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247 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1864
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About the author
Louisa May Alcott
4,042 books10.6k followersLouisa May Alcott was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet best known for writing the novel Little Women (1868) and its sequels Good Wives (1869), Little Men (1871) and Jo's Boys (1886). Raised in New England by her transcendentalist parents, Abigail May Alcott and Amos Bronson Alcott, she grew up among many well-known intellectuals of the day, including Margaret Fuller, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Alcott's family suffered from financial difficulties, and while she worked to help support the family from an early age, she also sought an outlet in writing. She began to receive critical success for her writing in the 1860s. Early in her career, she sometimes used pen names such as A.M. Barnard, under which she wrote lurid short stories and sensation novels for adults that focused on passion and revenge.
Published in 1868, Little Women is set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House, in Concord, Massachusetts, and is loosely based on Alcott's childhood experiences with her three sisters, Abigail May Alcott Nieriker, Elizabeth Sewall Alcott, and Anna Bronson Alcott Pratt. The novel was well-received at the time and is still popular today among both children and adults. It has been adapted for stage plays, films, and television many times.
Alcott was an abolitionist and a feminist and remained unmarried throughout her life. She also spent her life active in reform movements such as temperance and women's suffrage. She died from a stroke in Boston on March 6, 1888, just two days after her father's death.
Alcott's family suffered from financial difficulties, and while she worked to help support the family from an early age, she also sought an outlet in writing. She began to receive critical success for her writing in the 1860s. Early in her career, she sometimes used pen names such as A.M. Barnard, under which she wrote lurid short stories and sensation novels for adults that focused on passion and revenge.
Published in 1868, Little Women is set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House, in Concord, Massachusetts, and is loosely based on Alcott's childhood experiences with her three sisters, Abigail May Alcott Nieriker, Elizabeth Sewall Alcott, and Anna Bronson Alcott Pratt. The novel was well-received at the time and is still popular today among both children and adults. It has been adapted for stage plays, films, and television many times.
Alcott was an abolitionist and a feminist and remained unmarried throughout her life. She also spent her life active in reform movements such as temperance and women's suffrage. She died from a stroke in Boston on March 6, 1888, just two days after her father's death.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews
March 9, 2018
Edited March 8, 2018 (see below)**
Before Alcott's publisher would print this, her first serious novel for adults, written before her more famous works for children, he had her cut it in half. Alcott regretted this and years later when she received back her copyright, before republishing it herself, she rewrote it, reinserting some of the left-out chapters, cutting the beginning and changing the ending. The first published version is what I've read.
While the melodrama of some of the scenes, especially the beginning and the end, may be off-putting and the characters mere mouthpieces for Alcott's themes, I found it well-written. And those themes are what I found the most intriguing, especially the idea of unmatched pairs and the long train of evils arising from marriages made from impulse, and not principle. There is also a theoretical discussion among the characters about divorce, a daring topic for the time.
As with Bronte's Jane Eyre and Lucy Snowe, Alcott's 17-year-old Sylvia Yule (her pastoral name fits another theme) desires a friend much more than she desires love, but what she ends up in is a love triangle and she's in way over her head. If only Sylvia could've had the past thirty Faith (also aptly named), who is single by choice, as a friend sooner. Alcott seemed to be working on the idea that marriage is not the be-all and end-all of life (another daring idea for the time), not to mention the be-all and end-all of a novel.
In the preface to the republished version, Alcott states the original publisher's version made it seem as if marriage was the theme of this novel and that's not what she intended. Instead, the original purpose of the story was ... an attempt to show the mistakes of a moody nature, guided by impulse, not principle. She was right that this did not come across in its first published form.
**
I'd hoped to read Alcott’s second version of this novel straight through, in the form she’d rewritten it, eighteen years after she first wrote it. But there doesn’t seem to be a copy like that in existence any longer, only in this form of her revisions and additions noted and attached in footnotes and appendices to the originally published text. So instead of rereading the whole book, I read only the new-to-me passages. I've switched my original review (see above) to the edition containing these.
Reading the new sections was enough to see that the changes Alcott made—especially the complete excision of a subplot that had started off and complicated her story too much—were for the better. Of course she had eighteen years of wisdom and writing experience behind her, needed for the complicated subject she was tackling. I had rated the original 3 stars and have now upped it by one.
This edition also contains a review written by Henry James of the original Moods. Because a review by James of a different Alcott work is mentioned in notes to the introduction, I was prepared to be outraged at his snarky condescension and, yes, there is that, even downright meanness; but the review is very funny in that inimitable Jamesian way and he does grant Alcott some grace in his last paragraph. He absolutely slammed the aforementioned subplot that she ended up removing eighteen years later, so she likely remembered his review—how could she not.
I don't want to end on James, so I will note that now that I've read Margaret Fuller: A New American Life, I see the debt (the editor of this book calls it a "tribute") of Alcott's dramatic penultimate scene to Fuller's tragic end.
Before Alcott's publisher would print this, her first serious novel for adults, written before her more famous works for children, he had her cut it in half. Alcott regretted this and years later when she received back her copyright, before republishing it herself, she rewrote it, reinserting some of the left-out chapters, cutting the beginning and changing the ending. The first published version is what I've read.
While the melodrama of some of the scenes, especially the beginning and the end, may be off-putting and the characters mere mouthpieces for Alcott's themes, I found it well-written. And those themes are what I found the most intriguing, especially the idea of unmatched pairs and the long train of evils arising from marriages made from impulse, and not principle. There is also a theoretical discussion among the characters about divorce, a daring topic for the time.
As with Bronte's Jane Eyre and Lucy Snowe, Alcott's 17-year-old Sylvia Yule (her pastoral name fits another theme) desires a friend much more than she desires love, but what she ends up in is a love triangle and she's in way over her head. If only Sylvia could've had the past thirty Faith (also aptly named), who is single by choice, as a friend sooner. Alcott seemed to be working on the idea that marriage is not the be-all and end-all of life (another daring idea for the time), not to mention the be-all and end-all of a novel.
In the preface to the republished version, Alcott states the original publisher's version made it seem as if marriage was the theme of this novel and that's not what she intended. Instead, the original purpose of the story was ... an attempt to show the mistakes of a moody nature, guided by impulse, not principle. She was right that this did not come across in its first published form.
**
I'd hoped to read Alcott’s second version of this novel straight through, in the form she’d rewritten it, eighteen years after she first wrote it. But there doesn’t seem to be a copy like that in existence any longer, only in this form of her revisions and additions noted and attached in footnotes and appendices to the originally published text. So instead of rereading the whole book, I read only the new-to-me passages. I've switched my original review (see above) to the edition containing these.
Reading the new sections was enough to see that the changes Alcott made—especially the complete excision of a subplot that had started off and complicated her story too much—were for the better. Of course she had eighteen years of wisdom and writing experience behind her, needed for the complicated subject she was tackling. I had rated the original 3 stars and have now upped it by one.
