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The original edition of Little Women had two parts, the second part later came to be published separately and given the title Good Wives. The version I have read and am reviewing includes the second part and thus also Good Wives. Good Wives commences with chapter 24 and concludes with chapter 47, the final chapter of the book.
I definitely prefer Little Women over Good Wives. Since I am rating the entire book including both parts, I can only give it three stars, which means nevertheless that I do like it.
I like the simplicity of Louisa May Alcott´s prose. She states, “I like good strong words that mean something…” Her own words sum up succinctly how she writes. Secondly, the thoughts and sentiments expressed are wise and have a resonance that all will recognize. Such declarations of truths and morals are valuable and didactic but become preachy when used to excess. Unfortunately, this is what happens all too often here. Morals illustrated through behavior of the characters are more effective than those that are delivered through speech. Both methods are used in the novel. Put together, the sum total becomes too much. The dicta delivered become repetitive.
The novel is loosely biographical. Jo March, the second oldest of the four March sisters, mirrors the author. It is interesting to note that when Jo tries to get her stories published, they are criticized for being morality lessons, and thus in the novel, the author tackles head on this criticism. Writing sensational stories was not to her taste, but middle roads can be taken; one needs not choose only between two extremes.
Little Women focuses upon the four March children when they are young. Their father, a scholar and a minister, is serving as a chaplain with the Union Army. The story is set primarily in Boston during and immediately after the Civil War. The family has lost its former wealth when their father helped a family in debt. The story begins when the four sisters are respectively sixteen, fifteen, thirteen and twelve year of age. In Good Wives they have become young women—twenty, nineteen, seventeen and sixteen. In the former we observe a close-knit family led by a caring, loving and wise mother. There is no denying that the strong sense of family is refreshing. The girls are not saints, but this simply makes them human and characters one can easily relate to. The mother, on the other hand, has not a single fault. In my view, she need not have been drawn as a paragon. In Good Wives the focus shifts from young girls learning good behavior from their mother to young women taking wing, leaving home and ultimately finding a husband. The girls’ choice of husbands never rang true to me. I could reason with my head that each one’s respective choice could make sense, but I never felt the strength of budding love in the couples’ relationships. In Good Wives there are scenes abroad. The foreign settings are not well captured.
The four sisters’ respective personalities are extremely well drawn. All four of them come alive. They are not drawn in black and white.
While the book is primarily about these four sisters, their mother and later their husbands, there is also a very wealthy neighbor that lives next door. This is Mr. Laurence and his grandson, Laurie Lawrence. Laurie is sixteen at the start of the novel. The two Laurences run as a steady thread through the entire novel. Without them, the whole novel would fall flat. These two figures I liked a lot! Their role is however more captivating in little Women than in Good Wives.
There is humor written into the lines. There is a parrot that says the funniest things, but this is just one example of many. The humor is not blatant; you must think.
Barbara Caruso narrates the audiobook. I have given her performance a four star rating. The reading is clear, easy to follow and not over-dramatized. I liked it a lot.
**********************
Hospital Sketches 3 stars
Little Women 3 stars
I definitely prefer Little Women over Good Wives. Since I am rating the entire book including both parts, I can only give it three stars, which means nevertheless that I do like it.
I like the simplicity of Louisa May Alcott´s prose. She states, “I like good strong words that mean something…” Her own words sum up succinctly how she writes. Secondly, the thoughts and sentiments expressed are wise and have a resonance that all will recognize. Such declarations of truths and morals are valuable and didactic but become preachy when used to excess. Unfortunately, this is what happens all too often here. Morals illustrated through behavior of the characters are more effective than those that are delivered through speech. Both methods are used in the novel. Put together, the sum total becomes too much. The dicta delivered become repetitive.
The novel is loosely biographical. Jo March, the second oldest of the four March sisters, mirrors the author. It is interesting to note that when Jo tries to get her stories published, they are criticized for being morality lessons, and thus in the novel, the author tackles head on this criticism. Writing sensational stories was not to her taste, but middle roads can be taken; one needs not choose only between two extremes.
Little Women focuses upon the four March children when they are young. Their father, a scholar and a minister, is serving as a chaplain with the Union Army. The story is set primarily in Boston during and immediately after the Civil War. The family has lost its former wealth when their father helped a family in debt. The story begins when the four sisters are respectively sixteen, fifteen, thirteen and twelve year of age. In Good Wives they have become young women—twenty, nineteen, seventeen and sixteen. In the former we observe a close-knit family led by a caring, loving and wise mother. There is no denying that the strong sense of family is refreshing. The girls are not saints, but this simply makes them human and characters one can easily relate to. The mother, on the other hand, has not a single fault. In my view, she need not have been drawn as a paragon. In Good Wives the focus shifts from young girls learning good behavior from their mother to young women taking wing, leaving home and ultimately finding a husband. The girls’ choice of husbands never rang true to me. I could reason with my head that each one’s respective choice could make sense, but I never felt the strength of budding love in the couples’ relationships. In Good Wives there are scenes abroad. The foreign settings are not well captured.
The four sisters’ respective personalities are extremely well drawn. All four of them come alive. They are not drawn in black and white.
While the book is primarily about these four sisters, their mother and later their husbands, there is also a very wealthy neighbor that lives next door. This is Mr. Laurence and his grandson, Laurie Lawrence. Laurie is sixteen at the start of the novel. The two Laurences run as a steady thread through the entire novel. Without them, the whole novel would fall flat. These two figures I liked a lot! Their role is however more captivating in little Women than in Good Wives.
There is humor written into the lines. There is a parrot that says the funniest things, but this is just one example of many. The humor is not blatant; you must think.
Barbara Caruso narrates the audiobook. I have given her performance a four star rating. The reading is clear, easy to follow and not over-dramatized. I liked it a lot.
**********************
Hospital Sketches 3 stars
Little Women 3 stars
