March by Geraldine Brooks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
In the classic, LITTLE WOMEN, we, as readers, become intimately acquainted the four “little women,” and their mother, Mrs. March. However, we know little about their father who is away from home, serving the Union army as a chaplain during the Civil War.
In her Pulitzer prize-winning book, MARCH, author Geraldine Brooks writes from the perspective of Mr. March. She bases his absent character upon what is known of Louisa May Alcott’s actual father. (LITTLE WOMEN is based upon Ms. Alcott’s family life, Louisa May being the impetuous, aspiring writer, “Jo”.) While MARCH is slow to start and seems to initially flounder about without a sense of direction, it soon sharpens into a compelling, focused narrative. Mr. March’s abolitionist idealism is juxtaposed against the realities of slavery and the depredations of war, an idealism which eventually costs Mr. March his innocence. Ultimately, it is a story of love and war, betrayal and heartbreak. The imaginative, heart-felt story, the poetic language and rich tapestry of setting, make MARCH a classic in its own right.