Someone I know claimed this no longer has value, that she would never recommend it because it's saccharine, has a religious agenda, and sends a bad message to girls that they should all be little domestic homebodies. I say she's wrong on all counts. This is high on my reread list along with Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, and a Tree Grows in Brooklyn--you could say that I'm pretty familiar with it.

Let's see--there's a heroine who not only writes, but is proud of the fact and makes a profit from it in a time that this was somewhat out-of-the-ordinary. Reading this, and especially knowing later that the main character is (for all practical purposes) Alcott herself, inspired me to write myself, and I haven't forgotten the writing lessons even today: don't let money cloud your vision, write for yourself first, take criticism, write what you know. Still wise even today. Also in this book, we see the perspective of a family coping with the financial and emotional strain of having a loved one away at war, something that is unfortunately all too relatable today. There's also (extraordinary in those times, common in ours)a platonic, though not uncomplicated, friendship between a man and a woman that is sort of a different kind of love story in a way and a powerful one at that. We see people getting married, but marriage is never portrayed as The Answer to Everything--many of the matches involve sacrifice and struggling. The girls, though good at heart, aren't a picture-perfect family of saints. They're flawed and human. The paragon Beth would seem the exception, but the message with her is more about how even the quietest among us can make an impact on the world--not parading her isolated life as an example, only her kindness.

I won't lie. Someone dies, there's a war and a father's away--so yes, God is mentioned: I think there's a few Pilgrim's Progress references in passing and there's some talk of faith at moments when the characters most need it. To contemporary readers, this may seem like a lot, but heavy-handed it is not. It was probably somewhat unusual for its time. The thought that everyone's relationship and perception of God could greatly vary, and that to be true to your religion was entirely non judgmental and meant being kind to other people and trying to make yourself better, not other people? The thought that each person must be allowed to deal with these feelings in their own time in their own way? Wacky stuff.

I admit it seems like a tough sell to today's kids, packaged in somewhat formal sounding-language, and bearing every indication of being literary broccoli, but this book is a classic for a reason. It might be a tough sell, but I don't think we should give up on trying to think of ways to do it anyway. What's inside still counts. Don't write it off.

*note* for those of you who liked this review, check out my review of the new The Little Women Cookbook by Jenne Bergstrom and Miko Osada.

n  n    “Love is a great beautifier.”n  n

The March Sisters.
Marmee.
Laurie.
Hannah.
Mr. Laurence.

What a beautiful journey. What a beautiful family. What a beautiful story.
The book is so simple that every time after i complete it, i wonder whether i missed something. It leaves me wanting to know what led Alcott to write this simple masterpiece.

We have Jo ; a tomboy and an author who has a temper and a quick tongue, although she works hard to control both.


We have Meg ; responsible and kind, has a small weakness for luxury and leisure, but the greater part of her is gentle, loving, and morally vigorous.


We have Beth ; quiet and very virtuous, and she does nothing but try to please others.


We have Amy ; an artist who adores visual beauty and has a weakness for pretty possessions.


We have Laurie ; charming, clever, and has a good heart.


This book is absolutely stunning in its simplicity. Alcott's writing is simple yet beautiful.

n  n    “I want to do something splendid...something heroic or wonderful that won't be forgotten after I'm dead. I don't know what, but I'm on the watch for it and mean to astonish you all someday.”n  n

That being said i do have a *ahem* problem with this book. Yep. You guessed it. Actually, I have two problems with this book:
1.  BETHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. NOOOOOOOOOO. I don't remember the last time i cried this much. It was absolutely heart-breaking. Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. no no no no no no. Plus the fact that some people call me Joey and this is my reaction every. single. time.
2. I don't give a damn. single. f about what you think. JO ENDS UP WITH LAURIE. LOU LOU ALCOTT DID NOT WRITE ANOTHER BOOK IN THIS SERIES ABOUT JO'S CHILDREN. GOT THAT? Good!
They are perfect for each other and they marry and they have kids and they live happily ever after. THIS IS MY
BOAT
SHIP
YACHT
SUBMARINE
CRUISE SHIP
TITANIC
HILL
OCEAN
WORLD
UNIVERSE
AND IF YOU TELL ME THESE TWO DON'T END TOGETHER YOU WILL HAVE A KNIFE IN YOUR BACK.

Look at me and tell me that these two don't end together!!!




And Jo loves you too. YESSSS. CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR WEDDING :)


I stan this. I love this book. I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH.

n  n    “I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.”n  n

See? Even Lou Lou Alcott is telling to to sail your own ship.......

P.S: Random person who is reading this : Please watch the 2019 movie adaptation.

Little Women remains to this day one of the books I have, curiously, read the most. And I'm not ashamed to state this. Why should I be? The notion that certain films or books are 'chick-lit' is one so alien to my mind. They may be geared at specific audiences mostly, but any strong work of art will appeal to any individual - or rather can appeal to any individual - person.

I don't know what it is about Little Women that made me so attracted to it. Perhaps it was the characterisation in the women in the book at the age of ten. Maybe something in my childish mind told me that independent and restrained elegance in female characters was something to be admired when it could be created in fiction - when I say restrained elegance I mean the wisdom of modesty. Something about the girls - Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy - appealed to me, something told me that they were well crafted characters.

Who can explain why any fictional book touches anyone? Who can define how we class things such as quality or beauty? It seems to be something subconscious, something picked up both culturally and individually. To me, Little Women was, and because of fond memories still is, a work of pure art. It has its rough patches no doubt but it kept drawing me back in with the tales of women discovering their paths in life and ultimately a romance. Some might find this an overly sympathetic or sappy book. I'm not here to say it isn't. But it touched me in a particular way and that is what I'm hear to state. Think of me as someone who has had an experience with a novel - for it is the nature of humanity to aim to share experience.

I'll always describe myself as a romantic at heart, in the sense that I'm an idealist, that I hold to ideals and to the belief that people can be better. Age and time have perhaps developed me into more of a cynical idealist but a part of me is strongly romantic deep down. It is the poetic side of me, the writer side of me, the side that wants to break free of conventions and try to find the words to explain what I so clumsily cannot. It is that part of me that was awakened by such literature as this - I must admit that delving into something like Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret might have stunted such development however.

Somewhere in a distant time a copy of Little Women floats. It has paper browned through the constant touching of grubby little fingers; pages crumpled and worn with regular turning (or heaven forbid - leaving it with the spine open on a chair); and there are unidentifiable food stains on several pages. It may not have been the greatest of copies, certainly nothing extraordinary about it, but it was my copy. And it was a copy well loved. And it was the extra love that added an aura of romance and a boundless love to it. And it is to this image, lost in the vortex of space and time, that I return to when I think of this novel.