Some of this wears well

I read and re-read these books as a kid. Now, though, Little Women is readable but far too preachy; Jo’s Boys is utterly dreadful and deadly dull, but Little Men is still a delight. ( )

Lo bueno:
Para una novela publicada en 1868, me sorprende aún más lo progresista que es el personaje de Jo. Una protagonista fuerte que se desenvuelve brillantemente en la prosa elegante de May Alcott.
En retrospectiva, ahora entiendo cuanto tomó prestado el personaje homónimo de Dawson’s Creek de la Josephine de Mujercitas… y no fue poco.

Lo malo:
Por supuesto, no está exenta de párrafos largos y cartas algo tediosas. La trama puede resultar una melaza (tanto por lo dulce como por lo espesa), así que procede con cautela si tienes hambre de algo rápido.

Lo cierto:
Sé que los clásicos no siempre son fáciles de leer (sí estoy hablando de ti ‘Los Miserables’), pero en este caso fue una delicia literaria. El veredicto… ¡Recomendado! ( )

If you plan to read only Little Women, don't get this Library of America edition: there are better solo editions of Little Women available, namely, the Harvard/Belknap annotated edition and (my preferred) Norton Critical edition. This LoA edition, though, does have the advantage of "completeness" for the trilogy.

For myself, I don't at all care for Alcott, whose plots are always too neatly, too tidily, wrapped up and whose moralizing I find dated at best. That said, the trilogy is a part of Americana and on that basis I'll rate this LoA edition (with no offense intended to editor Elaine Showalter) at 3*** – an Alcott admirer would doubtless rate it higher.

One niggling criticism. The book contains a few illustrations, and I would have found a table of illustrations useful for locating them by page number. ( )

Reading this book has been really good for me. I have eight sisters and we are all very different and yet we love and respect each other so much. My mother is so patient, and she always gave us so much support and she told us to pursue our dreams. Love of family, perseverance through difficulties, and remaining true to your convictions are all themes of this story.

The March sisters are living at home with their mother during the Civil War, as their father is gone to war. The stories centers around the girls but mostly Jo, who likes to write. As she matures and marries, she has a school for boys, hence: Little Men. ( )