Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

I manned-up with this classic novel by Louisa May Alcott.  Eileen and I watched two modern interpretations of the book on TV and film over the last couple of years, and I enjoyed it both times.

The book was something of a guilty pleasure for me, as it reminds me of the best of Dickens: Portraying a seemingly utopian family, but one that endures great hardship and trial, only to blossom in the end.  You learn to love these people and earnestly root for them.

Unlike so much literature, however, the writing never confuses or meanders.  It reads beautifully and simply.  The writing never gets in the way of the story, which unfolds quite naturally.  You seem to live within the world that Alcott creates.

And now that I have fully cleansed my literary palette, it's back to Homer and The Odyssey.