It is hard to believe Spring Break has come and gone already. I am sure that many students left campus with a lot of goals to accomplish during that blissful week of free time. I was one of those people.
Even though I was only going to be home for a couple days, I brought home loads of class and pleasure reading to do both at home and during the trip. Well, I arrived back to campus early Monday morning via the Badger Bus having failed miserably in the category of work completion.
It is not that I was lazy and did not pick up a book; it was actually quite the opposite. I had begun a book called "March" a week or two before break and then got caught up in that hectic last week of classes and exams. With a two and a half hour flight to Boston, I felt sure that I could finish this book. Even when I do not particularly enjoy a work of literature, I try to finish it, because at least I will not have missed some turning point that would cause a change of feeling.
However, in this case I am ashamed to say, I have ceased trying. After numerous attempts to engage myself in the text while on the plane, I found myself fighting to keep my eyes open as they slipped down the pages, my brain barely comprehending what I was reading. I never sleep on planes, and when the yawning and head bobbing became too much to bare, I stowed the book away and livened things up by doing a little Sudoku.
As I stated previously, I am not the type to give up on a book like that; and I cannot deny, Geraldine Brooks' premise for "March" was unique and interesting. I do not want to discourage others from reading this novel if it is of interest to them. I was truly intrigued when I first heard what it was about. The title actually comes from the last name of the book's main character Mr. March, better known to many as the father in the beloved classic "Little Women."
Written in first-person, from Mr. March's perspective, "March" tells the tale of the life Mr. March led while away during the Civil War. As many may recall, Mr. March is absent from a large part of "Little Women" with the exception of his letters.
Brooks continues Louisa May Alcott's tradition by incorporating correspondences from Mr. March to his "little women" into the text. Mr. March's letters are supplemented with memories from his boyhood as well as recent accounts of battles in which he, as a minister, held the hands of dying men.
It is difficult to pinpoint where and when "March" loses its appeal. Although Brooks is a creative writer, she is missing an essential ingredient that makes readers want to continue reading and find out what happens next. Novels based on previously published materials, especially those like "Little Women," which have found a special place in many readers' hearts, have a lot to live up to.
There have been authors who have successfully written sequels, prequels and other extensions to works by other authors. Margaret Mitchell left her famous novel "Gone With the Wind" (1936) wide open for a sequel. With such an eventful storyline, her ambiguous ending left her readers hungry for more.
For whatever reason, Mitchell chose not to write a sequel. Whether she believed her story to be complete as it was, or something else, it seemed readers would never learn the true fate of Scarlett O'Hara.
However, in 1992, her story was revived, thanks to Alexandra Ripley. Ripley decided to capitalize on the popularity of "Gone with the Wind" and wrote "Scarlett." Despite less than stellar reviews, fans of the original did not seem to care. "Scarlett" spent 28 weeks on Publishers Weekly's bestseller list.
Novelist Gregory Maguire has also had tremendous success in this category. He is the author of a number of books that bring new perspectives to some very old stories. His novel "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" released 10 years ago, but has received significantly more attention now since the debut of the Broadway musical. What many do not know is that Maguire has written several other fairytale tales, including "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister: A Novel," "Mirror Mirror: A Novel" and "Lost: A Novel."
Maguire seems to play devil's advocate in many of his stories, taking the Wicked Witch of the West and portraying her as an unlucky, unhappy, and misunderstood woman. Unlike L. Frank Baum's evil depiction in the original "Wizard of Oz." Similarly, in "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister" Maguire retells the story of Cinderella in a satirical voice depicting not only tragedy, but also, a deeper investigation into what it means to be human and to be misunderstood. This is a book that women can especially relate to, but that everyone can enjoy.
Looking at the work of Margaret Mitchell and Gregory Maguire and their achievements in writing, either from where another author left off, or from a new perspective of another author's well-known and beloved story, it becomes clear why Geraldine Brooks' novel failed to intrigue me.
While reading "Little Women," I never wondered what Mr. March was doing out on the battlefields while his wife and daughters were home. I was wrapped up in Meg's romance, Jo and Amy's feud, and the many other happenings in the March household. What I did learn from "March" is that pleasure is not always enough of a reason to read a book and if you have no more expectations of a work than to be entertained, sometimes you may be disappointed, like I was.
Meghan Dunlap is a junior majoring in Spanish and elementary education. If you agree that the aforementioned books are excellent reads or just have an idea for a future column, please e-mail her at [email protected].
