March
by Geraldine Brooks
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Book Reviews of March
Book Review: Educational, perhaps not enjoyable
Summary: 3 Stars
I'd heard an interview with the author on public radio shortly after she was awarded the Pullitzer, and I finally remembered to find and read her book. I'd of course read Little Women as a child, but it wasn't a sacred text to me; I didn't think I'd be too disturbed by the "add-on".
I wish I could say I liked it, but I just didn't. Yes, it's very well researched and perhaps more riveting than a textbook about the Civil War, but I sincerely didn't care about the characters. March himself simply doesn't ring true as a human being. I echo some other reviews here by saying that no man "of religion" would have such an absence of spirituality and faith, and I was sincerely bothered by his continued disregard for the family he supposedly loved. How could he have complete adoration, compassion and empathy for the slaves and fighters he encountered and have almost no compassion or empathy for the family he left behind?
When we are introduced to the first person voice of Marmee, I initially thought it was funny that her perspective of their misfortunes was opposite to her husband's -- sort of "Heh. Spouses didn't communicate well back then either..." But it was only a few pages before I despised her. What a contemptable witch!
Between March's post-traumatic stress disorder and Marmee's selfishness, self-righteousness (and total lack of self-awareness), I stopped caring about either of them, and then the book finishes.
So. I've now read a book about the civil war, and learned a few more things from a fresh perspective. I'm very glad that I didn't have precious memories of Little Women, because I'm sure they would have been shredded by this book. But, I learned things, and I can say I read it.
Book Review: Flawed, but ultimately winning
Summary: 4 Stars
To be blunt, I thought that the first half of Geraldine Brooks' "March" was merely okay: not great, but not terrible enough to give up on either. The characters seemed a little too exaggerated to be real, the history seemed a little dubious in parts, and the Marmie that Mr. March is writing letters to differs greatly from the impression I have gotten from watching the "Little Women" movies (admittedly, I haven't read the book). But Brooks does manage to raise her novel above the sum of its parts, and to anyone who is thinking about reading it I would offer this piece of adice: take it with a grain of salt and you'll do fine. The conclusion is worth sticking around for, because once Marmie shows up in the flesh the book really begins to delve into the themes that were only hinted at in the earlier scenes. There is an unexpected reversal for a chapter or two where Marmie takes over the narration and upends some of what Mr. March had told us previously, an interesting twist that shows how even two people deeply in love with each other can misunderstand or misinterpret each other in ways that will have serious ramifications on their lives. I won't spoil it for you any further, so just know that it was mainly this aspect of the novel that made me give it four stars instead of three. The conclusion also deals with the pains of disillusionment, the struggle to atone for your mistakes, the need to pick up the pieces and move on with your life, and the importance of family. After a decent but flawed beginning the novel ends on a high note, and while I wouldn't recommend it to everyone I would point it out as a point-of-interest to fans of "Little Women", and of Geraldine Brooks' "Year of Wonders".Book Review: Disappointing
Summary: 3 Stars
I chose this book for my book club for several reasons. We have read and enjoyed "Little Women" and "Uncle Tom's Cabin," and I thought that "March" could add to the literary synergy of those books. Additionally, I enjoyed Brooks' "Year of Wonders." Finally, the fact that "March" won the Pulitzer made it seem like a pretty sure bet.
I was sadly disappointed. Overall, the novel lacks nuance and is bereft of the subtleties that make a story with great potential into one that lives up to that potential. First and foremost, the Grace plot is, at the same time, painfully contrived, historically inconsistent, and generally unbelievable. For example: Why didn't Grace teach the little girl to read? Why would Mr. March have sex with a slave? How did Grace become so refined and worldly? How could she make the Martin Luther King - like statement at the end? (Grace tells March, "Write sermons that will prepared your neighbors to accept a world where black and white may one day stand as equals.")
On the other hand, she gives a couple very enjoyable themes. The March marriage lacked basic communication that led to a series of outcomes that no one really wanted. Brooks demonstrates how to have a marriage without really knowing your spouse. Further, she successfully describes that many of our opinions and beliefs are based on a simplistic understanding of issues. When things seem to be clearly wrong or right, there is probably a lot of grey not being acknowledged.
This book is O.K. However, I would really like to know under which auspices, it was chosen for the Pulitzer Prize.
Book Review: I wanted to love it...(warning:spoilers)
Summary: 3 Stars
But sadly, Ms. Brooks shot wide of the mark with her portrayal of the March family in this novel. Little Women is perhaps my all-time favorite book, and I am an amateur Civil War historian. I was positively giddy at the prospect of reading March, fully expecting to enjoy every minute. I had been impressed with the author's Year of Wonders, and I am well acquainted with her husband's Confederates in the Attic. How could March be less than delicious?
Let me begin by saying that the social and political details of the Civil War are rendered very appropriately. A gifted writer, Brooks weaves period correct information into every sentence. She obviously spent a good deal of time investigating the Alcotts and their famous contemporaries. Her prose is mainly a pleasure to read, but the connection with Little Women is not believeable. I wish she'd left the Alcotts alone and just developed her own story. Are we really to believe that oh-so-proper Marmee was rolling in the woods with her husband to be before the wedding night? Or that they lost their fortune through speculation with the inflammatory John Brown? The notion of the March family attic as Underground Railway station also rings untrue.
Brooks liberally sprinkles quotes and details from Little Women throughout her text. Personally, I found this annoying and contrived. The young Miss Day tells her suitor that she wants to raise artists and authors, in a not so subtle forshadowing. Mr. March refers to Jo's writing as "chaotic, ink-blotted scrawls".
Dear readers, you may enjoy March most if you do not know Little Women well.
Book Review: Talented author - weak material
Summary: 3 Stars
As a kid, I read Little Women but it never held a special place on my bookshelf the way it seems to have for other people. I picked up March hoping for a good Civil War novel from one of my favorite journalists (Brooks wrote Foreign Correspondence - a book that made a huge impression on me in my early teens and helped me decide on a career in journalism) but with little interest in the way it tied back to Little Women.
March turned out to be a well-researched, solidly written effort examining the gap between intentions and actions, between blacks and whites and husband and wife. I turned the last page and didn't feel a thing - the story completely failed to move me in any way.
I failed to make a connection with Mr. March - he seemed like one of those sanctimonous people who are always running around telling people that they're making things better when they're actually complicating the situation and bullying those who get in their way. I felt his relationship with Grace, a house slave with complicated parentage, was artificial and unbelievably presented. To add to my frustration, she seemed to only pop up during key moments of the story when March needed a "slave conscience" to tell him how to feel.
It kills me to give Geraldine Brooks a bad review but I just don't understand why this was awarded a Pulitizer Prize - perhaps my expectations were too high after reading "My Name is Mary Sutter." I would certainly not dissuade a reader from picking up March but they should take the enormous hype surrounding the book with a grain of salt.