But as far as the story goes, it's as solid as ever and I love it just as much. I bordered on tears many times and pretty much the last fourth of the book had the rain falling nicely. Couldn't help myself. I guess I am a sentimental old fool. Or I'm just pregnant.
I've probably read this book a hundred times, albeit most of those readings would have been in my early teens. I think the last time I read it all through was when I was 17, and the impression I got then was far different from the early teen years impression.
Again reading it I see it in a bit of a new light. I can look back now and see how it had a quiet, steady, and powerful influence on my life - what choice wisdom is tucked into the story and the characters. Good morals, a desire to do what is right, and a cast of characters that is very true-to-life and leave examples worth following. I could always identify with Jo - saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, impatient, klutzy, stubborn, and prickly. At various stages I identified with the other girls as well, but not in the same way.
Reading it this time I found pleasant but a little strange at the same time due to the odd quaintness of a writing style I'm not really used to anymore. Louisa borders on being moralistic and preachy without quite preaching, uses the passive tense way more than she should, and yet there is still a lot of charm there. It's not a writing style I care to imitate myself, although I found oh-so-many terms and phrases as I read through that popped up in my diaries many a time.
But as far as the story goes, it's as solid as ever and I love it just as much. I bordered on tears many times and pretty much the last fourth of the book had the rain falling nicely. Couldn't help myself. I guess I am a sentimental old fool. Or I'm just pregnant.
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Me, too. I always felt a connection with Jo that I did not feel with the other sisters. I am not sure if the people I know would see Jo in me or not, but I always felt like Jo on the inside. I love this book and also the sequel, Jo's Boys.
But then, I see myself in the character of Belle from Disney's Beauty and the Beast, too.
There's another Louisa May Alcott book called A Long Fatal Love Chase that is completely different from any of her other books. It is actually a suspense/Gothic romance novel, but though written before Little Women, it was rejected for being too sensational for the times. It was lost in someone's collection and finally published in 1995!
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I'm planning to read Little Men and Jo's Boys next while I'm at it. It's been a LONG time!
I've always wondered about "A Long Fatal Love Chase". The library has it, and I've waffled about whether I should get it or not. Have you actually read it? I'm assuming that by today's standards it's probably not as bad as it would have been regarded in those days.