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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book. A valuable addition for any Alcott Fan., March 17, 2010
This review is from: The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott (Hardcover)
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This novel was an easy read yet set an intriguing plot that allowed the reader to imagine what might have happened one summer in the life of Louisa May Alcott. The author set the stage for the 1800's time frame and gave the reader a feel for what life was like in the small town of Walpole, New Hampshire. It also gave true insight into the dynamics of the Alcott family, the access the girls had to education and the hardships they endured from their father's philosophy. The heart of the story was the on again, off again romance between Louisa May and Joseph Singer. The experience definitely could have been life changing for the two. The final chapter did catch the reader up and answered many questions that came to mind from reading the story. The use of book quotes at the start of each chapter was a nice touch and reminded the reader of many great works that they might want to read again. This book is a must read for any Louisa May Alcott fan.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
transcending genres, April 3, 2010
This review is from: The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott (Hardcover)
If one is prepared to accept the premiss that Louisa May Alcott's classic novel Little Women is semi-autobiographical, and that Martha Saxton's biography of her is the definitive account, then Kelly O'Connor McNee's `The Lost Summer...' can be considered as the third part of a literary troika which gives a combined perspective of Louisa May's life and work.
Even setting such a notion aside, there is much to be gleaned from this novel, which is an imagination of events in Louisa May's life inspired by both Little Women and the biography.
The action takes place in the summer of 1855 when the family, on the insistence of father Alcott, who seems unable to settle in any particular place for long, lands in the New England town of Walpole. Louisa May, forever at odds with her father, would love to break away and seek her freedom and independence elsewhere - preferably in Boston - but out of loyalty to her mother and her sisters she stays in order to help them set up home.
She meets people, and one of them, a storeowner called Joseph Singer (a fictional character) brings love to her life. But Louisa May has a dream, a dream of becoming a writer, and so is presented with a dilemma: If she also settles in Walpole, marries Joseph and becomes a wife and mother, will she throw away a chance of fulfilling her dream?
Kelly O'Connor McNee has vividly evoked the nineteenth century period just before the American Civil War through her characterizations and her descriptions of real events that seamlessly blend with her fictional narrative. It is a quick and enjoyable read, with any loose ends nicely wrapped together in a satisfactory conclusion.
It must be said this novel contains many allusions to Little Women but it is no mirror image; Louisa May is very much the main focus and, although her father occasionally looms large, family members have lesser roles to play than in the original work.
A book for Alcott enthusiasts, although perhaps not for the scholarly type - it being written in a simple, straight forward prose style that doesn't really challenge the reader. Four stars.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An endearing look at what might have been, April 14, 2010
This review is from: The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott (Hardcover)
Like so many other young readers, Louisa May Alcott was one of the first authors that I really connected with. For years after my first reading experience with Little Women, I counted Louisa May Alcott as my favorite author. I wrote countless book reports on her and beginning at age ten I read all of her major works from Little Women to Eight Cousins to Jack and Jill until I was about sixteen.
Within all of these works, there always seemed to be a slip of Louisa shining through, but I never really knew the author behind those words despite what facts I tried to glean from biographical sources. Those who enjoyed Little Women will enjoy this story of Louisa and her humble family as well, though this is told with more of the modern fashion of today and with a bit more of a depressive pall over the general story. The situation is very similar though, with the sisters' relationships and the era, which is depicted well in this new novel.
The poverty that Louisa's family faced was different then one would off-handedly assume. When one is thought of as being poor, we tend to think that the provider in the family is naturally doing everything in his power to achieve a better way of life for the family, yet perhaps circumstances have not been kind to them. That was not the case with the Alcotts. Louisa's father, Bronson, was a Transcendentalist, and did not believe in obtaining money for his speeches that he gave, and was against commercial gains. His family gave what they should have kept for themselves, as they were humble enough to realize that giving was better than receiving, even if they themselves did not have enough candles for the night or enough bread for the day.
From what I recall reading Louisa's writings many moons ago, her spirited wit and happiness within family and hope seemed to emanate throughout, even when there was destitution or poverty. Beginning to read McNees' telling, this story is at the point where Louisa and her sister Anna were in their early twenties living at home with the greatest hope of escaping. The vibrancy of childish hope is no longer at the forefront, s these girls are mature enough to realize the struggles that adulthood provides. This summer that the author writes of in this novel illustrated the inner struggles that the elder girls faced, as they were torn between their family loyalties and their wishes for a better life for themselves. Anna had hopes for a marriage and children, while Louisa aches for independence so that she can write her stories. Once Louisa meets Joseph Singer, Louisa is faced with the struggle between the romantic bliss of a new love which eludes to a promise of family, versus that very same independence that Louisa has worked towards for years and counted on as her way of life.
This story was extremely eloquent and reminiscent of Alcott's writing as I felt whisked away to her time period, and I was utterly bereft when the novel was over. It had me from the front cover. The novel focused on one aspect of Louisa's life that was entirely fictitious, but was still well worth my time. The fictitious aspect concerned a love affair with a gentle young man, who was ready to run away with Louisa and make a new life for the both of them. I fervently hoped that she would accept his love and run away with him so that she would be privy to the solace of a family of her own. But could Louisa have been satisfied with such a momentous decision?
I felt so close to Louisa through this author's re-imaginings and I wish the novel started out when Louisa was small and ended with Louisa's death. I still would have savored a thousand page book if told in the same fashion that this novel was told in. I highly recommend The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott to all fans of Louisa May Alcott and those who are interested late 1800's New England culture. The details of the way of life and the settings were wonderfully inserted and made for a piece of work that the private Louisa May Alcott would have been proud of. I even enjoyed the cover of the book, it was very well done and the chapters beginning with quotes and time periods were helpful for setting the stage. The chapters that began with a quote from Louisa's works made me realize I really need to go back and re-read her work. The one complaint is that it was entirely too short, but since it was a tale focused on summer love I understand the need for brevity. It felt like a minor blip in regards to the true scope of Louisa's life, and I still feel the need for more on Louisa for which I will read some other works such as Eden's Outcasts by John Matteson and March by Geraldine Brooks. Since it was so focused on a love story, I would also recommend this to chick-lit fans and is even appropriate for the Young Adult genre since it was such an easy read.
This was a fabulous debut novel for Kelly O'Connor McNees which makes me wonder what is next from her pen as I will be eager to read more from her. The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott is a fantastic addition to my Louisa May Alcott library that totally exceeded my expectations. This is going on my Top Ten Faves of 2010 list.
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