March by Geraldine Brooks (2006-01-31)

"March" exceeded my expectation. I have come to expect a superior read from Ms Brooks, her research intio the time period she is taking u s through is so well written that you do indeed feel "you were there". I look forward eagerly to my next excursion with Geraldine Brooks. In the meantime I felt that "March" put a fitting conclusion to the world of "Little Women".

After "A Year of Wonder" I had high expectations for this book. Unfortunatly I was a bit disappointed by the lack of complexity in the story. The author did a good job tying together the theme of Little Women and this tale, I guess I was just expecting a bit more character developement and a more interesting story line. She touched on other relationships but didn't, in my opinion, develope any of them enough.

Interesting, a very fast read, but not a book I'll keep around to read again.

This book is extremely imaginative, exploring Little Women from the absent father's perspective. However, on that note, it can be said that this novel is not going to be everyones' cup of tea. Primarily, one must be interested in our nations' history and have at least a passing interest in classic literature and some familiarity with the novel Little Women by Ms. Alcott or some of the subtilities of March will be lost on the reader.

Having said all that and the reader meeting said conditions, I believe that one might find this an engaging and enjoyable pursuit for a rainy weekend.

I was thoroughly invested in the characters and I learned a lot about the Civil War times. Since Little Women was one of my childhood favorites, I was of course eager to read about the mysterious Mr. March. The only disappointment I felt was that the book ended with Mr. March still feeling conflicted about being back at home.

A brilliant novel, beautifully crafted and written with delicacy. I'm amazed at how she managed to get the language of the day down so precisely!
It could well have been Louisa May Alcott herself writing in her own times.

The plot is detailed, nuanced and enriched by fascinating characters that live through the language woven throughout by the author. The familiar issues generally known about the Civil War are expanded, providing very human, often shocking information that shatters any semblance of the nobility in war. Diverse points of view, accompanied by dialogue and action that clarifies, unfolds the story. Beautifully written.

Having found Little Women stiflingly sugary when I read it about 55 years ago, this parallel narrative is hair raising and enlightening in every way. In light of current resurgence in the matter of Black Lives, there is much perceptive information about the conditions of the Civil War, demonstrated by the contrasting descriptions of blacks by Marmee in DC, vs March's compassionate work among the Contraband and enslaved people in general. The disastrous involvement of the March fortune with John Brown is fascinating and little known (to me) history.
The afterword tells us such important details of how Geraldine Brooks created her narrative, and the accurate or creative sources of the characters she connects to Mr March. Perhaps worth reading this first!

I really enjoyed this book. It was an interesting take on the Civil War. The writing was beautiful. She dealt with the different perspectives very well. I was fascinated by the connections to Little Women, the Alcotts, and other 19th-century literary figures.

Overall I enjoyed the book, however, as a die-hard Louisa May Alcott and Little Women fan, some of the book bothered me. I thought the author took too much from Bronson Alcott's life to give to Mr. March. C'mon, Emerson and Thoreau are never mentioned in Little Women...don't you think if they really were neighbors (I know they were the Alcott's neighbors) but LMA didn't put them in Little Women at all. Nor did the Marches have a cubby for the underground railroad. I was like thinking - what about the Laurence's? And she finally put some reference to them when Mr. March was in the hospital. I can see why Ms. Brooks used those characters, as well as John Brown.

This may sound small, but the main thing that bothered me was that she made "Marmee's" name a "nickname" used from the character's real name. I was always under the impression that Marmee was spelled that way to give the reader an impression of how Mommy sounded with a New England accent! I think it would be troubling if the Alcott daughters called their mother by a nickname she earned when she was young. Seriously!

The book was written in the style of LMA and had some very interesting parts. I think I may have enjoyed it more if I wasn't such a big fan of Little Women.

Solid and well written, March made me extraordinarily grateful that I had coincidentally recently read Little Women with my kids. This was thought provoking particularly given the current racial and political tension in the U.S.

The author has a wonderful way with words and the English language. Very descriptive. You really got a sense of how the Civil War affected the nation. I especially liked Mr. March's take...I read Little Women when I was a young girl and Jo was always my heroine. Mr. March is now my hero. Great read! My book club loved it, without exception.

Geraldine Brooks' March is a wonderful novel--Brooks takes the fictional father from Little Women, Mr. March and weaves a terrific tale. March has left his family to serve in the Civil War, and he tells a story quite different from that he tells to the women at home, leaving out details to spare them heartbreak or horror, but the reader gets it all. The ugly details of the war, battle and the attempts at healing the wounded, the story of Mr. March before meeting Marmee, their courtship and marriage, are all included in March and compose a compelling tale. Brooks writes marvelously, giving us an evocative and moving novel. Enjoy.

I love everything Ms Brooks has done. This was an excellent story and an intersting look at aspects of the Civil war I have never considered. I probably should have reread Little Women before I read this - It's been decades since I read it, and I feel I missed things that wouls have enriched the story.