This edition also contains a review written by Henry James of the original Moods. Because a review by James of a different Alcott work is mentioned in notes to the introduction, I was prepared to be outraged at his snarky condescension and, yes, there is that, even downright meanness; but the review is very funny in that inimitable Jamesian way and he does grant Alcott some grace in his last paragraph. He absolutely slammed the aforementioned subplot that she ended up removing eighteen years later, so she likely remembered his review—how could she not.
I don't want to end on James, so I will note that now that I've read Margaret Fuller: A New American Life, I see the debt (the editor of this book calls it a "tribute") of Alcott's dramatic penultimate scene to Fuller's tragic end.
October 19, 2016
This is my second reading of this book and I admit to liking it even more now than I did a handful of years ago.
On the surface, it seems a positively glib little novel about love and marriage and the good and bad choices that one silly young woman makes. Rather, we have here a careful consideration of the roles assigned to women in the 19th century, and the price that women paid for either walking the line, or deviating from it. In either case, the choices were constricting for women, because true freedom of choice was a sad misnomer.
The prose is simple and unembellished; the story is straightforward and uncomplicated. Yet, by the time you've finished it you find you've had an exhaustive survey course in 19th American philosophy with someone who could best Emerson at his most abstruse. A delightful little irony to consider since Emerson regarded Louisa with benign disdain for her accomplishments. (i.e. she did OK for a woman), a fact that Emerson reinforced with Alcott's father, Bronson, himself a paragon of virtue and intellect. (No irony intended, of course.)
The all of it: this is an amazing little novel if you want to enter the mind of an intelligent 19th century woman.
On the surface, it seems a positively glib little novel about love and marriage and the good and bad choices that one silly young woman makes. Rather, we have here a careful consideration of the roles assigned to women in the 19th century, and the price that women paid for either walking the line, or deviating from it. In either case, the choices were constricting for women, because true freedom of choice was a sad misnomer.
The prose is simple and unembellished; the story is straightforward and uncomplicated. Yet, by the time you've finished it you find you've had an exhaustive survey course in 19th American philosophy with someone who could best Emerson at his most abstruse. A delightful little irony to consider since Emerson regarded Louisa with benign disdain for her accomplishments. (i.e. she did OK for a woman), a fact that Emerson reinforced with Alcott's father, Bronson, himself a paragon of virtue and intellect. (No irony intended, of course.)
The all of it: this is an amazing little novel if you want to enter the mind of an intelligent 19th century woman.
July 21, 2025
To jedna z tych książek, które można określić mianem - zestarzała się. Treściowo bardzo widać, że to nie te czasy, że „kiedyś to było, teraz to nie ma”. Alcott głos oddaje w większości narratorowi, więc są długie, bardzo męczące i nudne opisy i nie dzieje się w tej książce zbyt wiele. Głównie jest to analiza charakterów bohaterów, a zwłaszcza nastrojów Sylvii, głównej bohaterki.
I miałam nie oceniać tej książki gwiazdkowo, bo jasne, wynudziłam się strasznie, moralizatorski ton też książki i jej przestarzałość nie pomagały w uprzyjemnianiu lektury, ale to wciąż Alcott więc miała i przebłyski czegoś ciekawego. A potem doszłam do zakończenia i bardzo się wkurzyłam.
Dwie gwiazdki, a nie jedna, bo to wciąż Alcott i mam na uwadze, że to inne czasy, inne myślenie.
I miałam nie oceniać tej książki gwiazdkowo, bo jasne, wynudziłam się strasznie, moralizatorski ton też książki i jej przestarzałość nie pomagały w uprzyjemnianiu lektury, ale to wciąż Alcott więc miała i przebłyski czegoś ciekawego. A potem doszłam do zakończenia i bardzo się wkurzyłam.
Dwie gwiazdki, a nie jedna, bo to wciąż Alcott i mam na uwadze, że to inne czasy, inne myślenie.
July 7, 2017
Moods was Alcott's first published novel, originally published in 1864, then heavily revised and reissued in 1882. This edition is of the 1864 edition, with appendices including the 1882 revisions, which is fascinating as far as seeing what Alcott changed. Her story of a woman subject to moods (someone we might call manic-depressive today) is uneven, but ambitious in its attempt to portray an unusual heroine's psyche and the restrictions of her life.
September 4, 2010
Louisa May Alcott's first novel. Heroine, young Sylvia, a moody teenage girl of 19th century needs to learn life lessons and choose between two men who love her. What is that truly matter - people or principles? Should or should not an eagle and a little wood bird mate for life?
Being restless, impetuous and moody girl myself, I loved the book for I found so much I could relate to.
Being restless, impetuous and moody girl myself, I loved the book for I found so much I could relate to.
July 8, 2023
This novel centers on a failed marriage plot and the need for individuals – women in particular – to cultivate self-love before they can properly love another. Much of the novel can be read as Alcott’s attempt to work out the Transcendentalist philosophies of her father Bronson Alcott and his friends Emerson, Thoreau, and Margaret Fuller. The Transcendentalists debates over love, marriage, and friendship in particular come to mind. The first edition of this work ends typically with sentimental death of the heroine. However, in the latter edition, Alcott has the heroine live, having mastered the lessons of love and duty. This novel really represents growth in Alcott’s repertoire and her struggle to write what she hoped would be her great America novel.
September 10, 2017
Moods is an emotionally-moving book dealing with adult issues. It was painful, knowing as an observer that mistakes were being made by the characters. I initially was rooting for Sylvia and Geoffrey Moor, but before too long I was thinking that Sylvia should be with Adam Warwick after all. This was a classic love triangle where no one was evil.
So you're wondering why only two stars. I really hated the last two chapters. I almost stopped reading, but since I was so close to the end I persevered. Everyone's self-sacrifice was annoying. It seemed useless.
So you're wondering why only two stars. I really hated the last two chapters. I almost stopped reading, but since I was so close to the end I persevered. Everyone's self-sacrifice was annoying. It seemed useless.
March 31, 2013
Moods is one of Louisa May Alcott's lesser known novels, and one intended for a more mature audience than her Little Women-fare. It was written before her great success with that novel, and later re-written over twenty years later with a changed ending that focused less on its heroine's romances, and more on her development as an individual.
Sylvia Yule is the protagonist, a moody, mercurial young woman. She falls in love with one man, a man who is strong and upright, a man of principle above all else, Adam Warwick. Then, Warwick disappears, and his kind, gentle, loving, poetic friend Geoffrey Moor asks Sylvia to marry him. Sylvia delays, but eventually agrees, believing that she was wrong in thinking Warwick loved her in return. Warwick does eventually return, and then Sylvia must face her husband and tell him that she loves another, and regrets her impetuous leap into matrimony.
