Little Women

When I was little, my relatives from Japan used to send me VHS tapes of kids' shows to watch that they recorded from Japanese TV. One of the shows that I remember watching over and over again was this anime series called "ナンとジョー先生 (Nan and Teacher Jo)".  I realized sometime later that Miss Jo was a character that originated from Little Men (which I see now is a continuation of Little Women), so getting to read this book has a nostalgic place in my heart.

It's clear Jo is supposed to be the favorite in this book (I wonder if she's modeled after Louisa May Alcott herself), but is Amy actually supposed to be the worst? Because she really bothers me (even when she was the spoiled young 5 year old or whatever she was) and I can't get over it. In my eyes, she ruins Laurie. I mean, I'm glad Jo found the guy she's supposed to be with and that she's happy, but it basically did turn Laurie into a worthless piece of garbage. He sounds like an intelligent person when he speaks to Jo, but as soon as he has anything to do with Amy he gets pulled into her imbecility and it's hard to endure.  Call it what you will but it gave me some twisted pleasure that Amy and Laurie's child is weak and might die.

Also, for how much it was stressed that Meg's children were incredibly smart and "advanced", why the hell do they sound so stupid when they talk?

Anyway, if I can get past all that (which I barely can), this is a very warm, genuine story about family love as a joyful and cherished happy place. I prefer the first part to the second with all the ups and downs of teenager/mid 20's that had me longing with fondness on the past, but I suppose that's true to real life and shows Miss Alcott's talents.