March by Geraldine Brooks
This is a fabulous book, and I enjoyed it more than I have any other book in a long time. Brooks takes a minor character from Louisa May Alcott's book Little Women and gives him a persona. Mr. March's experience at war while his little women are back home in Concord is much more realistic than Alcott's glancing comments about the civil war. Marmee is even given a more realistic personality in this book than the saint she is in Little Women.
Brooks weaves a terrific story on several levels. How could you not love a book that has Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau as characters? Even if you know nothing about the specifics of the Civil War, this book grips you as March explores what it means to have courage, to follow your principles, to have your eyes opened and your innocence lost. Of course, Brooks has the advantage of reflection on the time period that Alcott did not, but who cares?
The point of view shift in the second half of the book was a stroke of genius. Shifting from March's first person account to Marmee's point of view caught me off guard. However, I could not help but chuckle at how differently the two characters perceived the same events.
I also loved the way Brooks mimics 19th century prose. She is as delicate in her choice of words when she alludes to the sexual episodes as any self-respecting Victorian would have been.
I have read that Brooks' accounts are historical accurate and meticulously researched. I'll take the experts opinion on it. This I do know: the opening scene is very vivid, as is the description of the hospital in Washington where March ends up. (You know, Marmee gets the telegram and rushes to his side.)
On a literary level, the book is filled with techniques and allusions that make an English teacher salivate. I recommend this book to anyone who has the stomach for some rather graphic war scenes.
Brooks weaves a terrific story on several levels. How could you not love a book that has Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau as characters? Even if you know nothing about the specifics of the Civil War, this book grips you as March explores what it means to have courage, to follow your principles, to have your eyes opened and your innocence lost. Of course, Brooks has the advantage of reflection on the time period that Alcott did not, but who cares?
The point of view shift in the second half of the book was a stroke of genius. Shifting from March's first person account to Marmee's point of view caught me off guard. However, I could not help but chuckle at how differently the two characters perceived the same events.
I also loved the way Brooks mimics 19th century prose. She is as delicate in her choice of words when she alludes to the sexual episodes as any self-respecting Victorian would have been.
I have read that Brooks' accounts are historical accurate and meticulously researched. I'll take the experts opinion on it. This I do know: the opening scene is very vivid, as is the description of the hospital in Washington where March ends up. (You know, Marmee gets the telegram and rushes to his side.)
On a literary level, the book is filled with techniques and allusions that make an English teacher salivate. I recommend this book to anyone who has the stomach for some rather graphic war scenes.
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