Moods primarily read as a cautionary tale. Alcott's narrator continually refers to Sylvia as a girl, as too young for marriage (although marrying around 17 would not have been uncommon, and Sylvia's older sister Prue later speaks on the virtues and benefits of marrying a man ten years her senior). It is clear to the reader that Sylvia's marriage to Moor is a mistake not only because of her feelings for Warwick, but because she is rushing into such a commitment before being old enough to really know what she wants. If Sylvia is a particularly moody girl, says Alcott's narrator, she is not unlike other members of her cohort that marry too soon and later come to regret it.
While this story starts as romance, it ends as a coming of age Bildungsroman. Sylvia goes from a girl to a woman, learning who is she is, and who she is willing to be for the sake of others.
Sylvia Yule is the protagonist, a moody, mercurial young woman. She falls in love with one man, a man who is strong and upright, a man of principle above all else, Adam Warwick. Then, Warwick disappears, and his kind, gentle, loving, poetic friend Geoffrey Moor asks Sylvia to marry him. Sylvia delays, but eventually agrees, believing that she was wrong in thinking Warwick loved her in return. Warwick does eventually return, and then Sylvia must face her husband and tell him that she loves another, and regrets her impetuous leap into matrimony.
Moods primarily read as a cautionary tale. Alcott's narrator continually refers to Sylvia as a girl, as too young for marriage (although marrying around 17 would not have been uncommon, and Sylvia's older sister Prue later speaks on the virtues and benefits of marrying a man ten years her senior). It is clear to the reader that Sylvia's marriage to Moor is a mistake not only because of her feelings for Warwick, but because she is rushing into such a commitment before being old enough to really know what she wants. If Sylvia is a particularly moody girl, says Alcott's narrator, she is not unlike other members of her cohort that marry too soon and later come to regret it.
While this story starts as romance, it ends as a coming of age Bildungsroman. Sylvia goes from a girl to a woman, learning who is she is, and who she is willing to be for the sake of others.
August 23, 2013
There was so much I liked
-- and then they got to talking about how the blind, and the crippled, and the crazy people should not marry lest they drag down their lovers into a never-ending vortex of despair and suffering because that shit is catching
-- and -- no.
Ms. Alcott worked on this novel longer and more doggedly than any of her others, and it wasn't ever a success (probably because it is about adulterous love and hard duty and the heroine is bipolar? just guessing.) -- but whatever the public thought, it clearly had significance for its author. Sylvia, presumably, is a representation of her own tangled feelings re duty and desire and mooooods; presumably Alcott was reminding herself that she had a moral responsibility to remain unmarried. Whether she ever wanted to marry -- I don't know.
So. I am choosing to interpret this nasty ableist eliminationist rhetoric as Alcott talking to herself, rather than to the world ... although she chose to publish with rhetoric intact, and where does that leave me?
-- and then they got to talking about how the blind, and the crippled, and the crazy people should not marry lest they drag down their lovers into a never-ending vortex of despair and suffering because that shit is catching
-- and -- no.
Ms. Alcott worked on this novel longer and more doggedly than any of her others, and it wasn't ever a success (probably because it is about adulterous love and hard duty and the heroine is bipolar? just guessing.) -- but whatever the public thought, it clearly had significance for its author. Sylvia, presumably, is a representation of her own tangled feelings re duty and desire and mooooods; presumably Alcott was reminding herself that she had a moral responsibility to remain unmarried. Whether she ever wanted to marry -- I don't know.
So. I am choosing to interpret this nasty ableist eliminationist rhetoric as Alcott talking to herself, rather than to the world ... although she chose to publish with rhetoric intact, and where does that leave me?
July 11, 2018
3.5 Stars.
I had a really hard time deciding how to rate this book. On one hand, I didn’t fall in love with the story, many of the characters were not very likable, and they were pretty underdeveloped. I also did not care for the ending whatsoever. So, I was leaning towards 2.5 stars(I wish Goodreads had a half star)
Alcott’s publisher wanted this book trimmed down. Alcott herself loved this book and considered it her baby. 18 years later she revised it and made a handful of changes including the ending. The newer ending is so much better and wraps the story up so well. Because of that, and how beautiful and compelling the writing was throughout the entire book I decided on three stars even though I wish I could’ve given at 3.5 stars. If you are an Alcott fan, I highly recommend reading this book. It is so different than what you know by her.
I had a really hard time deciding how to rate this book. On one hand, I didn’t fall in love with the story, many of the characters were not very likable, and they were pretty underdeveloped. I also did not care for the ending whatsoever. So, I was leaning towards 2.5 stars(I wish Goodreads had a half star)
Alcott’s publisher wanted this book trimmed down. Alcott herself loved this book and considered it her baby. 18 years later she revised it and made a handful of changes including the ending. The newer ending is so much better and wraps the story up so well. Because of that, and how beautiful and compelling the writing was throughout the entire book I decided on three stars even though I wish I could’ve given at 3.5 stars. If you are an Alcott fan, I highly recommend reading this book. It is so different than what you know by her.
July 11, 2018
This is so unlike Louisa May's other books. I am so glad I read this. The writing is so compelling and beautiful. The story is odd and the characters are a bit annoying, underdeveloped, and laughable but it's a real gem!
September 23, 2025
ultimately boring and long, but suddenly it becomes moby dick “a squeeze of the hand”
a spunky tomboy goes on a camping trip with her brother and his two best friends. she doesn’t really like either of them, but both confess their feelings for her. so she picks one at random marries him but he’s really just her friend. depressed because she can’t figure out how to submit to her husband, she tells him she’s going to leave him.before she can leave, he leaves HER, gets on a boat to go travelling the world with the other boy. the ship wrecks, they kiss passionately, and jump overboard. the tomboy’s husband survives, and he comes back home to her. because this is a first novel, alcott decides to kill off the tomboy too.
a spunky tomboy goes on a camping trip with her brother and his two best friends. she doesn’t really like either of them, but both confess their feelings for her. so she picks one at random marries him but he’s really just her friend. depressed because she can’t figure out how to submit to her husband, she tells him she’s going to leave him.before she can leave, he leaves HER, gets on a boat to go travelling the world with the other boy. the ship wrecks, they kiss passionately, and jump overboard. the tomboy’s husband survives, and he comes back home to her. because this is a first novel, alcott decides to kill off the tomboy too.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 17, 2018
Louisa is the very , very close writer to my heart , my first station of reading <3
but unfortunately the beginning of the novel did not catch my attention so I did not complete it . The 2 stars are for Louisa's name on the novel . <3
but unfortunately the beginning of the novel did not catch my attention so I did not complete it . The 2 stars are for Louisa's name on the novel . <3
February 28, 2014
Having just read Susan Cheever's Louisa May Alcott, I was curious to read this book for the clues to Alcott's feelings and personalty in what is considered an adult romance. The story moves along fairly well but, as prosaic as it sounds, I felt Sylvia's problems were related more to her immaturity rather than her "moods", and the fact that, as she points out, she was always allowed to have her own way. Plus her life seemed boring with too much time on her hands and not enough to do; young women had so many restrictions on their freedom in that age.
