777 pages

English language

Published April 6, 2014 by Puffin Books.

ISBN:
978-0-14-751401-1
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OCLC Number:
890604366

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4 stars (37 reviews)

Chronicles the joys and sorrows of the four March sisters as they grow into young ladies in nineteenth-century New England.

120 editions

reviewed Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (Little Women, #1)

Didn't hit for me

No rating

So. I didn't like this book very much, but this is a bit of an annoying review to write. The reasons why I don't like this book are not really something I can fault the author, as they're pretty much to be expected for a book written in this time period.

Shortly put, like many older examples of children's lit, I find Little Women to be overly didactic and twee, with the added difficulty of disagreeing with some of the moral lessons it tries to teach.

I can see the value it must have had in its time, as well as to some readers, in portraying girls with interesting inner lives and conflicts, who did not always entirely fit the gender norms. It was, in that sense, an interesting bit of insight in the time period. But as an adult modern reader I couldn't really connect with it.

Review of 'Little Women' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Ah, Little Women. I did not quite realize it when I read you many years ago, but I am the Jo of my family. Tomboyish, hot-tempered, geeky. Unladylike, swearing, opinionated. Clumsy--I would be the one to burn my dress, spill things on me, and not be asked to dance. I love books more than socializing. And I have three wonderful sisters.

This book is a charming return to my childhood, and I had the treat of viewing it through the lens of life experiences this time around. I didn't understand Jo's romantic choices when I was young, but I completely understand now. I would have done the same thing. I won't spoil you if you haven't read it already, but if you have, which Marsh sister are you?

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Subjects

  • Sisters
  • Young women
  • March family (Fictitious characters)
  • Fiction
  • Mothers and daughters

Places

  • New England

Lists