“Little Women” Book Review

A review on a classic tale following four young women in 1860’s New England and the lives they live – together and apart; Part of The Bimonthly Classic Mammoth Book Club

Hello and happy Wednesday! Welcome back to my blog, where I will be talking about the first book I finished for my “Bimonthly Classic Mammoth Book Club,” which is “Little Women.” This is a classic that I always wanted to read, but just never got around to for a myriad of reasons, all of which are probably pretty lame. But no more! I finished it this month, and I have some thoughts.

A quick summary since this book is 160+ years old, so I’m sure we all know: “Little Women” tells the story of the March sisters – Meg, the beautiful eldest; Jo, the second-eldest with a fiery spirit; Beth, the quiet and sweet third sister; and Amy, the youngest sister, who is the outspoken and spoiled artist. It takes place over the course of several years – from adolescence to young adulthood. From playing games outside with the family to having families and spouses of their own. 

I gave this book a solid 4 out of 5 stars.

I enjoyed the Marches and their progression through childhood, adolescence, and all the way to adulthood where they finally figure out who they are as women and settle down with their adorable 1800s families.

There’s a few spoilers in this review, but I think the statute of limitations ended on spoilers for this book, right? It has been a while since publication.

So Jo is my spirit animal. I couldn’t help but be drawn to her; her spirit, her adventurous side, her drive to be more than “just a wife and mother.” She had her own aspirations with her writing and her parents and sisters supported her every step of the way and I couldn’t help but cry reading that… from a book written a hundred and sixty years ago. 

I loved how Jo stuck to her laurels when it came to Laurie. She loved him, but she wasn’t in love with him. You could tell it pained her to not be able to give him what he wanted – and she so desperately wanted to. But the great thing about that storyline is that back then, I’m sure plenty of women would’ve married in that situation. Plenty of women married to simply be married, whether they were getting older in years, they needed to marry “for money and protection,” or it was “convenient” for them. A lot of times, marriage was more about liking the person and respecting them more than loving them. Laurie loved her, of course, but I think the big thing was that if Jo cared for him any less, she would’ve said yes to his proposal. If that makes any sense. But because she cared for him and valued his friendship so much, she said no, truly believing they wouldn’t be happy together and that he would move on from her and find another woman to love. Which he did. Was the woman he chose to move on to the best choice? Ehhhhh… 

I think the big thing that felt kind of clunky was Laurie and Amy getting married. Now that felt odd and a little… *scrunches face* to me. It didn’t really get sold to me since it was always Jo and Laurie that were together through the years. I can understand Jo saying no to him, but for Laurie to move on in that way? I think it was just the familiarity that he wanted honestly. If you can’t be with the one you love, love… her sister? Meh, not a fan of that.

This book is timeless for a reason. While I relate so much to Jo, I could see myself in each of the girls over the course of the book; it was kind of crazy. The four sisters felt real and flawed during their struggles and their happiness shone through the pages during the good times. 

The death of Beth made me tear up even though I knew it was coming. It also made me think of that episode of “Friends” when Joey reads “Little Women” and gets sad when Beth gets sick. Bless his tender heart. I got sad too, Joey.

I’m not religious, but the religious undertones didn’t bother me. I’ve read that critique, but I see it as the sign of the times… I mean, it is 1868. In New England. They were basically all Protestants, right? I don’t know, I haven’t taken US History since high school. Feel free to correct me in the comments.

“It’s too saccharine, the girls are too perfect, et cetera.” Okay, yes, you can say that, but sometimes we need that in the world, since you can’t open social media or turn on the news without having the horrors of the world shoved in your face. While there were some slow moments throughout the book (I skimmed through some of them because I was like, “Okay, I get it.”), it wasn’t enough to make me DNF. I needed to see Jo’s ending after all. I would’ve 100% been okay if she never married, but she managed to find someone she could build a life with – if not be in love with. It was a true “meeting of the minds” over a true “meeting of the heart.”

I’m glad I finally read this; I never got to it as a child and I think I would’ve liked it back then, but I don’t think I would’ve appreciated it the way I do now.

Have you read “Little Women”? Loved it? Hated it? Thought Amy was just a smidge too annoying? Let me know down in the comments! I’d love to hear your thoughts on this classic story.

Now that I’ve finished “Little Women,” it’s almost time to move on to the next book for The Bimonthly Classic Mammoth Book Club! For the months of March and April, I’ve chosen “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy. A true tome!

Until next time my lovelies!