Little Women [and Good Wives] - Louisa May Alcott
Narrated by Elizabeth Klett, with other voices provided by various narrators.
Originally published as 'Little Women' in 1868 and 'Good Wives' (UK) or 'Little Women Volume Two' (US) in 1869. Republished as a single work 1880.
Followed by 'Little Men.'
Wow. What a book/s!
Although knowing the basic outline of the story (I have seen the Winona Ryder movie version years ago, Elise has seen the Saoirse Ronan version and a stage-play) neither of us were prepared for just how sweet, heartwarming, instructional and... well... Christian the original book is. Each chapter felt like a warm hug, in that the characters would learn and grow in the most ideal ways, even when learning to face some dark moments of life. The tear-jerking moments were appropriately tear-jerking, the heart-warming moments delightfully heartwarming, and the sly (semi-sarcastic at times, though never cruel) nature of the narration led to a few chuckles at moments.
The story follows the lives of four sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy March, who are growing up in a relatively poor household. Very early on they befriend a neighbouring boy, Theodore Laurence (alternately nicknamed 'Teddy' or 'Laurie') and his rich grandfather Mr Laurence, with Laurie taking an obvious interest in Jo. Various adventures, both big and small, take place as we follow the girls and Laurie from their early teenage years through to the first few years of marriage.
Although Jo Marsh is the most prominent character in the story (in this audiobook version, Elizabeth Klett provides both the general narration and the voice of Jo) each of the four March sisters get chapters in which to shine, allowing their individual characters to come through far better than a movie version could ever hope to. This also allows for the 'lessons' of each chapter to vary from sister to sister, each one learning things that most apply to their own temperaments and situations.
Being a Librivox recording, all of the voices are provided by amateur narrators, with some being far more amateur than others! One or two of the minor characters have been recorded on such poor recording devices that their lines are a little hard to follow. However, being so minor they don't detract too much from the story. The main voices, including Elizabeth Klett, are suitably expressive and fit the characters well. I particularly enjoyed the way that Karen Savage (who voiced Amy) allowed for a little bit of extra maturity to creep in as her character - the youngest of the March sisters - left childhood behind later in the book.
All in all, a real delight of a story, and a fairly good recording of it. With this book and another fairly long novel on the go, this has been probably the longest time between completing an 'Elise' book in the list so far, but both of this story and the other have felt like worthwhile investments.
Completed, with Elise, 14 May 2022.
(Elise Books)
Comments
Post a Comment