March

Pulitzer Prize Winner (A Novel)

By: Geraldine Brooks

Narrated by: Richard Easton

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize--a powerful love story set against the backdrop of the Civil War, from the author of The Secret Chord.

From Louisa May Alcott's beloved classic Little Women, Geraldine Brooks has animated the character of the absent father, March, and crafted a story "filled with the ache of love and marriage and with the power of war upon the mind and heart of one unforgettable man" (Sue Monk Kidd). With "pitch-perfect writing" (USA Today), Brooks follows March as he leaves behind his family to aid the Union cause in the Civil War. His experiences will utterly change his marriage and challenge his most ardently held beliefs. A lushly written, wholly original tale steeped in the details of another time, March secures Geraldine Brooks's place as a renowned author of historical fiction.©2005 Geraldine Brooks; (P)2005 Penguin Audio and BBC Audiobooks America

Critic reviews

"Brilliant...Geraldine Brooks' new novel, March, is a very great book....Brooks has magnificently wielded the novelist's license."—Beth Kephart, Chicago Tribune

"A beautifully wrought story....Gripping....A taut plot, vivid characters and provocative issues."—Heller McAlpin, Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Honorable, elegant and true."—John Freeman, The Wall Street Journal

"Harrowing and moving...In her previous book, Year of Wonders, Geraldine Brooks proved herself to be a wonderful novelist. March has all the same virtues...casting a spell that lasts much longer than the reading of it."—Karen Joy Fowler, The Washington Post World

"Wholly original...deeply engaging."—Ron Charles, The Christian Science Monitor

"Inspired... A disturbing, supple, and deeply satisfying story, put together with craft and care and imagery worthy of a poet."—The Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Louisa May Alcott would be well pleased."—The Economist

The Narrator Made This Book

I loved this story. Read it with my book group and we were all in agreement. It takes place during the same year as the first part of Little Women. Mr. March, and idealistic preacher, has enlisted in the Union to try and bolster the men's morale. It isn't long before they begin to resent his platitudes and he gets shuffled off to act as a teacher to "contraband", freed slaves still in danger of being taken back into slavery. Soon he begins to lose a grasp of his idealist dreams as the reality of the slaves' situation begins to unravel.

Brooks has done an excellent job showing these characters from an adult point of view rather than that of a child looking at her parents as Alcott had created them. I also enjoy the way we see Mr. March's point of view and then Marmee's view of the same part of the story.

The narrator was excellent and was very believable as both Mr. March and Marmee.

LOVED THIS BOOK

I thoroughly enjoyed this book as both a read and an audible book. I felt like I was in the room or on sight at every location. I deeply cared about each of these characters. Little Women was my first favorite book. This may have equal adoration from me. The narration was fantastic. I can’t say enough about it.

March

I really enjoyed this book. It was recommended to me by a person who read it and liked it. Some gruesome descriptions of the Cilvil War but that’s how it was back then. It filled in the blank years of Little Women. If you liked Little Women you will like March.

March

I liked the twists and turns of March’s journeys. The character development was well done.

Better book than Little Women

As a girl, I tried...really tried...to like Little Women for my Mom's sake. I even received a set of dolls for Christmas, Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth.I tried to treasure them like Mom did. Couldn't. The book was just too sweet and nicey nice.
March was almost 180 degrees in the opposite direction. There was nothing "nice" about this character. He was kind of pathetic in his never ending lapses. He came close to being human, but seemed to lack the ability to get out of his academic, hopelessly idealistic dream world. Not even the interesting character Grace or his beleaguered wife Marmee (what an awful name!!!) could penetrate his shell.
I thought the narrator adopted the perfect tone for March. While reciting the sometimes flowery phrases, he revealed the flaws that plagued him.
Not my favorite book, but I'm glad I persisted. I liked the author's afterwords. Turns out she shared my feelings about Little Women. I'm grateful to her for bringing us March to improve my reactions to the entire package.