Cheever's biography also piqued my interest in trying to relate the characters of Adam and Geoffrey to Thoreau and Emerson. It did seem as though these were accurate portrayals of Thoreau and Emerson, especially the physical descriptions.
I would recommend this book to anybody that grew up reading Alcott's books and want to experience her writing style for adults. She still tells a good story. I do not recommend it for children--it is for teens and older--should clarify that I think a child would be bored or confused, not necessarily harmed by the reading, lol! I read the later revised version of Moods and hope to find the original.
Cheever's biography also piqued my interest in trying to relate the characters of Adam and Geoffrey to Thoreau and Emerson. It did seem as though these were accurate portrayals of Thoreau and Emerson, especially the physical descriptions.
I would recommend this book to anybody that grew up reading Alcott's books and want to experience her writing style for adults. She still tells a good story. I do not recommend it for children--it is for teens and older--should clarify that I think a child would be bored or confused, not necessarily harmed by the reading, lol! I read the later revised version of Moods and hope to find the original.
March 6, 2024
Started off buck wild in an interesting way, ended up buck wild in a bad way. Definitely provides a look at Alcott’s developing style (and some beautiful, insightful passages, a couple of which have really stuck with me!), but ultimately too heavy-handed for my taste. Since this novel was published twice with edits that alter the original ending, I do recommend the version I have with footnotes and additional resources. I say “recommend” only if you choose to read this book, which you probably shouldn’t unless you have a vested interest in a) 19th century American culture or b) Lou Alcott as a concept
April 25, 2021
I love Louisa May Alcott's books generally, but this was just really bad. It has the plot of her pot-boiler romances crossed with the moralizing tone of her children novels, with an added dose of judgemental theorizing about a range of disabilities and dated gender roles. The story begins like badly written Jane Eyre fan-fiction and ends by killing off two of the main characters, yet seems to take itself super-seriously.
May 6, 2013
The preachiness in this book was way too much for me. I love her books so I know how the moral teachings come through in her writings but I couldn't stomach this one. What I did find interesting, though, were things she expanded on in some of her other books--Jo's relationship with Laurie being one of friendship only, the "blooming" of Rose to womanhood for instance.
September 9, 2024
i was just thinking about this book and wanted write a review and just say:
this book destroyed the very essence of my soul.
louisa may alcott you are a B*TCH
this book destroyed the very essence of my soul.
louisa may alcott you are a B*TCH
June 26, 2022
Puntuación: 3,5-4
Leer a Louisa May Alcott es volver a una de mis escritoras favoritas, hay autoras y autores que para mí son simplemente especiales por su forma de narrar, me llegan por su estilo y sensibilidad de una forma única y diferente. Para mí Louisa es una autora refugio.
En "Cambios de humor tenemos a Sylvia", una joven de 17 años que vive junto a sus dos hermanos y su padre. Sylvia tiene un carácter decidido y afable aunque empañado por altibajos y cambios de humor. Sylvia tiene un espíritu aventurero, le encanta la naturaleza y la lectura, me fue difícil no hacer la comparativa entre esta heroína y mi querida Jo March.
El encanto de Sylvia no pasará desapercibido a los dos mejores amigos de su hermano, Geoffrey Moor, vecino de la familia con un carácter dulce y apacible, y Adam Warwick, un hombre de acción que lo último que desea es casarse. Ambos personajes están inspirados en los escritores Ralph Waldo Emerson y Henry David Thoreau respectivamente.
Estamos ante una novela romántica que no deja de lado la crítica social, la autora deseaba mostrar con esta obra los errores en los que incurren las personas irreflexivas y temperamentales, las decisiones tomadas de forma apasionada, pero también contiene la novela reflexiones sobre el matrimonio y sobre como la sociedad lo entendía y se estigmatizaba a aquellos que se salían de lo socialmente establecido.
He disfrutado del libro, sobre todo de su primera parte, los primeros capítulos me han parecido una delicia pero reconozco que conforme llegaba al final la trama se ha precipitado, llegué a sentir que me faltaba un poco de información. Los personajes pasan de estar de un lado a estar en otro sin demasiada justificación, tampoco se llega a entender la evolución que tienen durante este tramo final. Esto se debe a que el editor solicitó a Louisa recortar la novela, teniendo que elimiar 10 capítulos. Me hubiera gustado poder leer el libro tal y como la autora lo escribió, es una pena que no sea posible.
Es un libro que recomiendo a los fans de la autora, esta es su primera novela publicada y ya sólo por esto tiene un valor añadido.
Leer a Louisa May Alcott es volver a una de mis escritoras favoritas, hay autoras y autores que para mí son simplemente especiales por su forma de narrar, me llegan por su estilo y sensibilidad de una forma única y diferente. Para mí Louisa es una autora refugio.
En "Cambios de humor tenemos a Sylvia", una joven de 17 años que vive junto a sus dos hermanos y su padre. Sylvia tiene un carácter decidido y afable aunque empañado por altibajos y cambios de humor. Sylvia tiene un espíritu aventurero, le encanta la naturaleza y la lectura, me fue difícil no hacer la comparativa entre esta heroína y mi querida Jo March.
El encanto de Sylvia no pasará desapercibido a los dos mejores amigos de su hermano, Geoffrey Moor, vecino de la familia con un carácter dulce y apacible, y Adam Warwick, un hombre de acción que lo último que desea es casarse. Ambos personajes están inspirados en los escritores Ralph Waldo Emerson y Henry David Thoreau respectivamente.
Estamos ante una novela romántica que no deja de lado la crítica social, la autora deseaba mostrar con esta obra los errores en los que incurren las personas irreflexivas y temperamentales, las decisiones tomadas de forma apasionada, pero también contiene la novela reflexiones sobre el matrimonio y sobre como la sociedad lo entendía y se estigmatizaba a aquellos que se salían de lo socialmente establecido.
He disfrutado del libro, sobre todo de su primera parte, los primeros capítulos me han parecido una delicia pero reconozco que conforme llegaba al final la trama se ha precipitado, llegué a sentir que me faltaba un poco de información. Los personajes pasan de estar de un lado a estar en otro sin demasiada justificación, tampoco se llega a entender la evolución que tienen durante este tramo final. Esto se debe a que el editor solicitó a Louisa recortar la novela, teniendo que elimiar 10 capítulos. Me hubiera gustado poder leer el libro tal y como la autora lo escribió, es una pena que no sea posible.
Es un libro que recomiendo a los fans de la autora, esta es su primera novela publicada y ya sólo por esto tiene un valor añadido.
