March - Geraldine Brooks

Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women" revolves around the experiences of four daughters whose father is away for a year at the US Civil War. This famous novel inspired Brooks to imagine the concurrent experiences of their father, who is largely absent from Alcott's story. 

It was a wonderful idea, and well-executed. I can't imagine what effort went into researching this richly detailed narrative. I know very little about the Civil War and was fascinated by Brooks' observations on abolitionism, the underground railroad and the indescribable cruelties visited upon slaves at that time. The thing that didn't ring true for me about this book was Mr March. As a matter of fact, I found his tortured martyrdom almost unbearable at times. I was able to relate to Mrs March's somewhat flawed but genuine character so much more easily, and the parts of the novel focalised from her point of view resonated most strongly with me. 

Overall I enjoyed this novel, but didn't love it the way I loved People of the Book and Caleb's Crossing. Nonetheless it inspired me to unearth my fondly dog-eared copy of "Little Women" so that I can revisit it and see if I love it as much as I did as a child.