Reviews
I really wanted to like this book. The premise of following the father of the Little Women when he was away at war seemed interesting. The problem is that he is insufferable, a proselytizing vegan abolitionist know-it-all. He is so concerned with his ideals and how others view him that he never considers how his choices affect other people, especially his ever-patient wife and their daughters. Despite my agreement with his ideals and philosophies, I couldn't learn to like him. Another annoyance is the way Mr. March and others make it seem like Mrs. March was a shrew whom Mr. March thankfully tamed. She's better than 12 of him put together. The only saving grace of this book is the late-novel switch to Mrs. March's voice and point-of-view. She's the more impressive and complicated character and the one I wish this book had really been about.
Interesting in terms of history and the fact that it tied in with the Little Women story - yet, this novel was missing something. I think because I wasn't smitten with the main figure, the at-war dad in LW, I just found this a bit of a struggle to get through quickly.
It would be interesting to read this along side Little Women to see the parallel storylines.
Set during the Civil War, March tells the story of Mr. March, the father of Meg, Jo, Bethm and Amy from the classic, Little Women. It's been quite a number of years since I've read Little Women, so unlike other reviewers, I didn't get caught up on differences in character interpretation. Caught up in abolitionist fervor, Mr. March enlists at the age of 39 and ventures south. He sees his share of combat as a chaplain and spends the later part of the novel haunted by those experiences. He is transferred to a non-combat position, stationed at a plantation home leased by a Northerner looking to make his fortune in cotton crops. There, he finds his calling to teach freed slaves to read and write. Abandoned by the Union Army, the platation, with its freed slaves and whites alike, becomes a target for the Rebels and their sympathizers. After enduring a brutal ambush, March eventually finds himself at a Union hospital fighting for his life. Geraldine Brooks is a talented writer and I have enjoyed everything I've read of hers. While I enjoyed this book, I liked Year of Wonders and People of the Book better. Well-written with familiar characters with a new spin, March is a worthy read.
