So. I consumed these books as a child, and recently re-read them as an adult. I was struck by several different things, but one thing stood out to me: Ma's character. She was always so agreeable and willingly obedient to her husband. This is by no means a bad thing, but she always seemed a little static. This isn't really all that surprising, because she is one of the secondary characters in the Little House books.
Until now.
I found out about this novel through one of the word-nerd facebook groups that I joined. I put a hold in for it at the library last month, and just got it this week. It was a quick and easy read, and I know why it's immensely popular. Let's get to the review!
Caroline: Little House, Revisited
Sarah Miller
363 Pages, Reading Time: approx 8 hours
Inside cover reads: In the frigid days of February 1870, Caroline Ingalls and her family leave the familiar comforts of the Big Woods of Wisconsin and the warm bosom of her family for a new life in Kansas's Indian Territory. Packing what they can carry in their wagon, Caroline; her husband, Charles; and their little girls, Mary and Laura, head west to settle in a beautiful, unpredictable land full of promise and peril.
The pioneer life is a hard one, especially for a pregnant woman with no friends or kin to turn to for comfort or help. The burden of work must be shouldered alone, sickness tended without the aid of doctors, and babies birthed without the accustomed hands of mothers or sisters. But Caroline's new world is also full of tender joys. In adapting to this strange new place and transforming a rough log house built by Charles's hands into a home, Caroline must draw on untapped wells of strength she does not know she possesses.
For more than eighty years, generations of readers have been enchanted by the adventures of the American frontier's most famous child, Laura Ingalls Wilder, in the Little House books. Now that familiar story is retold in this captivating tale, authorized by the Little House Heritage Trust, that vividly reimagines our past.
Initial Reaction: First of all, Ma Ingalls thinks I'm an asshole.
Wow. This book pretty much knocked my orthodox socks right off. Since reading the little house series as an adult, I've wanted to get inside of Ma's head. Miller definitely does that. Her writing style mirrors that of LIW, but we really see the depths of Caroline's character: her trials, her temperament, and how she deals with the honest struggle of living a good, saintly, Christian life. Also- I must have misunderstood the age of the girls in the LH series, because this book says that Laura is 3 and Mary is 5 by the time they leave Wisconsin for Kansas. Wow. Such obedience and helpfulness at a young age. I can't even imagine. I can hope for that in my children, but I'll need to be on the ball like Caroline. The other thing that flabbergasted me was that this woman endured an 800 mile trip in the middle of the winter in a covered wagon WHILST PREGNANT. Then she had her baby completely unmedicated, out in the middle of nowhere, with a woman she'd never met to help her during labor. She forded a river in the wagon while her husband swam with the horses, survived malaria with a newborn, overcame a prairie fire, and eventually headed back to Wisconsin.
UGH. After checking out his article on Wikipedia, I just found out that Pa Ingalls was a freemason.
Childhood. Shattered. ugh.
Promote Virtue? Yes. Outside of the spectacular and descriptive writing, I would call this a "book of manners." Granted, most of Miller's words are fictitious musings about Caroline Ingalls, but, I'd say, if you want to learn how to be a good woman, wife, and mother, learn it from Caroline. This isn't to say that Ma is perfect. She does falter at times, but she is very self-aware, and she knows how to keep herself in check in order to encourage her husband and to be a role model for her girls.
A side note- I was really loving this book until page 332 when the inappropriate sexual content started. While the intimacy described IS chaste AND within the union of Marriage (yay!), I was extremely disappointed that such graphic descriptions were even in the book. I shouldn't be reading anything about anyone's sexual activity. Ever. It felt like a cheap cop out- like the author needed to throw that extra zing in there. The rest of the novel really could have stood on its own, or she could have described their intimacy in a different way. I really enjoyed how she hinted at it during the first 2/3 of the novel. That was beautiful, because it was shrouded in mystery. That's what modesty and intimacy are all about- mystery. It's a beautiful thing. I really don't want to feel like I'm peeping in the window of a married couple in the middle of their most intimate moments with one another, because I'd sure as hell be pissed if someone did that to me. What has been read can't be unread- and I'm quite irritated that those thoughts and images might creep back to me when I read the LH series to my own kids. So disappointing. I really wanted to add this to my library, but because of Miller's use of this kind of writing, it's curtains for this book. So sad.