April 22, 2025
"Nastroje" Louisy May Alcott szczerze mnie zaskoczyły. Krótki opis z tyłu książki sugeruje trójkąt miłosny, gdzie dziewczyna jest zmienna i lekkomyślna, a dwaj adoratorzy są jak dzień i noc. Spodziewałam się, że wybierze "tego złego", bo chociaż jest to książka sprzed 160 lat, to mogłaby dać w ten sposób dobry morał i przestrogę. A jednak, pani Alcott pokazała nam ten schemat w zupełnie inny sposób. Postacie też nie są takie, jakbyśmy się spodziewali. Jest to piękna i pełna mądrości opowieść, w której bohaterowie dojrzewają, z biegiem czasu poznają siebie coraz bardziej. Nie ma tu złego i dobrego adoratora, są mężczyźni różniący się charakterem, szlachetni, chociaż postępujący w inny sposób. Sylvia jest szczególną panną, targaną przez nastroje, jednak nie są to głupie kaprysy, a efekty skrywanych wewnątrz uczuć. Pięknie została opisana ich droga, wliczająca krótkie momenty zachwytu nad otoczeniem czy dobrocią innych ludzi. W stylu typowym dla Alcott pojawiło się kilka nowych i zaskakujących rozważań – jak dobre dopasowanie czy ewentualność rozwodu, by nie ranić siebie nawzajem i pozostawać fair wobec siebie, ale również drugiej osoby.
Czytałam "Nastroje" ze szczerą przyjemnością i uważam, że powinna być to obowiązkowa lektura dla dziewcząt (i kobiet), zanim dadzą się porwać kaprysom miłości i będą rozważać związanie się z kimś z pozoru nierozerwalnymi więzami, tak, by w przyszłości nie cierpieć i nie sprawiać bólu innym.
Czytałam "Nastroje" ze szczerą przyjemnością i uważam, że powinna być to obowiązkowa lektura dla dziewcząt (i kobiet), zanim dadzą się porwać kaprysom miłości i będą rozważać związanie się z kimś z pozoru nierozerwalnymi więzami, tak, by w przyszłości nie cierpieć i nie sprawiać bólu innym.
April 30, 2025
Uhhh so the prose was really gorgeous in the first half, and then the second half turned into a 'I married the wrong person impulsively and now I'm going to brood and be miserable about it for the rest of the book', which is one of my least favorite genres even if no affair actually happens (*cough* Portrait of a Lady *cough*). And THEN the book straight-up says that disabled and/or mentally ill people should not get married ever because they would be a burden to their spouse and their children would inherit their malady and resent them for it?? (Meanwhile, I think the main reason why the main character should not have gotten married yet was that she's barely eighteen and still childish and impulsive enough to marry a thirty-year-old man that she doesn't even love but thinks she can learn to love over time even though she knows she's still actually kind of in love with another man- that's her problem more than what seems to be bipolar disorder, which she and the man she actually cared for seemed to handle just fine during their earlier relationship.)
January 29, 2024
An interesting project I've given myself - as I've been reading, I've been recording an audiobook version since none (as of this writing) currently exists on Audible. The book is in the public domain and I like the idea of breathing new life into it and making it accessible in a different way.
The story itself holds a great deal of relevance still and Alcott's writing is crisp, funny, and engaging. The characters are vivid and point to strengths that Alcott would continue to sharpen with later books. Excited to have an audio version out to the world soon!
The story itself holds a great deal of relevance still and Alcott's writing is crisp, funny, and engaging. The characters are vivid and point to strengths that Alcott would continue to sharpen with later books. Excited to have an audio version out to the world soon!
July 14, 2020
the older, shorter, and more disobedient sister of Little Women
May 21, 2025
ta książka Louisy najmniej mi się podobała :((
August 8, 2025
4.5
Warto zaznaczyć, że po polsku wydana jest druga wersja powieści, bardziej zgodna z wizją autorki. Ze zmienionym zakończeniem i dodanymi rozdziałami, a także usuniętym jednym wątkiem romantycznym.
Ważna, piękna, poetycka, i choć rozumiem osoby narzekające na już poprawione zakończenie, sama się z nim zgadzam.
Warto zaznaczyć, że po polsku wydana jest druga wersja powieści, bardziej zgodna z wizją autorki. Ze zmienionym zakończeniem i dodanymi rozdziałami, a także usuniętym jednym wątkiem romantycznym.
Ważna, piękna, poetycka, i choć rozumiem osoby narzekające na już poprawione zakończenie, sama się z nim zgadzam.
January 17, 2025
This one was definitely not her best work - slow, a bit preachy, not very believable. I didn't think Sylvia was that much to blame, Adam should have told her what was going on. I still love L.M.A, and am definitely moving on to the next book in this giant collection, but I won't reread this one and wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
May 7, 2018
It was so promising and enjoyable in the beginning, and then...typical nineteenth century over moralisation happened.
February 19, 2022
L’amore è immortale e anche in quella “meravigliosa eternità” continuerò a sperare e ad aspettarti.
Non sapevo proprio cos’aspettarmi. Obiettivamente, la letteratura classica prevede un vasto corredo di organismi, elementi che mi attraversano, si unificano come una seconda pelle, entrando nel mio corpo e risiedendo silenziosamente sin quando ogni cosa non torna al proprio posto. Leggere classici, così come la narrativa contemporanea, quella cioè di Paul Auster o Philip Roth, per intenderci, sortisce un fascino inspiegabile e indissolubile in me, sono piaceri così forti e appaganti che ho provato in alcune fasi della mia vita, ciò nonostante mezzo per raggiungere quel fine che è quasi sempre meccanico. Un’operazione unilaterale nella quale scopro me stessa, una me più matura e consapevole. Dunque non ho letto questo romanzo come l’ennesima lettura classica, ma come uno scrigno che avrei dovuto scoprire per esaltarne i suoi segreti, la sua bellezza, così come ogni romanzo decido di leggere. Perché per me leggere è già di per se un punto d’incontro, uno sbocco sull’anima che in stati emotivi estremi, esplica desideri, emozioni come forme di elevazione, godimento.
Sono attratta dal mistero, dall’ignoto. La curiosità è un tratto distintivo del mio carattere che silenziosamente mi induce a scoprire e valicare straordinari mondi. Fino ad ora non me lo sono mai chiesta, ma adesso che ho maturato questo tipo di consapevolezza, di essere presa alla sprovvista da autori che ti stringono nel loro caldo abbraccio accarezzando così bene la tua anima, comincio a fare più attenzione alla realtà circostante, soprattutto a pormi delle domande su ciò che effettivamente amo e ciò che invece sortisce solo tedio e frustrazione, mi riferisco a quel genere di letteratura non più << nelle mie corde >> che ho conosciuto fin troppo bene e che nonostante tutto talvolta suscita ancora il mio fascino, ma adesso che ho cominciato a pensare sul serio cerco di immaginare che effetto avrebbe fatto abbracciare questo tipo di romanzi dieci anni fa. Forse non sarebbe stato così traumatico o sconvolgente, ma nemmeno così indimenticabile come lo è poi stato negli anni.
