Book Review - March

March

By: Geraldine Brooks

The Pulitzer Prize winning book March is written by Geraldine Brooks. March is essentially a sequel to the classic book Little Women written by Louisa May Alcott in 1880. March is written from the father’s perspective as he is off participating in the Civil War as a chaplain and teacher to “contraband” blacks. Brooks is the author of several books including Year of Wonders, People of the Book, and Caleb’s Crossing. Brook’s has also worked for the Wall Street Journal covering the crisis in the Middle East, Africa, and the Balkans.

Robert March starts off his adult life as a door to door salesman from Massachusetts in the mid-1800s. He focuses his work throughout Virginia and one day come across a wealthy Virginia planter, Mr. Clement, who not only offers to purchase some of his knick-knacks but offered to allow March stay at his home for as long as he desired. March was not just a simple door to door salesman but a young 18 year old who had a burning desire to acquire as much knowledge as he could on his own through the reading of books. Mr. Clement allows March the free access to his home and to his large library. At the Clement Plantation we also meet Grace Clement, a slave who is well educated and very well mannered. Grace is able to talk March into teaching one of the young slave girls to read and write. It is not long after they start their lessons that they are found out and March is kicked off of the Plantation and Grace is punished by the whip. 

The story then moves forward several years to when March meets his future wife Marmee. Marmee is the sister of March’s good friend who also happens to be a local minister. Marmee is a very outspoken female, especially for the mid-1800s. She is an abolitionist and works with the Underground Railroad helping escaped slaves. Marmee struggles to control her temper especially around men who she does not see eye to eye with and with her husband Robert March. Marmee comes from a wealthy family and is accustomed to a specific lifestyle that fortunately March is able to provide for her and her new family. However when the radical John Brown starts to come around March invests very unwisely in land that was supposed to be for future free slaves. March did this to impress his wife but in the end loses his entire fortune and has to sell his home, release the servants, and move into a small modest home. 

March joins up with the Union Army when a large group of young men from Concord decide to join up and he feels bad that they were going and he was not. As he was giving them a pep speech before they headed off to war he decided to tell them that he was going with them to the surprise of his wife and 4 daughters. March signs up as a chaplain but does not seem to get along very well with his commanding officers. After he is found in a compromising situation he is urged to request a transfer. This transfer will put him on a cotton plantation that is being ran by a northern businessman. The slaves on the plantation are referred to as contraband and are going to be paid for their work for the first time in their lives. March is to set up a school for the former slaves to help them read and write. Right before the cotton is ready to be harvested a group of southern rebels with the help of one of the slaves on the plantation attack and kill several of the people working the plantation. Those not killed are taken back into captivity to be resold as slaves. What happens to Robert and his family will be up to you to find out as you read this great book.

March accurately depicts what the life of someone in the army was like. Even though Robert March is not part of the infantry it goes through the hardships of war. Showing how hard is was for soldiers to give up the war when they did not feel like they have done everything they could have to protect their fellow soldiers. The post-traumatic stress was not something that people in the 1800s were aware of. The other great thing that this book shows is the racism that was very prevalent not just in the south but also among northerners. Many people believe that the war was centered on the freeing of slaves but the war was more focused on the preservation of the Union. Many people in the north were just as racist as those in the south. 

Even though the book received the Pulitzer Prize it still has several issues with it. Following the story is difficult at the beginning of most of the chapters. The book skips back and forth between March being in the war and either back at home or before he was married. Sometimes it takes reading several paragraphs before you know where in the story you are at. Part II of the book switches characters completely and it took a couple of pages and even rereading it before I was able to figure out that the book was now being told from the perspective of Marmee. Each chapter should have started with a date and place so it would have been easier to follow the story line.

Overall even with the confusion the book was a great read and would be a recommended book for anyone who is wanting to read about the Civil War or even if you are a fan of Little Women. This is a great book for anyone who wants to see the effects of war on the average person. War is nothing like the video games portray and everyone in the war came back very different people from who they were when they left. The Civil War is mainly known for the physical ailments with all of the amputations that were performed. As stated above the mental effects were not known of as well as they are today. Give March a read you will not regret it!   

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