I read most of this book whilst nursing John Paul. I think that made me like it even more. We currently live in a society where the family is under attack, motherhood is completely disrespected, and children are disposable. Don't even get me started on the popular opinion towards stay at home mothers or homeschooling. Anyways. The themes of authentic femininity, married life, and motherhood imbue the novel with a warm glow. Everything changes when you become a mother. Everything. Even the way you read books.
Transcendentals? Caroline and Charles are people who definitely cherish goodness, Truth, and beauty.
Overcome human condition? Holy cow. I love how she deals with her anger. Miller takes dialogue directly from the LH series, but she develops the depth of Ma's answers and actions. We get to see the thoughts, considerations, and raw reactions behind all of her words. It's fabulous.
Attitude toward Catholicism? Nothing negative, and only one nod to the Faith, even though it's not really presented respectfully: "Had she been a papist, she might have crossed herself" (224).
Paganry? Nope
Swearing? One "Damnit" from Pa.
Violence? Nope
Appropriate age? Because of the author's use of what I would consider some overindulgent sexual description that harbors on the brink on soft-core pornography, I would restrict this to 18+. It is definitely NOT for young children. This does not contain the childish wonder, imagination, humor, and adventure of the Little House series. It is written from the perspective of an adult woman in the late 1800s who has dealt with (and continues to deal with) several hardships in her life. It's more for the kids who grew up reading the LH series and are now adults.
Writing Style: For the most part, Miller's writing is absolutely resplendent in the way she makes the banal details of pioneer life extraordinary. It is assumed that the reader has read the Little House series. Miller's writing mimics that of LIW in the way that the reader feels as if they are in the wagon, in the storms, and in the cabin with the Ingalls family. While she sticks pretty closely to the plot of Little House on the Prairie, she updates a few things for historical accuracy. If you've read the series, you know a few of the main plot twists before they happen. However, she writes them in such a new and fresh way from Caroline's perspective that you can't help but be intrigued. Miller did a great job giving us Ma's point of view in a way that is deep, meaningful, touching, and hungry for more. I want to know how Caroline dealt with the rest of the years that she was dragged from pillar to post.
We also get to know Mr. Edwards and Mrs. Scott just a little bit more. The kindness they showed and sacrifices they made for people they hardly knew were astonishing.
Notable Quoteables:
"Through the plank of the spring seat, Caroline felt the wheels grind like sugar under a rolling pin" (29).
"At once Caroline saw that it did not matter what she did, so long as she was there for them to cling to. Their trust in her was built of thousands upon thousands of moments already past. She was Ma, and that in itself was enough. Just pressing against her seemed to sand away the edges of their fear..." (73).
"Caroline grasped the knife and carved the cheese into chunks large enough to fill their hands. They would eat it in spite of the expense, and give thanks for their plenty" (101). Good Wisconsin girl.
"Now Caroline felt a thin layer of herself rising through the quilts to shelter her girls, as she always did when they were so near. Even when they were not seeking protection, Caroline could not help making a shield of herself between them and the world" (101).
"They would never learn to have patience for others if she could no first be patient with them" (302).
She had allowed Edwards the satisfaction of gallantly refusing the rocking chair..." (314). I love this. A man will be as much of a gentleman as a woman requires. We need but offer them the opportunity.
"We're going home. [...] Back to Wisconsin," Caroline said. One dry, soundless sob clutched her throat, then another. Caroline turned her face and drew her emotions inward, to the very center of herself" (349). This is where I started bawling.
Final Summation:
While Miller has conjured up a fantastic retelling from a fresh point of view that I thoroughly enjoyed, I can not abide supporting anything remotely pornographic (Eph 5:4). It was such a let down. If those parts weren't so near the end of the novel, I most likely wouldn't have finished it. IF Miller had chosen to describe the intimacy of Caroline and Charles in a more mysterious and modest way, this book would definitely have been Word Nerd Approved. It has all the trappings of my childhood love of the books, and then some. But, I don't think that the sexual content was necessary, and it certainly made my opinion of the work nose-dive. A great novel, overall, but we won't be owning it. Giving the reader an adult perspective does not mean writing adult content. Therefore, Caroline was...
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