Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Little Women: Complete and Unabridged Edition

My neighborhood book club chose Little Women for our Mach 2020 read. I DNF'd it so fast that I gave myself whiplash. The heavy handed preachiness was a NOPE for me. Fast forward to March 2023. My classics book club chose this book. I decided to give it a second chance but let the audiobook narrator do the heavy lifting for me. What made it an interesting read (and discussion) this time around is that we all did some background research on Louisa May Alcott's life and how the book came to be written. Understanding that LMA never wanted to write Little Women but was forced by poverty to write a book that would sell, and put food on the table, opened my eyes to the hypocrisy of this book. Same for book two (Good Wives). Understanding that her publishers forced her to write an ending she despised, made for interesting reading. She basically gave her readers the middle finger when she refused to have Jo marry Laurie. What LMA really wanted was for Jo to remain an unapologetic "spinster," just like she was.

In conclusion, I still feel that Little Women (Book 1) is a heavy handed and preachy morality tale for girls that needs to stay in the 19th century. If I had daughters I would not let them read this book. Good Wives (Book 2) is a little better. There is SOME character development but thank heavens for audiobooks and being able to skip/speed through the awful portions, because there were a lot of them.

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bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

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lighthearted relaxing sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

The story was difficult to get into and focus on at times, especially in the beginning. It’s a very slow, descriptive story with long chapters that mainly discuss the girls’ day to day lives. The pacing was all over the place. The morals and preachy lessons every chapter were exhausting. I would skim at times when I got really bored especially with Meg’s chapters; I just was not vibing with the writing style at all.

Part 2 (which is technically Good Wives and not Little Women) is so much better! It’s the only reason I didn’t DNF and why I gave it 3.5 stars. The only thing that kept it from 4 or more stars was part 1 and Jo’s ending.

I suppose I understand why it’s a classic but for me it doesn’t come anywhere close to the likes of Austen, Eliot, or the Brontë sisters. Very rare instance where the movie is better than the book. I was a little disappointed to discover some of my favorite quotes from the Gerwig movie aren’t in the book at all. Although Alcott did have some good prose at times! Kind of glad I read it if only to say that I did and cross it off my classics TBR.

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armontheroad's review against another edition

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emotional funny slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

This was an alright classic! I really liked the characters and I think it was rather funny at times. However, all the people recommending this as a ‘fun, lighthearted’ read without mentioning the racism, multiple child deaths, and ableism are not it. I do not care enough to read volume two, especially since Louie Alcott specifically stated they did not want to write it but were forced to. Will most likely re-read this every now and then!

CW: G-slur, all other content warnings are listed below.

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dorothysbookshelf's review against another edition

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funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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merricatblackwood's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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