March
Registered by bluecat07 of Karben, Hessen Germany on 3/15/2008
This book is in a Controlled Release!
This book is in a Controlled Release!
3 journalers for this copy...
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Brooks's luminous second novel, after 2001's acclaimed Year of Wonders, imagines the Civil War experiences of Mr. March, the absent father in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. An idealistic Concord cleric, March becomes a Union chaplain and later finds himself assigned to be a teacher on a cotton plantation that employs freed slaves, or "contraband." His narrative begins with cheerful letters home, but March gradually reveals to the reader what he does not to his family: the cruelty and racism of Northern and Southern soldiers, the violence and suffering he is powerless to prevent and his reunion with Grace, a beautiful, educated slave whom he met years earlier as a Connecticut peddler to the plantations. In between, we learn of March's earlier life: his whirlwind courtship of quick-tempered Marmee, his friendship with Emerson and Thoreau and the surprising cause of his family's genteel poverty. When a Confederate attack on the contraband farm lands March in a Washington hospital, sick with fever and guilt, the first-person narrative switches to Marmee, who describes a different version of the years past and an agonized reaction to the truth she uncovers about her husband's life. Brooks, who based the character of March on Alcott's transcendentalist father, Bronson, relies heavily on primary sources for both the Concord and wartime scenes; her characters speak with a convincing 19th-century formality, yet the narrative is always accessible. Through the shattered dreamer March, the passion and rage of Marmee and a host of achingly human minor characters, Brooks's affecting, beautifully written novel drives home the intimate horrors and ironies of the Civil War and the difficulty of living honestly with the knowledge of human suffering.
Read by Richard Easton
Unabridged, 9 CDs
Starred Review. Brooks's luminous second novel, after 2001's acclaimed Year of Wonders, imagines the Civil War experiences of Mr. March, the absent father in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. An idealistic Concord cleric, March becomes a Union chaplain and later finds himself assigned to be a teacher on a cotton plantation that employs freed slaves, or "contraband." His narrative begins with cheerful letters home, but March gradually reveals to the reader what he does not to his family: the cruelty and racism of Northern and Southern soldiers, the violence and suffering he is powerless to prevent and his reunion with Grace, a beautiful, educated slave whom he met years earlier as a Connecticut peddler to the plantations. In between, we learn of March's earlier life: his whirlwind courtship of quick-tempered Marmee, his friendship with Emerson and Thoreau and the surprising cause of his family's genteel poverty. When a Confederate attack on the contraband farm lands March in a Washington hospital, sick with fever and guilt, the first-person narrative switches to Marmee, who describes a different version of the years past and an agonized reaction to the truth she uncovers about her husband's life. Brooks, who based the character of March on Alcott's transcendentalist father, Bronson, relies heavily on primary sources for both the Concord and wartime scenes; her characters speak with a convincing 19th-century formality, yet the narrative is always accessible. Through the shattered dreamer March, the passion and rage of Marmee and a host of achingly human minor characters, Brooks's affecting, beautifully written novel drives home the intimate horrors and ironies of the Civil War and the difficulty of living honestly with the knowledge of human suffering.
Read by Richard Easton
Unabridged, 9 CDs
Just finished this and was quite impressed. I think Brooks did a good job adopting the March family for her purpose and imagining the story of Mr & Mrs March. It was interesting to find out more about them and the whole Civil War and Abolutionist theme. The narrator was very good, too.
As of tomorrow this audiobook will travel to AceofHearts, who chose it in the audio vbb at bookobsessed.com.
As of tomorrow this audiobook will travel to AceofHearts, who chose it in the audio vbb at bookobsessed.com.
received yesterday in the mail. Thanks
My father listened to this and enjoyed it very much
mailed today as part of a relay
Forgot this one was coming! Thank you, AceofHearts! :')
In March, Geraldine Brooks writes a fictional account of Mr. March, the father from Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. Little is mentioned of him in Alcott's novel, but Brooks takes the few details from that book and expands on his life away from home as a Union chaplain during the Civil War.
Having just recently finished reading Little Women for the first time, I rediscovered this audiobook on my bookshelf, having acquired it some time ago, but also having put off reading it until I had read Alcott's novel. So I felt it was a good time to read this one.
I've read at least one other book by Geraldine Brooks and enjoyed it quite a lot, so had pretty high expectations for this one. But I have to admit, this kind of missed the mark for me. I had a little bit of trouble keeping track of the timeline, as it switched from past to present a few times without a lot of warning. (This may have been heightened by the fact that I was listening on audio. I'm not sure.) The story itself really kind of dragged for me and I found my mind wandering. It was written well, but not necessarily engaging. Additionally, I didn't feel as though Mr. March's character matched up well with my expectations, based on the information I'd gleaned from Little Women. In this story he came across as somewhat of a haughty, arrogant individual, which is not the impression I'd gotten from Little Women. I felt that Brooks justified herself in this respect after I'd read the afterward, in which she described her basis of his character on research she'd done about Alcott's father. (Little Women having been based on her own family.) But even so, this was really only a so-so read for me.
Having just recently finished reading Little Women for the first time, I rediscovered this audiobook on my bookshelf, having acquired it some time ago, but also having put off reading it until I had read Alcott's novel. So I felt it was a good time to read this one.
I've read at least one other book by Geraldine Brooks and enjoyed it quite a lot, so had pretty high expectations for this one. But I have to admit, this kind of missed the mark for me. I had a little bit of trouble keeping track of the timeline, as it switched from past to present a few times without a lot of warning. (This may have been heightened by the fact that I was listening on audio. I'm not sure.) The story itself really kind of dragged for me and I found my mind wandering. It was written well, but not necessarily engaging. Additionally, I didn't feel as though Mr. March's character matched up well with my expectations, based on the information I'd gleaned from Little Women. In this story he came across as somewhat of a haughty, arrogant individual, which is not the impression I'd gotten from Little Women. I felt that Brooks justified herself in this respect after I'd read the afterward, in which she described her basis of his character on research she'd done about Alcott's father. (Little Women having been based on her own family.) But even so, this was really only a so-so read for me.
Sending off to PBS member. Enjoy! :')
You have found a BookCrossing book! Please take a brief moment to journal your thoughts upon reading this book. Then, if you'd like, re-release the book (to a friend, a stranger, or back out into the wild). That way you can track its travels & its readers throughout the world!
You have found a BookCrossing book! Please take a brief moment to journal your thoughts upon reading this book. Then, if you'd like, re-release the book (to a friend, a stranger, or back out into the wild). That way you can track its travels & its readers throughout the world!