Mutevoli umori, classico della letteratura inglese, snocciola una sequela di scene in cui l’educazione sentimentale di una giovane donna di appena diciassette anni scandaglia il mondo circostante con entusiasmo tipico della sua età, garbo e intelligenza in cui la verità delle cose coincide con la purezza della vita. Tematiche piuttosto care all’autrice che, come le eroine ritratte nelle Piccole donne, proietta la bellezza, l’artificio e il rapporto che si cela fra uomo e natura architettando qualcosa che abbraccia l’arte, la letteratura in ogni sua forma. Si osserva la natura, mediante le osservazioni acute di Ralph Emerson, giudicandola in base ai piaceri che essa ci riserva che sono esclusivamente in linea al nostro animo. I mutevoli umori a cui infatti fa riferimento il titolo sono un chiaro riferimento alla possibilità di osservare il tutto. Una lotta impari fra due spiriti che lottano dentro lo stesso corpo in quanto entrambi comandano a turno, e ciascuno si rivela di aiuto o di ostacolo a seconda degli umori o delle circostanze. Divisa fra l’istinto e l’incoscienza, tra passione e orgoglio, fra speranza e disperazione, cadendo nel desiderio, rischiando di non vivere una vita sterile, piuttosto ricca di emozioni. Ed ecco che in questo modo si può godere di ogni cosa, scoprire qualunque assetto interiore, la verità di cose che maturano in nobili azioni in cui il cuore diviene meno morboso, l’anima libera da qualunque afflizione.
Una visione così pura delle cose, della realtà circostante l’avevo già riscontrata nel suo romanzo più celebre, e forse fin troppo ingenua per i miei gusti poiché inerente all’anima dell’autrice ma non al secolo narrato. Forse doveva considerare le varie forme di intelligenza e che senza alcun fondamento non ci si può sempre saper cullare dalla bellezza delle passioni o dei sentimenti, quasi uno sfogo fisico anziché emotivo. L’idea che il mondo sia dotato di sfumature chiare e luminose, che oscurano quasi del tutto quelle negative ad esempio è un chiaro riferimento, che io stessa ho valutato fin troppo criticamente in cui la visione della vita in sé oscilla in una costanza di luce e oscurità. Questo rapporto con la natura avrebbe dovuto indurci a comprendere chi siamo e cosa siamo, specialmente interpretare i contorti meccanismi del mondo circostante, che spesso ha inzuppato l’anima della stessa Sylvia di colpe o crudeltà che non le appartengono del tutto ma dominata da uno spirito nostalgico e vitale. Rigorosa, ma fervente in una miscela disomogenea di temperamenti diversi, in un avvicendarsi di mutevoli umori. Animati da una sorta di legge divina secondo cui la speranza che risiede in loro coincide con la certezza che un giorno potranno sentirsi accettati, compresi in ogni loro forma e sfaccettatura, cioè quando l’integrità morale non sarà più distrutta riconoscendo così il vero amore quando sarà il momento più adatto. Elevandosi, quasi con garbo e grazia, a idoli di un’intera esistenza quasi come un processo continuo di osservazione
Come la cocciuta Hester de La lettera scarlatta, Sylvia si aggrega a tristi congreghe di donne forti ma deluse e infelici che fanno della loro vita, della loro esistenza una lunga penitenza per i peccati commessi da altre. Creature che si accendono con spasmodica vitalità di un fuoco interiore che consuma da dentro, dalle rovine di un corpo mortale generando un’anima integra e serena dopo essersi smarrita a lungo nella vita e nell’ombra. La realtà circostante, i rapporti con gli altri, i legami sociali hanno un certo potere che condizionano la nostra anima e il nostro spirito.
Un reticolo di vicende sofisticate, semplici intrappolate in una sfera di cristallo, nella vita permanente di una giovane donna il cui temperamento ancora semplice muta a seconda del flusso inesorabile del tempo, così genuina ma timidamente rinchiusa in se. Il modo in cui è proiettata nel mondo, allietando l’atmosfera con una prosa poetica, lirica, evidenzia aspetti quali l’amore filiale, il sentirsi imprigionati in qualcosa che non danno alcuna via di fuga o scampo quasi forme trascendentali che sconvolgono il nostro animo. La caratterizzazione dei personaggi che prevale su ogni cosa, così come i loro sentimenti,
La letteratura classica resta salda alle sue bellissime ideologie di estirpare alcuni aspetti della letteratura, le innumerevoli lotte fra ciò che è giusto e ciò che non lo è, gettano l’ancora ai bellissimi momenti in cui ci ho vissuto, suddiviso i miei vagabondaggi in posti in cui ho fatto perdere completamente le mie tracce. Ho perso il conto di quanti luoghi meravigliosi ho esplorato, tra un posto e un altro, andando e tornando qua e là, nel mucchio di tempo in cui non ho perso un solo momento nel constatare, con un certo fervore, di non trovarsi in nessun luogo specifico se non quello in cui pervade un forte senso di irrealtà di essere proiettato nello spazio, a mille chilometri l’ora. Così lontano dal posto in cui vivo che comincio a perdere il senso della stessa realtà, come se piano piano il dato dell’esistenza fosse risucchiato fuori da me, ma è il prezzo che paghi per andare via da casa, e fino a quando continuerai a viaggiare, il nessun luogo si estende fra il qui casa e il là di un altrove come uno dei luoghi a cui sei più affezionata.
Louisa May Alcott, come tante altre autrici, risale su questo insidioso terreno con scarse informazioni sulla realtà circostante – in quanto raccoglie un vuoto di ipotesi e congetture di una realtà distorta da quella circostante -, che da qualunque prospettiva lo si guardi appare nell’abbondante verve che la contraddistinse, in un tumultuoso misto di sentimenti ed emozioni: da figure snelle che cercano la redenzione, a piccole scolaresche pronte a prodigarsi verso il prossimo. Il tutto immerso in un’atmosfera ovattata, luminosa, in un viaggio macchinoso in cui è stato piuttosto facile rispecchiarsi, nonostante non si sa nulla della sua origine. Una posizione morale che è stato inevitabile prendere, che elimina qualunque dubbio o remora, che a mio avviso è un quesito sull’anima. Una questione che può solo arricchire la nostra coscienza, abbracciandoti da dentro in modo più pieno e libero, in quanto il mistero di interpretare l’animo umano è qualcosa che non tutti esplicano così bene.
Spesso quello che riteniamo un amore grandissimo si rivela migliore per noi se contrastato invece che soddisfatto, pur rischiando di risultare in un fallimento che può amoreggiare due vite invece di addolcirne una.
