This book sweeps over everything from Louisa May Alcott's life, the writing of Little Women, it's film adaptions, its lasting impact & it's modern equivalents. Insightful both to history and modern day! Made me want to read LW again! ( )

One of the best books about a book/books that I’ve read. This is engaging literary scholarship for a popular audience — if you have the slightest interest in Little Women, Louisa May Alcott, 19th century American literature, film adaptations, literary history, reading & pop culture, or young girls’ and boys’ reading choices/experiences (among a host of other issues), this is a book you’ll want to check out.

I'll write a more detailed review soon. ( )

A lot of this is a repeat, but chapters 7-8 are brilliant and worth your time. They discuss, among other things, the need for boys to read about girls, and the way that Alcott's book is subversive (compared to others). Also was Beth anorexic? What mental illnesses were dealt with in the family? She seems to have good arguments there.

This was written before Gerwig's latest adaptation and, amusingly, Rioux(or is it Boyd Rioux? I never know what is proper) puts all her money on BBC's version as a sure-fire hit(it pretty much bombed when compared to the other) and painted Gerwig's as a wild card(it got an Oscar nomination).

Also, minus the physical descriptions, of course, I think Little Women could possibly work as an all POC cast. They'd certainly do a fantastic job with the recent Broadway adaption's music. Thoughts? Totally not related to this book. ( )

This is an amazingly deep dive into the phenomenon of Little Women, and what it has meant to young women (and men) ever since Louisa May Alcott first wrote the book (or two books, depending on which edition you have). Anne Boyd Rioux has written a very informative exploration of the book's "biography," as it were, and looks into the life of Louisa May Alcott and the lives of the novel's 4 main characters.

I would've rated this higher had I not felt the book showcased Jo (admittedly the most popular of the March sisters) while skirting around the other three sisters and the women who have identified with them as well as Jo. Jo as the tomboyish, brash writer gets top billing and 2/3 of the book, whereas Meg and Amy get a few good pages, and Beth even less. The bold assumption that Beth's unnamed condition was depression and/or anorexia left a bad taste in my mouth. She didn't want to grow up and become a wife so... she wasted away. I don't buy it.

I felt the book lost steam towards the end, mostly because of the author's assertion that Gilmore Girls and Girls are successors of Little Women for... whatever reason. Throw in a bit of snarky comment about Miley Cyrus and Kim Kardashian's rear end and it seems we haven't moved too far away from the misogyny of the 1860s. All in all, it's a solid 3 stars for being valuable insight into the history of the novel and its author, but it's as if the Boyd Rioux got bored at the end and signed off with a flourish. ( )

A nice study of an American classic, "Little Women,' by Louisa May Alcott. The subtitle of the book is 'The Story of Little Women and Why It Still Matters.' I confess that I was more interested in the story of the development of the book by Alcott, and not so much the more scholarly look at why it matters today (or doesn't). For those who truly love the book, as I do, it doesn't matter who currently loves it or who doesn't. We know how it has touched us, and don't have much of a need to explain it. I'm glad to have read it, though. ( )