Tengo sentimientos encontrados...
Por una parte, me gusta que la historia sea tan fluida y refleje la vida de cuatro mujeres en su cotidianidad.
Por otro, me aterra el mensaje moral implícito en la novela. Definitivamente, en este siglo XXI, el paradigma de la mujer ha cambiado y voy a chocar con las ideas que se defendían hace un par de siglos. Sin embargo, me sigue causando incomodidad pensar en que mucho de lo que se refleja en la novela se sigue defendiendo por las mujeres. Y, por supuesto, me causa incomodidad ver cómo era la forma de concebirse en esa época. En fin, que me gustó pero me causó un gran conflicto.

PD. Leyendo un poco sobre la autora pienso que tendríamos que reivindicar su obra en otros sentidos. De entrada, saber que escribió "mujercitas" por necesidad económica, pero que su obra es monumental y abarca otros géneros literarios. O quizás apreciar la pluma intrépida de la autora, la manera de elaborar cuatro personajes memorables e icónicos, pero tener presente que, a pesar de ser una sufragista del siglo XIX, varias de las ideas reflejadas en este libro son cuestionables. Finalmente, siempre es problemática la literatura de otras épocas por el golpe ideológico. Una conclusión tengo: me alegra no haber nacido en el siglo XIX.

i can tell this become my favorite classic book besides all classics books of the queen of classics books Jane Austin , and u can see a lot of classic word here :D

"Little Women" is one of my very favorite books. It was a book that my grandmother read to my mom, then she read to my sister and me. Barbara claims that it is the book that made her fall in love with reading. As a little girl, I remember wanting to be part of that large clan of women. Now, as
I reread this book to my own children, I am falling in love with these characters all over again.

if i were a 15 year old girl in 1870 then maybe this book would be a full five stars. hell, if part one was a standalone from part 2, it probably would've gotten 5 stars. but i join the hoard of people who are so disappointed in how this book resolves.

i can already hear the voices of people coming to this book's defense re:the publishing era and louisa being forced into changing the plot of certain things, but this was just a disappointment in the end and i felt like the women in part 2 weren't even the same as the first part. also part 2 was boring and i'm sad i spent THREE (!!!) weeks on this book just to feel like it was okay.

the 2019 movie redeemed a lot of it for me and one day i may reread this and research it better beforehand so i'm better prepared for what to expect but i was hoping this would blow me away and sadly i remain sitting

Louisa May Alcott, a transcendentalist feminist of ambivalent sexual orientation and the author of sensational novels, is asked by her publisher to write a book for girls; she's like eh, that sounds super lame, but she does it anyway, "in record time for money," and here we are.

What's startling about Little Women given the intro I just gave it, and the reason it worked then and still works now, is its absolute sincerity. There's not a trace of sarcasm in the entire thing; it remains a sweet-natured book full of nice people doing nice things.

Another way to say all that is, of course, "corny," and it is that too. You know how sometimes you re-read a beloved book as an adult and realize there was much more going on under the surface than you caught when you were younger? Well, this is not one of those books. It's utterly straight-forward.

The life lessons given here are basically still sound. Alcott recommends marrying for love; she's not against a woman being the primary breadwinner. In a very gentle, nonthreatening way, she's true to her feminism, and you'll find nothing truly objectionable for your child. A lot of God stuff, so your mileage may vary on that. These were probably the last women on earth to read shitty old Pilgrim's Progress.

Our lead character, Jo, and our semi-autobiographical one, bums me out a little; if you don't mind spoilers, here's why. Alcott never married. While there apparently was a Laurie for her, of sorts, there was not a Bhaer, and it shows: Bhaer is a totally unreal character. He's the husband equivalent of Steve Carrell describing boobs as sandbags in The 40-Year-Old Virgin.

There was a moment when Jo turned Laurie down and it looked like she was going to become a single author, and I really liked that, even before I learned that that was what Alcott actually did. But Alcott sortof copped out on her own life, I think, marrying Jo off to this neutered Casaubon, and it stuck in my throat a bit.

Little Women has neither subtlety nor malice; it succeeds purely because of Louisa May Alcott's sheer charisma. It was, is and probably always will be a very pleasant book.

این ۴امتیاز رو از دیدگاه دختر ۱۸ساله‌ی درونم به این کتاب میدم چون ��اید ۱۸سالگی این کتاب رو میخوندم

I'm definitely a victim of modern society when I find this book slow. Had I read it in its day (or even as a youth) it would probably be fantastic, but as it is I'm finding the life lessons saturated in every chapter a little much, not sweet. Which brings me to Beth. Back in the day sweet, mild, submissive were prime female qualities. Now I look at the picture of her on the front cover with her empty eyes and blank stares and she looks sweet in a mentally challenged way. And Jo who is endearing because she is quirky, clumsy, and bold while meaning well and therefore not prime marriage material show prime female qualities for today of intelligence, wit, and assertiveness. So you see, the characteristics that are supposed to endear me annoy me and the ones I'm supposed to find sympathy for, I relate to.

I couldn't finish the book. I tried, but it was too much like homework. Plus it bothers me that Jo rejects Laurie and that little diva Amy catches him with the shallow characteristics of her looks when he is way too good for her. Maybe I'm tainted with the image of Christian Bale in my head, but I still think Jo would have made such a better companion to him. So I didn't even have motivation to wade through boredom to read a conclusion that upset me.

WORDS AREN'T ENOUGH TO EXPRESS MY LOVE FOR THIS BOOK.

Crisp, gloomy days and this book: best combo ever.

That being said, I didn’t give it five stars, though I was adamant to add it to my favorite's shelf after reading the opening chapter. And it can be for the fact that I watched its movie beforehand and so the urge to know what happens next was nowhere to be found.

This book is all about sisterhood and their journey from being little girls to poise ladies. Each sister has unique traits and life tests them all with love and sorrow. But no matter what happens, their mother is always there for them to act as the guiding light in the dark path.

Reading this book made me long for sisters — I only have a younger brother — so that I can have quarrels and gossip sessions with them all day long. Though growing up, my brother was forced to give me company while I played with Barbies and Dollhouses. And sometimes I made him wear make-up and hairbands, too, when I got bored. Ah, those precious childhood memories ❤

1868?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!?! I don’t read things like this NOW!! The topics they broach. The candor. The AUDACITY.
Joe and Marmee are queens and I won’t hear a single slander on their names.
This is going down as one of the only classics that has both touched my heart and captured my curiosity. I was enthralled with this family of women while they just lived their daily lives. How did Louisa May Alcott do it?
Joe is transcendent. We don’t see characters like her in our modern times, much less in the 1800s. I’m so impressed and happy to have read this.
A favorite for sure.

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

after rereading this 57687 times, watching 2 of the movie adaptions AND reading a biography of the author i still think laurie & jo should have been endgame