Fresh. American. Beautiful. Louisa May Alcott’s novel set in Massachusetts in the mid-nineteenth century. It is the story of four sisters Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy, and their coming-of-age experiences. The plot winds through the girls lives passing very very common incidents – falling in love, falling out of it, jealousy, interdependence, death, and moving on. If you compare this book to other explosive novels of its time, it seems commonplace.
But in these pages is a story of family ties, Christmas mornings, confusions and conquests of teenagers and heir final shaping up into beautiful and accomplishes young women. It is a novel of great character. But yes, I do admit that it might not have the same impact on a little boy as it would on a little girl. Simply because he wouldn’t so much relate to the mood swings and the turbulence in the life of an adolescent girl.
I shan’t go on about the plot, if you pick this book up, you’ll know the trend in the first fifty pages or so. The language is clear and the dialogues very likely to be heard in a standard American household. During some parts of the book, the reader will definitely want the story to go a certain way, it has that magnetizing quality about it. It’s a good book, yes.
Quote: “There are many Beths in the world, shy and quiet, sitting in corners till needed, and living for others so cheerfully that no one sees the sacrifices till the little cricket on the hearth stops chirping, and the sweet, sunshiny presence vanishes, leaving silence and shadow behind.”
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