March-ing Forward

I love it when I'm midway through a book that I just pulled off a bookstore shelf because it looked interesting, and - bam! - it wins a big prize. Here I am, smack in the middle of Geraldine Brooks' March, and low and behold, it's honored with the Pulitzer. It beat out Doctorow's The March, which I read last year.

Both Marches take place during the American Civil War. Doctorow's, about Sherman's big-time march, was readable but unremarkable to me. A nice read, but I don't remember much about it except that it acts as a sort of prequel to Ragtime, introducing us to Coalhouse's forebears, etc.

Brooks' book, though, really intrigued me when I saw it at the bookstore. It's about Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy March's father, who - if you remember - was away at war during Little Women. As I read this book, I feel that Alcott's characters are fleshed out even more in seeing them through the eyes of the absent father. His war experience and the backstory he provides about Marmee add another dimension to the much-loved story.

Good book. Glad it won the Pulitzer. But it's not as good as Brooks' Year of Wonders - wow! - about the plague village, Eyam. Terrific story - grab it and read.

I'm on the countdown to my big move. Still so much to do. I know it will happen, but it ain't gonna be easy. Sigh.