I think this book is going to be one of those few that is a "favorite," one I will mention when people ask, "What have you read lately?" or "What have you liked?" I have put Geraldine Brooks' other novels on the "Want to Read List" People of the Book has been there and I have a copy waiting for me.
March is an historical novel that takes place during the Civil War and is told from the point of view (primarily) of Mr. March, the absent father from Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. If you read Little Women, you'll recall that the father and husband is absent throughout most of the novel. Ms. Brooks' novel tells us HIS story and what he experienced while away from his family. As a chaplain, he ventures South to aid the Union, with idealistic dreams of liberating slaves and helping the Northern cause. He is stunned and dismayed to find prejudice, greed, cruelty and racism on both sides. The descriptions of battles are stunningly portrayed, in grisly detail. Mr. March befriends many slaves and becomes involved with one in particular, a literate slave, Grace, who has her own interesting story, that I won't give away.
It was very interesting to read his portrayal of Marmee, the mother of the Little Women as a headstrong and idealistic young woman, involved in the Underground Railroad movement. I only recalled her as the loving mother of Jo, Meg, Amy and Beth. Reading this book makes me want to revisit Little Women.
The writing is really beautiful and the passages resonate. There is so much to learn from this book and so many comments on war, racism, forgiveness, idealism, love and betrayal. As soon as I finished the book, I was tempted to turn to the beginning and start all over again.
March is an historical novel that takes place during the Civil War and is told from the point of view (primarily) of Mr. March, the absent father from Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. If you read Little Women, you'll recall that the father and husband is absent throughout most of the novel. Ms. Brooks' novel tells us HIS story and what he experienced while away from his family. As a chaplain, he ventures South to aid the Union, with idealistic dreams of liberating slaves and helping the Northern cause. He is stunned and dismayed to find prejudice, greed, cruelty and racism on both sides. The descriptions of battles are stunningly portrayed, in grisly detail. Mr. March befriends many slaves and becomes involved with one in particular, a literate slave, Grace, who has her own interesting story, that I won't give away.
It was very interesting to read his portrayal of Marmee, the mother of the Little Women as a headstrong and idealistic young woman, involved in the Underground Railroad movement. I only recalled her as the loving mother of Jo, Meg, Amy and Beth. Reading this book makes me want to revisit Little Women.
The writing is really beautiful and the passages resonate. There is so much to learn from this book and so many comments on war, racism, forgiveness, idealism, love and betrayal. As soon as I finished the book, I was tempted to turn to the beginning and start all over again.
