"Have regular hours for work and play, make each day both useful and pleasant, and prove that you understand the worth of time by employing it well. Then youth will be delightful, old age will bring few regrets, and life will become a beautiful success."
You know it hadn't been a great time when I hadn't had any reading done in months. Something came up. It clashed with my interest in other things and took over my life just because I unjustly prioritized one over the other.
It's quite ironic how finishing a book feels more like the Great Achievement now, but I'm not complaining. It's better than nothing at all since Little Women by Louisa May Alcott took the honor and brought home something warm and close to heart. Following the story of the four March girls in 1860s Massachusetts during the Civil Wars, the book grows up with Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy upon and after entering womanhood. Beautiful Meg is very proper and dutiful, the writer-to-be Jo is bold and lively, Beth is sweet and very kind, while artistic Amy, being the youngest, is quite spoiled. It's a coming-of-age book about how the four girls struggle to conform to the general idea of how a young woman should be at that time amidst their poverty, how each of them represents different paths and wants in life, and how they become very good friends with their favorite neighbor: Laurie and his grandfather.
As it turned out, Little Women became a book I got easily attached to after surviving the first chapter. It was a classic classic, timeless despite the centuries it had endured. I'm almost sure that this book will be something I long to reread and dive again in the future.
I thanked two of my favorite characters for the great time I had reading it: Jo and Laurie. For me, both were the highlight of the book, with Jo being the one I could resonate with most. But the points made by this book were not from her parts alone. I admired how each of the March sisters had their flaws and mistakes, how they learned from mundane, relatable experiences, and how the lessons shaped them into better people.
Even though it might seem like the book did not provide any strong plot, it was still a heartwarming story with many moral messages regardless. I was heartbroken at the loss of the dearest, and when I found out that my favorite pairing hadn't come to fruition, I was agitated. It was a roller coaster ride in the sense of being a part of an everyday human life. Some things happened, like it or not.
In conclusion, I would recommend Little Women to all classic lovers. If you have no experience with classic books, I encourage you to give it a try at least for the first few chapters. You might find yourself in love with the setting, the beautiful yet flawed characters, and also with the ordinary yet warm family.
Actual rating: 4.5★
