MARCH by Geraldine Brooks

MARCH

by

Geraldine Brooks

            March, by Geraldine Brooks, is the 2006 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Fiction. It is a work of historical fiction, examining the civil war and slavery in America. The vehicle for this examination is Mr. March, the absent father from Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women.

            Although the subject matter renders this book troubling to read in parts, it is well written and very interesting. In some ways, my experience reading this book was similar to my experience reading The Secret Chord, Brooks’ recent book (see review dated May 11, 2018): after a somewhat slow start, the pace picked up, with my admiration for the book growing the more I read.

            I felt a little ambivalent while reading March; unlike King David in The Secret Chord, March is a fictional character. But, then I read the wonderful “Afterword” in which Brooks explains how she looked to Bronson Alcott, Louisa May Alcott’s father, in her portrayal of March. Not only did this resolve any uncertainty I may have been feeling, but it was a poignant reminder of just how very clever Brooks is. March is very well done.