March

Gwendalyn Brooks has written an interesting view of the Civil War as documented by Mr. March, father of Jo, Meg, Amy and Beth and Marmee's husband. Ms Brooks took some freedom in borrowing Alcott's Little Women characters, but the result is a novel that tells just how difficult war is, on the soldiers, on families, and how the ideology that seemed worth fighting for, may be less than ideal! To say that he is constructed to be quite the idealist, is putting it mildly. He "loaned" money to John Brown to invest in property that would bolster his campaign. Actually, he gave all of his money to Mr. Brown who was not honest about how it was being used. This resulted in the March family going from a comfortable life style to a difficult life style. They had to sell most of their furniture as well as their valuables. Meg and Jo had to find paying work, and Mr. March then went off to war as a chaplain in the union army. The book is told in his voice until he becomes very ill and a doctor calls Marmee and tells her she needs to come to Washington D.C. where he has been hospitalized. At this point, Marmee becomes the voice and continues until she is called home to care for Beth. Eventually, Mr. March arrives home. He is not the same man who left before the war. It's a boo worth reading. There are many points that would make it a great boo club read.