Reviews for The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott

The average rating for The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-03-19 00:00:00 Rud Ferd Anyone who loved Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women" will find "The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott" a delightful extension of the family atmosphere that made Alcott's book such a treasure. In much the same way that the Jo March character in "Little Women" is based on Alcott's own life and family story, so too, is this novel based in part on the real life of Louisa May Alcott. Though the central story of Louisa's romance with Joseph Singer during the summer of 1855 in Walpole, New Hampshire, is a fiction, many of the elements included in the story have been taken from what is known about that time period in Alcott's own life. Descriptions of her own family and circumstances are taken from letters of the author and other research and incorporated seamlessly by Kelly O'Connor McNees into this charming tale of Alcott's difficult choices on the road to becoming a writer. The book and story line are so compelling simply because they reflect not only the historical time period in the country, its cultural bloom (the summer of Whitman's then-controversial "Leaves of Grass"), but also of Alcott's own family life. The story focuses on the traditional underpinnings of society's expectations of women, and Alcott's own struggle to be her own person and do what she loved, despite it all. The story reveals much about the Alcott family's circumstances as well. Alcott's father, a well known philosopher of the day who mingled with the likes of Emerson and Thoreau, was also a man determined to live according to his own beliefs, even at the expense of his family, who suffered financially as a result. Louisa's sisters and Marmee are included, but with more life-challenging struggles than appear in Alcott's own fictional story, "Little Women." Yet despite the hardships facing the Alcott family, readers will cheer them on in this novel. Capturing the Alcotts' lives for a brief summer and combining it with a romance between a young Louisa May (then on the brink of her life as a writer) with an honorable local boy, Joseph Singer, facing his own family crisis, this story is a delight to read. The choices laid out for Louisa between love and work, as well as devotion to family vs personal freedom, will resonate with readers. Just as Louisa finds herself conflicted between love and writing, so too will readers wish that she could "have it all." True to the character of Jo March and Louisa May Alcott's own life, author McNees seems to find the perfect balance within the story of "The Lost Summer." Most importantly, this novel remains true to the ideas and ideal of Alcott's life and writing. Author McNees clearly is an Alcott fan, and her story is a tribute to the fine work of Alcott. Where someone else might have used the Alcott story to lesser ends, this novel does both authors justice. It's a lovingly told tale, in the fine tradition of Alcott herself.

Review # 2 was written on 2010-04-23 00:00:00 Amber Demeter Just on the cusp of international fame as a writer, Louisa May Alcott and her family move to the hamlet of Walpole, New Hampshire in the summer of 1855. Bronson Alcott, full-time philosopher and zero-time bread-winner, moves the family into a house generously on loan from family ' just another chapter in the Alcott's life of borrowing in order to sleep and eat. Bronson won't compromise his transcendental ideals to merely put bread in his daughers' mouths. Louisa, exhausted from years of poverty, distracted parents, and a noisy house full of sisters, plots and plans to move to Boston and earn a living by her pen. Though she has been saving the little she has earned from selling her stories, she feels compelled to help her parents and sisters get settled in Walpole before she sets off for a life of blissful independence ' hampered by no man and by no babies. And then, in a "lost summer" (lost because much later in life McNees' Alcott burns all evidence of this summer), Alcott meets Joseph Singer, son of the dry goods shop owner. A man who also has read the scandalous new Leaves of Grass. A man whose ideas about marriage are so progressive they almost tempt young Louisa to consider a more traditional life of marital bliss. Due to my love of Alcott and my incredible appreciation for the fact that McNees is a former English teacher, I really wanted to love this book. I was over the moon when I found it in my mailbox! I'll admit, I did get sucked in to the story, particularly after the first 100 pages, which were particularly slow. Admirably, McNees also steers clear of a simplistic reimaging of Little Women. This is its own book, weaving in bits of Alcott's less-famous writing and excerpts from her letters and journals. But, parts just didn't ring true for me. Although historically the Alcotts did run in the same circles as Thoreau and Emerson, Emerson's appearance in the book felt like a cheesy cameo. The love story was a little predictable, and the Louisa May Alcott character felt slightly one-dimensional. Fiery, temper-driven, myopic in her drive, this Louisa not only plays against assumptions about the woman behind the story but also reduces her to an archetype. While it is not complex or probing, The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott is a nice, light read ' perfect for the beach or an afternoon on the porch.