20
Finished Little Women by Louisa May Alcott for the A-Z Challenge (A for Alcott) and this also finishes the 20 books in 2009 challenge.
This book is a hard one to review. I wish I had read it when I was younger, because I think I would've loved it a lot more than I do now.
For one thing, Louisa May Alcott has a lot of opinions and she's not subtle in sharing them. You know how in Wall*E, there's a big message about consumerism and how, if you had a brain stem, you got the message? It's like that.
Louisa May's not a fan of alcohol. Or people who drink alcohol. Or people who have fun. Or people who aren't poor (except for Laurie).
Also, the characters aren't very realistic. I was talking to Jenny on AIM today and we were discussing it and while, yes, Beth is an absolute dose of perfection, Meg, Jo and Amy aren't exactly awful. It's basically three angels and an incarnation of Jesus in one house. (Seriously--much is made of their "faults," but I think anyone would be happy to have even one of those girls as children, but all four? Wow.)
That said, I did enjoy it. There's a lot in the book that wasn't in either of the movie versions I've seen, and it's hard not to like Jo.
And yes, I cried when Beth died.
Comments
I cried when Beth died. OMG..I'm forever ruined by TV. My first thought was when Joey on Friends had to put the book in the freezer when he got to that part.
Maybe. That would explain EVERYTHING. :)
Beause she doesn't describe what the kids are doing, you know? She basically just would say things like, "Jo and Laurie frolicked about." And I haven't been a kid in decades and I don't think I was really the frolicking sort.
I REMEMBER THAT! I was totally going to make a reference to it, too, but I forgot to.
What was the book that Rachel read instead? It was Stephen King, right? I know she watched the movie of Cujo...now I'm going to have to rewatch the whole series to find that stupid episode.
I'm pretty sure Alcott ruins almost every party in the book with some sort of morality issue, but I do love that novel. I read it many, many times when I was younger.