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This title in other editionseBook editionsThe Little Womenby Katharine Weber
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:A delightfully clever contemporary novel inspired by the Louisa May Alcott classic In Katharine Weber's third novel, The Little Women, three adolescent sisters--Meg, Jo and Amy--are shocked when they discover their mother's affair, but are truly devastated by their father's apparently easy forgiveness of her. Shattered by their parents' failure to live up to the moral standards and values of the family, the two younger sisters leave New York (and their private school) and move to Meg's apartment in New Haven, where Meg is a junior at Yale. They enroll in the local inner-city public high school, and, divorced from their parents, they try to make a life with Meg as their surrogate mother. Written in the form of an autobiographical novel by Joanna, the middle sister, the pages of The Little Women are punctuated by comments from the "real" Meg and Amy. Their notes and Jo's replies form a second narrative, as they argue about the "truth" of the novel. Why do readers insist on searching for the autobiographical elements of fiction? When does a novelist go too far in mulching actual experience for a novel? What rights, if any, does a writer have to grant the people in her life and story? An ingenious combination of classic storytelling in a contemporary mode, The Little Women confirms Katharine Weber's reputation as a writer who "astutely explores the gap between perception and reality." (The New York Times Book Review) Review:"[S]tops being droll only to be funny and almost never stops being exceedingly smart....Creeping into the whelk shell of Louisa May Alcott's celebrated novel, it avails itself of the spirals to do double and triple twists inside them." Richard Eder, The New York Times Review:"Weber fleshes out her lively, spontaneous characters with tremendously affecting detail....A novel of the old school: chockfull of know-it-all literary allusions and very hard not to like." Kirkus Reviews Review:"Weber packs humor and wit into a coming-of-age novel for modern-day young women and sisters everywhere." Elsa Gaztambide, Booklist Review:"This might have been contentious fun, but the plodding, predictable narrative commentary begs to be skimmed, and the theorizing leaks into the story itself....Better to reread the original..." Publishers Weekly Review:"[Weber's] seamless integration of a metafictional narrative with skillful old-fashioned storytelling is intellectually and aesthetically satisfying." Emily Barton, The New York Times Book Review Review:"This highly ambitious venture has mixed results: the book is periodically both enlightening and tedious. While Weber should be lauded for attempting to home in on what 'fiction' includes, The Little Women is only partially successful." Library Journal Review:"[W]itty and compassionate....Weber skillfully makes Joanna's writing mature as the novel progresses....[S]heer fun, especially for those of us who have loved the original Little Women." Marianne Evett, The Cleveland Plain Dealer Synopsis:Sisters Meg, Jo and Amy have the perfect family--loving, creative parents; a comfortable life on Manhattan's Upper West Side; a future full of possibility. Perfect until the daughters discover their mother has had affair, and, even worse, that their father has forgiven her. Shattered by their parents' failure to live up to the moral standards and values of the family, the two younger sisters leave New York and move to Meg's apartment in New Haven, where Meg is a junior at Yale. It is here that the girls will form their own family, divorced from their parents. The Little Women is a chronicle of that year, wittily narrated as a novel written by the middle sister Jo and commented upon throughout by her sisters. About the AuthorKatharine Weber is the author of two previous novels: The Music Lesson and Objects in Mirror are Closer Than They Appear. She teaches fiction writing at Yale University. What Our Readers Are SayingBe the first to add a comment for a chance to win!Product Details
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