March by Geraldine Brooks Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of March
Book Review: Disappointed
Summary: 2 Stars
I started out trying to like this book but I couldn't even finish it. I don't know how Ms. Brooks could take a high-minded chaplain, circa 1860, and turn him into an adulterer who "married" his minister-sister's wife out in a tryst in the pine-laden woods, just coming off doubts of whether he wanted to marry her at all. The marriage was thus born of blind passion, not of thoughtful love? The novel, to me, is just so inconsistent with the thoughtful, gentle original. I agree, Louisa May Alcott must be rolling in her grave. This book turns Mr. March into a man of the twenty-first century, dressing him with modern sensibilities. With all the research that the author is lauded for doing, why can't she seem to get it right on the morrays and morals of the time. She simply takes a historical situation and outfits it with characters that fit more aptly into the present. As for plot, I got half way through the book and still didn't know where it was going. And as for trying to put words in Emerson's and THoreau's mouth--well, I don't feel the stilted dialogue is consistent with what I know about these great writers and thinkers. Overall, I think the novel a desecration and completely out of step with Alcott's gentle and moral tale.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: Disappointing
Summary: 1 Stars
I am not going to create a long rehashing of the novel -- but I do want to voice my feelings about the hazards of anyone other than the author creating a sequel to a well-loved book. My interpretations of the characters of Marmee and Mr. March were and are very different from those of Miss Brooks. I object to her entire concept. In her afterword, the author states that her mother told her that no one could be such a goody-goody as Marmee -- how wrong she is. I have known many people who are not saints or " goody-goodies" but truly try to live the best lives possible and succeed admirably. Instead of tampereing with characters who are well-loved from a book that many hold dear, why does the author not creat her own story about the Civil War era and not try to capture a ready-made audience of another author?Book Review: Disappointing - 21st century writing attempting 19th century speech
Summary: 1 Stars
I was very disappointed in this book. I had a very good impression because of the various reviews and the Pulitzer Prize but find this book disappointing. March's actions do not align with the moral of the little women he raised and the high standards he holds in Alcott's Little Women. The language doesn't read like a 19th century speaker. It sounds very modern. Killer Angels is my standard for a well written civil war era book and this doesn't come close. Chamberlain's voice rings true. March's falls short. He rationalizes in a way a 20th or 21st century man would. I cannot recommend this book to anyone.Book Review: Disappointing book
Summary: 1 Stars
I had bad feelings from the very beginning because I dislike authors 'piggybacking' on other authors' characters, especially when the original author has died and can't defend him or herself. Beyond that, however, whether she had borrowed March from Alcott or not, this book was poorly-written and uninteresting. I equate it to a high school term paper. The characters were not well-developed, I absolutely couldn't stand March, and the whole story line had a such a contrived feeling that I could barely stand to read three pages a day. How could this book, then, win a Pulitzer Prize? The author had a good agent.