Dan doesn't know much about where he comes from, nor where he's going, but where he is seems a right miracle. Years after following Nat Blake to Plumfield and being taken in by the eccentric Laurences, he's come to think of it as the most wonderful...
First question. Why am I writing this story? For fun, of course. Doubly because I grew up watching the movies Little Women (1994) and Little Men (1998) and regard them as some of the pillars of my childhood.
Little Women is so special to me, particularly because of its characters and themes. Its exploration of girlhood, sisterhood, womanhood, family-hoods, and all the other-hoods just slap, frankly. This is even more hilarious once you learn that Louisa May Alcott didn't like women in general (though she supported them wholeheartedly), only her sisters. She simply didn't relate to them. I, being a feminist myself, was surprised and amused at this. I mean, it's perfect irony that Little Women was her least enthusiastic work and her greatest success. That says things about her talent and the world in general. There's a verse in Ecclesiastes about that somewhere. Something about time and chance happening to everyone. Anyways, Little Women was revolutionary in its time, and it makes sense that it became an American classic.
Louisa's explorations of gender stereotypes and family dynamics were refreshing, and while the spoonful of sugar of Christian ethics helped the feminist medicine go down, the sincerity she gives her characters makes them timeless.
So what's all this about a re-telling, then? I have read and researched Little Men and Jo's Boys (only because I didn't know how it all ended). What I got was . . . well . . . mostly boring. Not because of the characters. Not at all. The characters were even more lovable in the pages than on the screen, and Louisa's rich use of prose shows her expertise as an author. I admire the way she treats her words with care and tenderness. She was a contemplative person, from what I gather from her works. And strange to those around her. No, I'd say the story was boring, perhaps because Little Men in particular, was like a children's sermon in the form of really brief stories. There was great characterization but not nearly enough complexity, and I found it stale and leaning hard into "so kids, the moral of the story is never lie" –that sort of thing. I found it a waste of Friedrich Bhaer's philosophical leanings, Jo's wit and intelligence (she was preaching like every other moment), and too sanitized to push meaningful boundaries, but of course, it was, since pushing boundaries was not what Louisa May was going for.
Jo's Boys was a little less like this, but all the interesting things about the story were hurried along, ended abruptly, or were neatly summarized—condensed into more moral lessons. It was tiring. What made Louisa's characterization great was that she wrote them with a great deal of intimacy; the intricacies of how they knew each other and themselves were apparent in how they related to each other. This made them natural and likable, but if anyone who has read the books is being honest, Louisa's characters weren't complex and could be summarized as archetypes in a kind of parable.
My favorite scene was Nan's suffragette speech in the middle of a party because same. My least favorite was Dan and the kids impersonating Native Americans in a way that would only be funny to colonizers and people who didn't know any better. Ultimately, I think the main culprit was the droll of moral lessons being repeated and cliched answers given to the children's interesting proclivities that left the awful taste of flour in my mouth.
So, I got more curious and read about the 1800s in Massachusetts. I read about their cultural views on sexuality, the economic boom as they entered the Gilded Age, the Irish immigrants in Boston, the emergence of little baby Harvard, and the schooling systems. Black workers and the Boston fire. All exciting stuff.
And after I did my homework on history and then on Louisa May and her stories, I came to realize the sheer magnitude of missed opportunity. No shade on her; I mean she did her job, and a good one at that. My re-telling isn't necessarily lauding as an improvement (at least if it is an improvement, it is mainly for myself and to my taste), but it is simply a re-interpretation. A fresh eye on the scene. A re-visiting of precious lore.
So again, why the re-telling? Because the characters of Little Men are perfect for the story I want to tell, and I love them. Because they have something important to say in and of themselves. Something relevant. Because the times they were living in were influential in the Industrial Revolution sweeping the West. And there's a lot to say about that. I mean, the Industrial Revolution redefined humanity, and not altogether for the better. Because there's so much RICHNESS in the characters and the story I'm compelled to tell.
That being said, my style is going to be thoroughly different from Louisa's. The tone of the book will be different, and aspects of the characters will be different. I'll be upfront about it. I won't lean so heavily into religious Aunt Jo, especially because I want to distance this Jo from Louisa, who wrote Jo after herself in an effort to make Jo more of an independent character. I'm not going to make her irreligious either, but she isn't going to be preachy or that interested in moralizing everyone and making parables of everything.
If you've ever read about Dan's story in Jo's Boys, throw most of it out for this story. Especially the stuff about "having some Indian blood in him." None of that here. Also, forget most of the marriages that happened, too. The endings and events are mostly different, so no matter what you google, you won't figure out the ending until I give it to you.
I'll reference events from the books, but they aren't the law here, which is why I've labelled it a re-telling. It's in my own authorial style—narrative, character, themes, and all. I am not imitating Louisa's voice. Rather, I am re-opening the treasure trove of themes she explored in her books and giving them a fresh context. The characters are also my interpretations of them, so if you're a huge fan of Louisa's work, don't read this looking for similarities. You'll find plenty of them, and also, not nearly enough of them. Furthermore, most of my descriptive references are coming from the aforementioned movies, but you're free to imagine Laurie as Timothée Chamalama if you like. (I personally cannot picture anyone other than Christian Bale as Laurie, even though he sucks irl).
Oh yeah—and this is important: Jo doesn't marry Friedrich in this one. She marries Laurie, as she should have. And Friederich is a hired tutor, much older than Jo, and more of a father-figure than a potential love interest. Robin Bhaer also doesn't exist, and Bess is still Amy's daughter, just not with Laurie.
However, little Teddy survives to be a part of my rendition. As do all the Brooke children. And Parnassus still exists later on, but it is Amy and Laurie's college mate, Parker, who are running it together.
This is an unfortunate waste of time of a read if you don't know anything to do with this story or Louisa May Alcott, but you could say something about it should your English teacher ask you (if they still force you to read classics in school these days). I suggest saying something about the Orchard House in Concord and the fame that plagued Louisa May for extra credit.
Expect laughter, fuzzy feelings, drama, tears, and, yeah, I'll admit it, a fair share of romance. I hope you come to love these crazy people as I have, even though they're a little different from the cannon.
Final caveat: this book is the first draft. That's my excuse for any mistakes made henceforth (because I absolutely will have some lapses in historical detail, I'm kinda researching as I go). I suggest reading this as a really committed piece of fanfiction, honestly. I'm not trying to get this published. A lot of my work here is mostly reflective. I use fiction as a way to reflect a lot more nowadays, so forgive me for playing in the sand a little. This site/app is my lab and I'm experimenting.
Oh! Final FINAL caveat . . .here's the link to the playlist for the book: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/21avx0eDBCFrqtggEpyeE7?si=48772e8e01324842
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And so, from oceans away, and not at all from Massachusetts, I now welcome you . . . to Massachusetts.
