It took ten days but I finally made it to the end of Luisa May Alcott's Little Men I am very glad for it. It is an unforgettable read and I was entertained and pleased throughout it's entirety. Often times, I worry that I'm going to get halfway through a novel and find it boring or find my interest waning but this wondrous tale had me completely and thoroughly capture. Though I had to read it in small bits when I found five minutes to myself, I was thrilled. I would sit smiling, crying and laughing out loud to myself, captured in the beautiful prose and held breathless with anticipation of the next moment of "boyish" fun to be had with Jo, the boys and the little ones. The author was quite clever in including morals to every moment in the story but in ways that did not bother or bore the reader. In fact, I feel that it enhanced the plot and made you fall deeper in love with each and every "ruddy faced little chick" that Mother Bhaer kept under her wings.
The final chapter provides a wonderful summing up of both this novel and of Little Women with regards to character and plot development and the tying of loose ends. Laurie "Teddy" Laurence reminds Jo that her work with the boys at Plumfield is as successful as her and her sister's work with him back in their childhood days. L.M Alcott brings the following conclusion forward to her readers:
"...the good Professor and his wife were taken prisoner by many arms, and half hidden by the bouquet of laughing young faces which surrounded them, proving that one plan had taken root and blossomed beautifully in all the little gardens. For love is a flower that grows in any soil, works its sweet miracles undaunted by autumn frost or winter snow, blooming fair and fragrant all the year, and blessing those who give and those who receive." (253)
*sigh* two words- Simply Beautiful
Well, it's off to the next book and I've decided to choose at random for the time being rather than go through alphabetically. This decision taken in the hopes of my ability to read through the next few texts quickly so as to get back on schedule in order to accomplish my deadline. It's been 12 days since I began this endeavor and I am only 2 books down... 118 texts to go. *sigh* Just to see where I stand in terms of having fallen behind, I have to read through the remaining 118 texts in 293 days. Approximate reading speed should be around 2.5 days per text.
Well, that's reasonable enough!! I shall rise to face this challenge as courageously and strong-willfully as ever :)
Happy Reading To You All
<3
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