Non sapevo proprio cos’aspettarmi. Obiettivamente, la letteratura classica prevede un vasto corredo di organismi, elementi che mi attraversano, si unificano come una seconda pelle, entrando nel mio corpo e risiedendo silenziosamente sin quando ogni cosa non torna al proprio posto. Leggere classici, così come la narrativa contemporanea, quella cioè di Paul Auster o Philip Roth, per intenderci, sortisce un fascino inspiegabile e indissolubile in me, sono piaceri così forti e appaganti che ho provato in alcune fasi della mia vita, ciò nonostante mezzo per raggiungere quel fine che è quasi sempre meccanico. Un’operazione unilaterale nella quale scopro me stessa, una me più matura e consapevole. Dunque non ho letto questo romanzo come l’ennesima lettura classica, ma come uno scrigno che avrei dovuto scoprire per esaltarne i suoi segreti, la sua bellezza, così come ogni romanzo decido di leggere. Perché per me leggere è già di per se un punto d’incontro, uno sbocco sull’anima che in stati emotivi estremi, esplica desideri, emozioni come forme di elevazione, godimento.
Sono attratta dal mistero, dall’ignoto. La curiosità è un tratto distintivo del mio carattere che silenziosamente mi induce a scoprire e valicare straordinari mondi. Fino ad ora non me lo sono mai chiesta, ma adesso che ho maturato questo tipo di consapevolezza, di essere presa alla sprovvista da autori che ti stringono nel loro caldo abbraccio accarezzando così bene la tua anima, comincio a fare più attenzione alla realtà circostante, soprattutto a pormi delle domande su ciò che effettivamente amo e ciò che invece sortisce solo tedio e frustrazione, mi riferisco a quel genere di letteratura non più << nelle mie corde >> che ho conosciuto fin troppo bene e che nonostante tutto talvolta suscita ancora il mio fascino, ma adesso che ho cominciato a pensare sul serio cerco di immaginare che effetto avrebbe fatto abbracciare questo tipo di romanzi dieci anni fa. Forse non sarebbe stato così traumatico o sconvolgente, ma nemmeno così indimenticabile come lo è poi stato negli anni.
Mutevoli umori, classico della letteratura inglese, snocciola una sequela di scene in cui l’educazione sentimentale di una giovane donna di appena diciassette anni scandaglia il mondo circostante con entusiasmo tipico della sua età, garbo e intelligenza in cui la verità delle cose coincide con la purezza della vita. Tematiche piuttosto care all’autrice che, come le eroine ritratte nelle Piccole donne, proietta la bellezza, l’artificio e il rapporto che si cela fra uomo e natura architettando qualcosa che abbraccia l’arte, la letteratura in ogni sua forma. Si osserva la natura, mediante le osservazioni acute di Ralph Emerson, giudicandola in base ai piaceri che essa ci riserva che sono esclusivamente in linea al nostro animo. I mutevoli umori a cui infatti fa riferimento il titolo sono un chiaro riferimento alla possibilità di osservare il tutto. Una lotta impari fra due spiriti che lottano dentro lo stesso corpo in quanto entrambi comandano a turno, e ciascuno si rivela di aiuto o di ostacolo a seconda degli umori o delle circostanze. Divisa fra l’istinto e l’incoscienza, tra passione e orgoglio, fra speranza e disperazione, cadendo nel desiderio, rischiando di non vivere una vita sterile, piuttosto ricca di emozioni. Ed ecco che in questo modo si può godere di ogni cosa, scoprire qualunque assetto interiore, la verità di cose che maturano in nobili azioni in cui il cuore diviene meno morboso, l’anima libera da qualunque afflizione.
Una visione così pura delle cose, della realtà circostante l’avevo già riscontrata nel suo romanzo più celebre, e forse fin troppo ingenua per i miei gusti poiché inerente all’anima dell’autrice ma non al secolo narrato. Forse doveva considerare le varie forme di intelligenza e che senza alcun fondamento non ci si può sempre saper cullare dalla bellezza delle passioni o dei sentimenti, quasi uno sfogo fisico anziché emotivo. L’idea che il mondo sia dotato di sfumature chiare e luminose, che oscurano quasi del tutto quelle negative ad esempio è un chiaro riferimento, che io stessa ho valutato fin troppo criticamente in cui la visione della vita in sé oscilla in una costanza di luce e oscurità. Questo rapporto con la natura avrebbe dovuto indurci a comprendere chi siamo e cosa siamo, specialmente interpretare i contorti meccanismi del mondo circostante, che spesso ha inzuppato l’anima della stessa Sylvia di colpe o crudeltà che non le appartengono del tutto ma dominata da uno spirito nostalgico e vitale. Rigorosa, ma fervente in una miscela disomogenea di temperamenti diversi, in un avvicendarsi di mutevoli umori. Animati da una sorta di legge divina secondo cui la speranza che risiede in loro coincide con la certezza che un giorno potranno sentirsi accettati, compresi in ogni loro forma e sfaccettatura, cioè quando l’integrità morale non sarà più distrutta riconoscendo così il vero amore quando sarà il momento più adatto. Elevandosi, quasi con garbo e grazia, a idoli di un’intera esistenza quasi come un processo continuo di osservazione
Come la cocciuta Hester de La lettera scarlatta, Sylvia si aggrega a tristi congreghe di donne forti ma deluse e infelici che fanno della loro vita, della loro esistenza una lunga penitenza per i peccati commessi da altre. Creature che si accendono con spasmodica vitalità di un fuoco interiore che consuma da dentro, dalle rovine di un corpo mortale generando un’anima integra e serena dopo essersi smarrita a lungo nella vita e nell’ombra. La realtà circostante, i rapporti con gli altri, i legami sociali hanno un certo potere che condizionano la nostra anima e il nostro spirito.
Un reticolo di vicende sofisticate, semplici intrappolate in una sfera di cristallo, nella vita permanente di una giovane donna il cui temperamento ancora semplice muta a seconda del flusso inesorabile del tempo, così genuina ma timidamente rinchiusa in se. Il modo in cui è proiettata nel mondo, allietando l’atmosfera con una prosa poetica, lirica, evidenzia aspetti quali l’amore filiale, il sentirsi imprigionati in qualcosa che non danno alcuna via di fuga o scampo quasi forme trascendentali che sconvolgono il nostro animo. La caratterizzazione dei personaggi che prevale su ogni cosa, così come i loro sentimenti,
La letteratura classica resta salda alle sue bellissime ideologie di estirpare alcuni aspetti della letteratura, le innumerevoli lotte fra ciò che è giusto e ciò che non lo è, gettano l’ancora ai bellissimi momenti in cui ci ho vissuto, suddiviso i miei vagabondaggi in posti in cui ho fatto perdere completamente le mie tracce. Ho perso il conto di quanti luoghi meravigliosi ho esplorato, tra un posto e un altro, andando e tornando qua e là, nel mucchio di tempo in cui non ho perso un solo momento nel constatare, con un certo fervore, di non trovarsi in nessun luogo specifico se non quello in cui pervade un forte senso di irrealtà di essere proiettato nello spazio, a mille chilometri l’ora. Così lontano dal posto in cui vivo che comincio a perdere il senso della stessa realtà, come se piano piano il dato dell’esistenza fosse risucchiato fuori da me, ma è il prezzo che paghi per andare via da casa, e fino a quando continuerai a viaggiare, il nessun luogo si estende fra il qui casa e il là di un altrove come uno dei luoghi a cui sei più affezionata.
