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Full disclosure: I've never read Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. Given that I've never touched the source material, it may seem like an odd choice to read Geraldine Brooks' March, but it turned out to be a welcome and entirely enjoyable read. In fact, of the three books I've read so far for my 2020 Pulitzer challenge, March is far and away the best.

I was given to understand that Mr. March, the titular lead, is almost entirely absent from the proceedings of Little Women aside from the occasional battlefront correspondence. For me, this worked entirely since I was able to understand and appreciate this novel entirely without knowledge of the classic on which it is based. March's character is perfectly suited to carry the novel on his back with his idealistic aspirations and the way in which those ideals clash with the realities of the American Civil War. Indeed, I was at first taken by March's moral high ground and sunny outlook, but the novel's strength lies in the fragmentary erosion of the lead's ability to make any difference in the world he desires.

The book takes its most interesting turn when Mr. March finds his way to a recently liberated plantation that demonstrates how little he understands of the practicalities of the war. The former slaves and their newfound employer were compelling characters in their own right and act as foils to March. Reader be warned: this is also where the novel treads into its most horrific and depraved scenes. Though the novel can be challenging from a content perspective, I was taken by the complexity with which all characters are able to articulate their viewpoints and how they contrast with the perceived through-line of history.

For my personal taste, when the novel changes near the end to Marmee's perspective all momentum is lost. Though March's climax occurs just before that, the denouement of the story dips too heavily into the themes of marriage and truth, veering from the themes that had anchored the book in my mind. My edition of the book comes with an interview from Brooks who claims this change was in part dictated by the structure of Little Women and in part to explore the March's marriage. Though I can see the logistics of it, it fell a little flat for me and kept it from snagging a five-star review.

Despite that, March is a marvellous novel. I'd find myself thinking about a particular scene, character, or Brooks' excellent writing even when I wasn't reading the book. March challenges simple virtue, or at the very least zooms in on a seemingly straightforward moral dilemma to show all its complexities. I'll be thinking about this one for quite some time.

This is the third book of my 2020 Pultizer Challenge!