I thought the premise interesting, and I am glad I read this book. It was in some respects a satisfying read. I had physical reactions to reading the cruelties of the slave existence, and I found the character of March to be at times foolish and or obtuse, enough so, that I would emit an audible groan. The writing drew me into the story and at times threw me out of it. My reason for giving it 3 stars.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It made the sadness of the Civil War come to life. There were thing about the peoples of the North and South that I never knew. My great grandfather was a part of the Undergound Railroad.

So much for reading between the lines. Geraldine Brooks brings to life the father of the Little Women. We didn't know much about him but now we can clearly see his role in his family. Hidden between the lines of his letters is the true story of his year in the trenches of war. Now we know the real story!

A provocative work that caused me to revisit Little Women, a book that I loved in my childhood. The connections betwwen the two works became clear, and I loved how Brooks developed them. My only disappointed was not with March, but with Little Women. The charm that I recalled the book had, with the perspective of adulthood, turned to saccharine. Perhaps it still appeals to the young, but it is best that readers of March keep their existing memories of Little Women and not try to refresh them. It is not necessary to do so to enjoy March,

This book imagines the life of Mr. March, father of the March girls from Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women." For me, there was a disconnect between the father/husband that the March girls are always writing to and talking about and the character portrayed in this book. If I was going to write this story, I would have written more about the Civil War experience as a father and husband. and weave in references to the famous and beloved "Little Women" characters. This character does not touch the reader as Louisa's did. It just did not ring true for me, and I would venture to say that it wouldn't ring true to Louisa either. A good idea not well realized.

While not an upbeat book, MARCH offers an insight into an aspect of the American Civil War that many books do not address about this time period. The insight from what emanicipation did to the slaves-- the do-gooder's view and the the slaves perspective. Has an interesting portrayal of John Brown and the characters in LITTLE WOMEN. You do not have to have read LITTLE WOMEN to understand this book.

This has become my all-time favorite book club "read". The connection of

this book with the women from "Little Women" helps bring a realism to this novel that helps transcends it from being "just another Civil War novel." The story moves quickly and covers a lot of scenes, lives, and emotions in about 300-pages. It was sad to have the book end because I wanted to see what was going to come next (although the book does have a tight ending). I passed the book along to a friend who read it who then passed it along to another friend who read it and now their book club has decided to make it one of their book selections. I HIGHLY recommend this book.

I liked that Brooks attempted to give a backstory to one of the most beloved children's book. Few women in my circle of readers have failed to read "Little Women". "March" would stand alone as a good story if the reader. That said, the suppositions made by Brooks are well thought out and satisfying. Marmee and Aunt March have interesting backstories.

I liked that Brooks attempted to give a backstory to one of the most beloved children's book. Few women in my circle of readers have failed to read "Little Women". "March" would stand alone as a good story if the reader. That said, the suppositions made by Brooks are well thought out and satisfying. Marmee and Aunt March have interesting backstories.

I really enjoyed this book. A real different look at the Civil War. Things that you don't really think about probably really happened. I recommend this book especially, though not exclusively, to Little Women fans.

Imaginative, thoughtful, and yet briskly paced novel dealing with the issues of slavery, and war. In spite of the deep topic, it is not overly demanding of the reader. It gives a good sense of the New England philosophers movement - Thoreau, Emerson, etc., who appear as peripheral characters.

March is written in old american, I find the language fun, and like looking up the meanings on the dictionary.
Story construction is interesting.
Civil war in america was an interesting time.
The way people can be so cruel to each other is saddening, but looking at recent history, this facet of human behavour has not altered much.

Arrived in good order. Book was very interesting and a good description of Civil War and family separation and what happens when one member of the family is in the war. Financial as well as emotional struggles, well presented by Ms Brooks.

I did not like the descriptive sex. It could have been implied with the same result. I thought the book was a brilliant idea, creating a very interesting character, always with an historical background, from a person who had a very peripheral role in the original "Little Women".

I really liked the historical setting of the book, about abolition of slavery about which I knew very little in detail.

I read this in simultaneously with Scatter the Bones: Jesmyn Ward and The Help: Kathryn Stockett and it was a perfect combination (for me). Geraldine Brooks has a wonderful ability to involve her readers at a personal level. Like most I am familiar with the historical contexts of her novels, but her ability to bring her characters to life within their set historical framework makes this, as with all her other novels, an excellent read.

While Geraldine Brooks is an excellent writer, she fails to live up to her potential with this book. The main character is an insufferable twit who is pc to a fault. Unfortunately, March is the focus of the novel. I soon grew tired of him but kept reading because this was my book club's choice. The first five pages were beautifully written so I had high hopes. The book did pick up when the story shifted away from him at the end.

I am currently half way through her non-fiction book Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women. It's nicely written and I can't put it down. Perhaps non-fiction is her genre.