Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Some amazing sentences and insights into humans, but the actual story is so sad and dispiriting and kind of “blehhh.”

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Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev

Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is more about how the older generation and the younger generation view each than specifically on the internal personal relationship between fathers and sons (though there is some of the latter). It's also about how romanticism and rationalism alternate in importance throughout generations, though the way Turgenev wrote he seems to have a distinct preference for romanticism and a bit of an unfair categorization of rationalism-- also, why do they need to be mutually exclusive. I really like the complete mess of a character of Bazarov and his growth in some things, and also his lack of growth in other things, throughout the novel.

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Cape Cod by Henry David Thoreau

Cape Cod: Illustrated Edition of the American Classic by Henry David Thoreau
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Some interesting parts but mostly really boring even for me, who really cares about and regularly visits Cape Cod. Highlights included the mentions of the sea animals, and everything and everyone who washes ashore- though I don't hear about treasure washing up anymore.

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Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What we now call Little Women (400 pages) was originally “Little Women” (200 pages) and “Good Wives” (200 pages).

Little Women, Part 1, ends with Meg’s engagement and nothing very memorable happens except: Amy gets in trouble for pickled limes, there is a terrible fight between Amy and Jo, there is a bad run of scarlet fever, and Meg gets engaged. The only love story is Meg’s and it is not very moving.

Everything you remember being great about the story of the March girls actually happens in Part 2, Good Wives, when all the women are grown up. Meg is suffering from being a new mother (there are blogs for that now, Meg!), Beth is doing the thing for which Beth is famous, and Jo and Amy are having exciting artistic pursuits and love stories. It's missing a little depth but it's a wonderful and moving story as well as highly entertaining.

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