This is not going to contain any spoilers (or the spoilers are going to be very minor),im just gonna talk about my thoughts on the book generally.
I really wanted to like this book , i really did , cuz usually i think that little stories that follow teenage ladies and how they grow up and learn can be interesting and nice to read. But i ended up giving up on the book at around page 80-100.
With all due respect to people who liked the book, this book was probably one of the most boring that ive read in my life, most of the chapters are dragged out for no reason with long description that pretty much add nothing to the story , the story feels a bit too preachy (even though im religious) , and… actually most of the time there are no events happening .
I liked Laurie’s character and the dynamic he has with the March family, that’s pretty much what kept me reading the book cuz i wanted to see how it evolves , but all i got was long description paragraphs and very , very mundane details that dont really progress the story .
Some events were interesting , like when >!Amy (i think it was her at least) went to some party with some rich ladies .!<
I kept trying to keep reading the book cuz of how much people kept praising it and i felt and still feel weird honestly about not liking it , especially cuz usually this type of story is my thing. Then again , maybe this book wasnt meant for older teens (im 19 turning 20) and were meant for younger people .
What do you all think ?
by Tooharu
16 Comments
I agree with you. The movie was nice, but the book not really. Also the author contradicts herself in the book.
I really enjoyed the book and didn’t read it until I was in my late 20s.
Not everything in reading is about progressing the story and I quite enjoyed both the detailed descriptions and the character interactions.
People have different tastes. It’s fine if you don’t like it. To each their own.
It took me months to finish it because I also found it quite boring, but since everyone seems to love it I wanted to give it a try
I have tried reading this book half a dozen times over my 50 years and have never made it all the way through. Each time I have fallen into a boredom coma. So at least you’re not alone…
The writing, pacing and characters are (for obvious reasons) very dated, which makes it a tough read these days.
I don’t think it’s overrated when you place it in its historical context. The book was published in 1868. It might be boring by today’s standards, but back then, reading a long ass book was a way of keeping yourself entertained. Jo as a character is also quite progressive.
Personally, I treated it more as a historical book than an entertaining story. A glimpse into the past and what books were like back then.
I think it is just part of that genre from the era. Same reason I don’t enjoy reading Jane Austen. Just not my thing.
That said, I have read Little Women several times as a kid (I was in a school play and was obsessed with getting my character motivations just right). I thought I didn’t enjoy it, but after the second or third read I started to appreciate little things about it and the characters. I think Jo is really interesting. You have to keep the time period in mind. Plus, looking into Louisa May Alcott may help; she was an interesting person.
But yeah not all classic books are necessarily enjoyable for everyone. That’s totally okay. I also wonder if this one is meant for younger folks and it seems a bit off if you read it well into adulthood.
Maybe just a little.
I began it for a literature class but I ended up dropping it and reading a summary. It’s well-written and I can respect it, but it’s just not for me.
Everyone was so goody goody that I never finished it. Sounds like the author had written a far more interesting book that didn’t sell well. Little Women was written to sell well.
Your opinion is justified. I think it’s also important to put things in historical context, when considering classical work. I love Hemingways prose, it’s incredibly beautiful but I got beef with how he writes women characters. But I remember he wrote in the 20’s – 50’s and I give him the tiniest break.
It’s one of my favorite books and has been since elementary school. I find it to be a nice comfort read.
I read Little Women as a child and loved it. I was actually named after one of the sisters. But a few years ago my book club was reading classics and this was a monthly selection. Everyone who read it as a child loved it but pretty much everyone reading it for the first time as an adult was unimpressed. I found that very interesting.
I don’t think it’s overrated. It’s a classic for a reason.
But just because it’s a classic, doesn’t stop it from being boring lol. I originally stopped reading the book maybe halfway through and just watched the movie (this was over a decade ago so it’s the 1994 version) but then we had to discuss it in one of my college classes so I ended up finishing the book.
It probably doesn’t help that what’s socioculturally normal to you is different from what’s in the book.
The writing style could also simply not click with you. Or the story/plot. Or the characters.
Don’t worry about not liking it. You have an informed opinion on why you don’t like it (rather than just parroting someone else’s opinion and spreading hearsay.) If someone tries to shame you for not liking it, they’re probably not really worth discussing things with.
Louisa May Alcott didn’t care for it either.
I think Little Women gets some extra hype due to the context some people read it in. I was a lonely, shy girl as a child. So Little Women seemed like the best thing in the world. It made me feel like I was in the family with them, and it made me dream of a future adult life (in contrast to the more “typical” kids topics of fantasy worlds, which were always frustratingly impossible)
Little Women romanticized things like getting a nice dress, hanging out around the fire, having a big meal, making friends with your kind of grouchy aunt, and walking on the beach. It was a “cozy” book before the genre was marketed to hell.
It also addressed a lot of relevant life lessons. It has sickness, money issues, and unrequited love. The family has some absolute blowout fights that have lasting repercussions but that they still grow from. So while I understand people who dont like it, it will always be one of my absolute favorites.