Little Women Month: The Little Women by Katharine Weber

The modern AU - it's a trope that's intrigued fans since the dawn of time. There’s been no shortage of “The Marches get transported to modern times” - style fanfic published by fans through private means, but not many professional looks at the idea.  What makes Katharine Weber’s novel is that it's not just a modern retelling of Little Women - it's the first to tell the story in a fresh way.

Weber's novel focuses on Meg, Jo, and Amy Green, daughters of two white collar Upper West Side professionals.   The girls' perfect lives are shattered by the sudden revelation that their mother has cheated on their father.  When they discover that their father is willing to take their mother back and pretend the affair never happened Amy and Jo are sent into a tailspin.    The girls rebel radically by running away to New Haven, moving into their older sister Meg’s apartment.  The Harvard junior is less than pleased to suddenly have her two younger sibs underfoot, but they ultimately form their own family independent of their parents' influence along with Meg’s roommate, Teddy Bell.   Meg gets a job working in the kitchen of a sushi restaurant, Amy must adjust to the culture shock of public high school and Jo must deal with her new feelings for Teddy; together, they must cope with small paychecks, strained means and the reality of the dark world lingering outside their front door.

The Little Women is interesting for multiple reasons.  Chief among them is the written point of view, which is mainly Jo’s but also gives us interjections from Meg and Amy.  This was "agreed upon" by the sisters when Jo “Sold her story” as an “autobiographical novel” in text.  In reality it adds a sense of vibrancy and humor to events that would otherwise seem flat.    The novel also gives a vivid portrait of New Haven, and it manages to smartly and carefully differentiate the characters from Alcott’s originals.  For instance, this version of Amy is less concerned with her own vanity and more interested in the world around her.

That also manages to present the book's biggest problem.  As the characters drift away from Alcott's version of the three March girls, it turns the characters more or less into completely fresh creations.  Those who might want to see how Meg meets her Mister Brooks, or how this Amy survives a dunking in a lake of ice will be disappointed.  Purists will be even angrier with the cheating subplot.  It naturally makes this universe's 'Mr. and Mrs. March' seem like terrible people.   Even then, Weber's vibrant writing and sharply hewn characters make this one a joy to check out.