"Little Women" by Louisa M Alcott

Date: 20 February 2010 16:38:33

I still haven't got my holiday photos up on flickr, but will try and do that later to share a flavour of Venice with you. What I can do though is talk about the stuff I read. As many of you know my speed at getting through books-for-fun (as opposed to books-for-work-or-study) is not dissimilar to the speed of an arthritic tortoise (despite the best efforts of my book group). However, being on holiday meant that I was actually able to read not just 1, not just 2, but 3 whole books! (well, 2.5 really as I'd already started one before we left, but this is still uber-impressive for me). I'll do them one post at a time, as I can't figure out how to insert more than one picture at a time (I know I can do it from flickr, but these pictures from my computer are defeating me).

So, "Little Women" by Louisa M Alcott. This was our last book group book (though as they met to discuss it while I was in Venice I didn't feel too guilty about not finishing it in time for the meeting. At least I finished it. In fact, at least I started it, which is more than can be said for the last book!). It is of course a classic of 19th century fiction, and I gather from the email exchange after the book group met that it raised a bit of a "feminine or feminist" discussion. I had not read it before, but had seen the film about 10 years ago (the one with Susan Sarandon as Marmee and Winona Ryder as Jo) so knew the story, and to be honest I think that helped. It helped in a different way to how it helps to know the story before reading Dickens - with Dickens I find having seen a film or costume drama or play first so I know what's happening and who's who helps me plough through what can be quite dense and rich writing. Without that knowledge I find Dickens a bit of a struggle to be honest. With "Little Women" the writing wasn't dense or rich, but I did find it a bit twee, and might have given up if I wasn't already aware that, although twee, it *was* a good story. It is the story, if you don't know, of the March family whose father is off serving in the American Civil War, so the mother (Marmee) and the 4 daughters have to get by without much of an income and worrying about the future. It describes the different characters of the girls and their various struggles - pretty Meg who hates not being able to afford new clothes, independent and boyish Jo who loves writing, simple-hearted Beth and young Amy - and the book ends with Meg about to get engaged and father just returned home after injury. The film covered the two books in the series, which in this country are printed as "Little Women" and "Good Wives", so I found it a bit dissatisfying in that it only went half-way from what I was expecting. It's very much of its time, but despite the tweeness I did cry a few times (I'm so easily manipulated!). Knowing the story, it's "Good Wives" which will really produce the waterworks though - will make sure I don't read it in public :)

[Edited: now even with separate posts it's not letting me "add media". Will come back and do the other two books later and hopefully the switching-on-and-off technical support method will be successful :) ]