Louisa May Alcott, come tante altre autrici, risale su questo insidioso terreno con scarse informazioni sulla realtà circostante – in quanto raccoglie un vuoto di ipotesi e congetture di una realtà distorta da quella circostante -, che da qualunque prospettiva lo si guardi appare nell’abbondante verve che la contraddistinse, in un tumultuoso misto di sentimenti ed emozioni: da figure snelle che cercano la redenzione, a piccole scolaresche pronte a prodigarsi verso il prossimo. Il tutto immerso in un’atmosfera ovattata, luminosa, in un viaggio macchinoso in cui è stato piuttosto facile rispecchiarsi, nonostante non si sa nulla della sua origine. Una posizione morale che è stato inevitabile prendere, che elimina qualunque dubbio o remora, che a mio avviso è un quesito sull’anima. Una questione che può solo arricchire la nostra coscienza, abbracciandoti da dentro in modo più pieno e libero, in quanto il mistero di interpretare l’animo umano è qualcosa che non tutti esplicano così bene.
Spesso quello che riteniamo un amore grandissimo si rivela migliore per noi se contrastato invece che soddisfatto, pur rischiando di risultare in un fallimento che può amoreggiare due vite invece di addolcirne una.
March 5, 2015
When I began this book ten days ago I had just finished Rainbow Valley by L.M Montgomery. I've always loved the book and the last time I read it I felt like I was floating on a cloud or down in Rainbow Valley with the Blythe's and the Meredith's. I shut the cover of my kindle with a sigh and thought lightly of what to read next. The answer was obvious, a Louisa May Alcott book. I had them on my winter to-read list and I decided to start with one of her earlier works Moods. It seemed like a good idea and so I started to read the first words.
The room fronted the west, but a black cloud, barred[7] with red, robbed the hour of twilight's tranquil charm. Shadows haunted it, lurking in corners like spies set there to watch the man who stood among them mute and motionless as if himself a shadow.
I loved the opening words, they drew me in at once. These may not be words that draw other readers in, but for me there is nothing better than starting out a book with a lovely description and an air of mystery.
As the book progressed and the characters were introduced I grew more and more in love with book. I loved the characters immensely, every one. I loved Sylvia in all of her escapades and restlessness. She so reminded me of myself that I knew we would become fast friends. I loved Geoffrey. He was so exactly how I would imagine a man that I would wish to marry, that I felt instantly drawn to him, even after mysterious Adam entered the scene. Though Geoffrey Moor is a man that I could marry, Adam Warwick is a man that I would fall instantly in love with. He is so exactly how Alcott describes him as, the "manliest man" she ever met. I admire his sense of honor, and the aura of strength that surrounds him.
Once I read past the chapters describing the trip down the river the mood became instantly more intense, almost. I felt like the happy, sunny days were left behind and we were "getting down to business." That is what it was, more or less, and this is when I started seeing Sylvia as more than a close friend, but a clone of myself who lived in the 19th century. Her actions, thoughts and feelings echoed mine completely. I was not just routing for her. I was Sylvia.
The book was great
Very great
The best
I loved every aspect of it. The only regret I have is that I read the 1864 version and not the 1882 version. I read the ending of the newer version and I liked it a lot better. I would recommend reading them both, but starting with the newer version. I personally enjoyed the ending a lot better.
The room fronted the west, but a black cloud, barred[7] with red, robbed the hour of twilight's tranquil charm. Shadows haunted it, lurking in corners like spies set there to watch the man who stood among them mute and motionless as if himself a shadow.
I loved the opening words, they drew me in at once. These may not be words that draw other readers in, but for me there is nothing better than starting out a book with a lovely description and an air of mystery.
As the book progressed and the characters were introduced I grew more and more in love with book. I loved the characters immensely, every one. I loved Sylvia in all of her escapades and restlessness. She so reminded me of myself that I knew we would become fast friends. I loved Geoffrey. He was so exactly how I would imagine a man that I would wish to marry, that I felt instantly drawn to him, even after mysterious Adam entered the scene. Though Geoffrey Moor is a man that I could marry, Adam Warwick is a man that I would fall instantly in love with. He is so exactly how Alcott describes him as, the "manliest man" she ever met. I admire his sense of honor, and the aura of strength that surrounds him.
Once I read past the chapters describing the trip down the river the mood became instantly more intense, almost. I felt like the happy, sunny days were left behind and we were "getting down to business." That is what it was, more or less, and this is when I started seeing Sylvia as more than a close friend, but a clone of myself who lived in the 19th century. Her actions, thoughts and feelings echoed mine completely. I was not just routing for her. I was Sylvia.
The book was great
Very great
The best
I loved every aspect of it. The only regret I have is that I read the 1864 version and not the 1882 version. I read the ending of the newer version and I liked it a lot better. I would recommend reading them both, but starting with the newer version. I personally enjoyed the ending a lot better.
January 10, 2022
Io conoscevo L. M. Alcott solo come autrice di Piccole donne e dei romanzi successivi. Mutevoli umori è, invece, la sua opera prima, destinata ad un pubblico più adulto dove l’amore non è di tipo consolatorio, come in Piccole donne, ma diventa conflittuale. Sylvia Yule, la protagonista è una giovane dal carattere inquieto e impulsivo, che tende a “basarsi su verità apparenti, pronta a trasformare una mera impressione in verità di fatto”. Tutto comincia con una gita in barca organizzata dal fratello con i suoi due amici, Geoffrey Moor, loro vicino di casa e Adam Warwick, giovane dal carattere forte. Sylvia proverà una profonda amicizia per Geoffrey e si innamorerà di Adam.Tuttavia, alcune circostanze e il suo carattere mutevole , la porteranno però a sposare Moor , convinta che l’amicizia si trasformerà in amore. Invece, il ritorno inaspettato di Adam farà vacillare le sue certezze e la porterà addirittura a valutare la rottura del suo matrimonio. E la decisione finale rivelerà tutta la forza che il suo mutevole carattere non aveva rivelato all’inizio. Molto coraggiosa, anche la giovane scrittrice che, contrariamente ai valori puritani dell’epoca, mostra come il matrimonio si potesse spesso rivelare come la fine dello sviluppo individuale delle donne.
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