**spoiler alert** This isn't a review, so much as a note that this book has lived rent-free in my head since I first read it, when I was eight or nine**spoiler alert** This isn't a review, so much as a note that this book has lived rent-free in my head since I first read it, when I was eight or nine years old. Before I knew what fanfiction was, my sister and I were playing pretend - which then led to telling stories, when we were too old for that. And at one point we began typing them and printing them out.
"Let the curtain fall forever on the March family." Ahh, no, Ms. Alcott. I never let that curtain fall in my heart or my mind.
This books preaches a lot - more than Little Women or Little Men, I think. I associated it greatly with Rose in Bloom, as Jo Bhaer opposes everything Uncle Alec - and Rose - did (french novels, coffee, alcohol, corsets, dancing late into the evening). But she still manages to teach the now-grown children in more pleasant ways.
Emil, Nat, and Dan play the largest roles, as these three men go on adventures away from home while the others stay around, and all three have tumultuous times of it in some way or another. Demi and Tom are somewhat lackluster in comparison, which is strange since they, along with Nat and Dan, were the primary players in Little Men. I wish there were more Daisy, alas - all we learn from her in this one is that she loves Nat (while her mother doesn't approve), she doesn't like seeing women on stage lecturing/reciting (??), and her muffins are the best. Nan probably had the best role in all of it, studying to be a doctor and being the most sensible at all times. As a child, I remember being upset that she and Tommy didn't end up together, but as an adult I'm thanking the heavens that they did not. And I'm glad that Alcott was given the chance to keep a career-oriented woman in a starring role without marrying her off. I also loved in the chapter "Among the Maids" that there was discussion of what single women should do - and it was pointed out that single women aren't only old maids, but also widows. It gives a different perspective of a historical time - and it makes sense, as Louisa May Alcott was probably familiar with a great many widows in her time.
Anyway - fun reread. Probably not as magical to others as it is to me, but that's okay. The audiobook I listened to was good overall, though I didn't care for the Texas drawl given to Dan, or the accents provided for Mary and Prof. Bhaer. Everything else was top-notch - especially Jo and Nan. Reading-wise, I highly recommend the version with illustrations by Ruth Ives. Her artwork was absolutely perfect for the series....more
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