March by Geraldine Brooks
Summary (from the publisher): From the author of the acclaimed Year of Wonders, a historical novel and love story set during a time of catastrophe, on the front lines of the American Civil War. Acclaimed author Geraldine Brooks gives us the story of the absent father from Louisa May Alcott's Little Women—and conjures a world of brutality, stubborn courage and transcendent love. An idealistic abolitionist, March has gone as chaplain to serve the Union cause. But the war tests his faith not only in the Union—which is also capable of barbarism and racism—but in himself. As he recovers from a near-fatal illness, March must reassemble and reconnect with his family, who have no idea of what he has endured. A love story set in a time of catastrophe, March explores the passions between a man and a woman, the tenderness of parent and child, and the life-changing power of an ardently held belief.
Review: Building on the characters originally introduced in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, Geraldine Brooks builds upon the absent father from the famous novel to construct a story of love and loss on the front lines of the American Civil War. Inspired by the conviction of his ideals, Mr. March has left his wife and four young girls at home to join the front lines as a chaplain to the Union cause. But the brutality, racism, and suffering he witnesses tests his faith in his beliefs and himself. After nearly losing his life, March must dig deep to reconnect with himself and his family, who have no idea what he has endured.
Through Mr. March, Geraldine Brooks is given a witness to convey the dark underbelly of the time period that Little Women did not show. Safe in their cocoon at home, the March girls are protected from the harsh realities behind their family's ideals and convictions. In the south, March witnesses gross brutalities, many of them against slaves that are sickening and hard to read. Brooks does not shy away from confronting head on the harsh reality of life for the enslaved during the war. The scenes of violence, death, and suffering are hard to read and only serve to underscore the fairy tale like existence his family lives in comparison to his wartime experiences.
This novel is told in eloquent prose that only serves to underscore the heartbreak of its characters. I'm not sure that this novel really adds anything new to the legions of Civil War novels already available. But it does add a new angle to the beloved Little Women tale that is akin to what Wide Sargasso Sea is to Jane Eyre. I loved Brooks' exploration of the love story between Mr. and Mrs. March and the more adult world going on behind the scenes of their beloved little women. A striking novel that is beautifully, heart-rendingly told and which allows readers to revisit beloved characters and see them in a newly imagined light.
Stars: 4
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