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A review by iseefeelings
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
3.0
“(...) for love casts out fear, and gratitude can conquer pride.”
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“Have regular hours for work and play; make each day both useful and pleasant, and prove that you understand the worth of time by employing it well. Then youth will be delightful, old age will bring few regrets, and life become a beautiful success, in spite of poverty.”
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“It is an excellent plan to have some place where we can go to be quiet, when things vex or grieve us. There are a good many hard times in this life of ours, but we can always bear them if we ask help in the right way.”
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This book seems to be a little heavy-handed with lessons and the plot is quite plain to me but I like it better as the story goes. Thus, it’s a good read for young readers but it's hard to please picky readers who look for an amusing story. I honestly skimmed through a few pages which seemed to be superfluous.
What really impressed me is the way Louisa M. Alcott's women characters are all in the spotlight and the men step back as a supporting cast. Still, all of them are sweet and special, and the author's simple yet beautiful writing effortlessly paints them vividly alive in my mind. I also find it informative to take a peek at the American lifestyle in the nineteenth century as well.
Towards the end of the book, I suddenly realised how much Amy - who is the youngest one among the March sisters - resonates with me the most. I felt like I saw myself as a child, spoiled and selfish and short-tempered with a bit dramatic but it doesn't mean that the good in the heart vanished. Her flaws were, indeed, my actual flaws. As Amy had her realization in the book during a hard time of her family, I also had many through which I grew up better and has changed me to be who I am today.
I picked up this book without having any idea of how it's considered to be a classic one and even though the book is not as what I'd expected, I still want to read other books by Louisa M. Alcott and see the movie adaption when it's available to watch online :)
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A side note: I was reading some articles about Victoria era and Jack the Ripper - an infamous serial killer at that time. Coincidentally, Louisa M. Alcott died in 1888, and many victims of Jack the Ripper were found in the same year. I know it's odd to juxtapose these two events but it kept me wondering about living in a strange and interesting era as such.
-
“Have regular hours for work and play; make each day both useful and pleasant, and prove that you understand the worth of time by employing it well. Then youth will be delightful, old age will bring few regrets, and life become a beautiful success, in spite of poverty.”
-
“It is an excellent plan to have some place where we can go to be quiet, when things vex or grieve us. There are a good many hard times in this life of ours, but we can always bear them if we ask help in the right way.”
•
This book seems to be a little heavy-handed with lessons and the plot is quite plain to me but I like it better as the story goes. Thus, it’s a good read for young readers but it's hard to please picky readers who look for an amusing story. I honestly skimmed through a few pages which seemed to be superfluous.
What really impressed me is the way Louisa M. Alcott's women characters are all in the spotlight and the men step back as a supporting cast. Still, all of them are sweet and special, and the author's simple yet beautiful writing effortlessly paints them vividly alive in my mind. I also find it informative to take a peek at the American lifestyle in the nineteenth century as well.
Towards the end of the book, I suddenly realised how much Amy - who is the youngest one among the March sisters - resonates with me the most. I felt like I saw myself as a child, spoiled and selfish and short-tempered with a bit dramatic but it doesn't mean that the good in the heart vanished. Her flaws were, indeed, my actual flaws. As Amy had her realization in the book during a hard time of her family, I also had many through which I grew up better and has changed me to be who I am today.
I picked up this book without having any idea of how it's considered to be a classic one and even though the book is not as what I'd expected, I still want to read other books by Louisa M. Alcott and see the movie adaption when it's available to watch online :)
-
A side note: I was reading some articles about Victoria era and Jack the Ripper - an infamous serial killer at that time. Coincidentally, Louisa M. Alcott died in 1888, and many victims of Jack the Ripper were found in the same year. I know it's odd to juxtapose these two events but it kept me wondering about living in a strange and interesting era as such.