Good Wives

Little Women ????????????Good Wives ????????????

This is the second part of the story from Little Women, published sometimes in two volumes and sometimes published together in one. As I read the series originally thinking they were separate books I will continue on this way, and I do find each part is a full bodied story with its own arc.

In Good Wives, Meg has married and established a home of her own. She struggles with her love of material things and becoming a new mother. Beth has been ill for a long time, and feels as though her condition will keep her weak forever. Amy discovers life abroad, and Jo discovers her independence.

A couple of my favourite characters are introduced in this volume, and we are well set up for the next few books. It is those books that I remember being particularly special.

The rating for this was much closer to Little Women than I anticipated. Given that I had never heard of Little Men, nor had my wife, it seemed to me that the book must not have been able to live up to the prequel.

I was pleasantly surprised, because while the same criticisms certainly are still there so are a great number of the strengths that I enjoyed. Jo was always my favourite, her school for boys is quite amusing and filled with some characters I can't help but root for. It doesn't quite measure up to Little Women as there are some characters that don't really serve any purpose, but it's very close.