Thursday, June 07, 2012

2012 book 155

Geraldine Brooks' March
I have been actively avoiding reading this book for years, despite liking all of Brooks' other books, because I just didn't want to read a book about the dad from Little Women off doing things during the Civil War. And at first, I thought I was going to be kicking myself for not reading it earlier, because it starts off pretty interestingly. But at a certain point, reading it felt like doing homework. Man, Mr. March is ridiculously annoying and unlikable. I'm not sure how intentional that was--certainly Bronson Alcott, on whom he's based, was a real piece of work--but it didn't make for enjoyable reading at all. Not to mention how hard it is to read all of the overt and more subtle/paternalistic racism going on (both Marches are totally racist despite being fervent abolitionists). B-.

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