Little Women

By: Louisa May Alcott, Jane Smiley (introduction)

Narrated by: Christina Ricci

Length: 19 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's Summary

Little Women is recognized as one of the best-loved classic children's stories, transcending the boundaries of time and age, making it as popular with adults as it is with young listeners. The beloved story of the March girls is a classic American feminist novel, reflecting the tension between cultural obligation and artistic and personal freedom.

But which of the four March sisters to love best? For every listener must have their favorite. Independent, tomboyish Jo; delicate, loving Beth; pretty, kind Meg; or precocious and beautiful Amy, the baby of the family?

The charming story of these four "little women" and their wise and patient mother, Marmee, enduring hardships and enjoying adventures in Civil War-era New England was an instant success when first published in 1868 and has been adored for generations.

Public Domain (P)2012 Penguin Audio

I am a man but this story always makes my cry.

Ms. Ricci is great. Read the book and story follows book to a tee. However, I loved the movie from 1994

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

An American Classic, Made New

Last Christmas, I had a craving for some pre-consumer culture American literature. A friend suggested Little Women. I was working on a big art project at the time, so I put on my headphones and let Christina Ricci read to me. For days.

I think Christina Ricci was a good choice for this book. At times, I felt that a teenaged niece or neighbor was reading to me. While I appreciated her frank modern dialect and total lack of trying to sound historic, she did miss some of the old cadence and seemed to misunderstand some of the old expressions. Overall though, her read was very sweet and very fitting for the subjects.

I had a very minor technical issue throughout: there were a lot of pickups (probably because of mispronunciations) and the audio quality was very different with them, so with good quality headphones it was a little jarring at times.

Also, this is a very long book. If you're like me, you'll want a little time away from the Marsh family by the end of it. But it was a very good way to pass the holidays.

8 of 9 people found this review helpful

Happy

My favourite book!! Christina Ricci is an excellent narrator! She is able to bring the characters alive. It's a joy to listen to her read "Little Women"!!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Story ruined by narration

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would recommend the book by a different narrator.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Jo is my favorite character. Her combination of feminine emotion and boyish ambition is both intriguing and humorous.

What didn’t you like about Christina Ricci’s performance?

Ricci's performance leaves much to be desired. Her interpretation of Professor Bhaer is absurd. I wish there was a review of it before I purchased it.

3 of 5 people found this review helpful

For kids....too campy

For kids....too campy. Music playing in the background. Did not enjoy it and want my money back!

Excellent

Listened to this with my daughter (9), and we both enjoyed a great deal. I found it a little difficult to follow at times, but then I have a short attention span! Daughter enjoyed it. The narration was great.

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I could not finish the book. I had forgotten how preachy it is. Moreover, the narration was odd, colorless, and stopped in mid-sentences.

Great tale

Alcott's tale is a classic worthy of your time. Ricci's reading of it is good, although sometimes it sounds awkward, especially in its version of Hannah and Mr. Bhaer.

Beautiful Listen

I had always wanted to read Little Women but never had the time with work and children. I searched for this after joining audible and listened to it on my daily commute. This really is a beautiful story wonderfully told. I've laughed and cried on the train and bus as it's such a captivating and moving story. I'm a fan of Pride and Prejudice and really enjoyed this.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Really AWFUL reading of the story :(

Would you try another book written by Louisa May Alcott and Jane Smiley (introduction) or narrated by Christina Ricci?

No. Christina Ricci is hands down the worst narrator I've ever listened to. Her speech and timing is irregular, she drops in and out of accents and her reading is monotone. Really, really bad.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

See above- the story is lovely, and could be humorous in some places, but the narrator killed the enjoyment of it.

12 of 19 people found this review helpful

excellent book,

I loved this book. the narrator was perfect for the book. well discribed and excellent story.

I enjoy

I know story since my childhood. I like voice of narrator is warm and give new touch to the story.

Love this book!

Such a great book have loved it since I was little and was read well. Enjoyed listening to it when traveling to work etc!

really irritating voice

I really couldn't bare the voive of the reader, so I didn't finish the book

1 of 2 people found this review helpful

wonderful story

a heart-warming, inspiring, cheering, emotional, beautiful story. The narrator did great accents but some of her actual narration lacked emphasis.