Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father by John Matteson

Whew! I finished it. This book was more of an undertaking than I expected it to be.

Now, I love all things Louisa May Alcott. I've been to her house twice. I've read nearly all her books. I find her life and her family very interesting.

That's why I'm a little disappointed in this book. It was somewhat pedantic (an ironic adjective as you will soon see). The book bogged down in sheer language for me. I had to laugh when Matteson criticizes Bronson Alcott's excessively overwrought writing. He says Bronson was not able to write anything plainly and succinctly. Then Matteson himself uses words like autochthonous, and solipsistic, to name just two. For a while I felt like Matteson was trying to imitate Bronson Alcott in his own writing.

From the title, I would have thought the book would have had Louisa as the primary focus, but Bronson was the predominant personality, and I thought Matteson's portrayal of Louisa was almost always from Bronson Alcott's point of view. A more accurate title would have been Eden's Outcasts: the Story of Bronson Alcott and his Daughter.

That said, I liked finding out more information than I already knew, although I was surprised at how much of it I did know. The bibliography contains some books that I would like to explore and learn more from - not just about the Alcott's, but also their associates.

Did it deserve the Pulitzer Prize that it won? If the award was given for sheer research, then perhaps. If given for the writing, I don't think so.