The story of Rose Campbell, a lonely and sickly girl who has been recently orphaned and must now reside with her maiden great aunts, the matriarchs of her wealthy Boston family. When Rose's guardian, Uncle Alec, returns from abroad, he takes over her care.

De la campaña de relectura de L.M. Alcott. Son libros que me transportan a una adolescencia en la que el mundo entero me estaba esperando. Porque algunos son románticos (este lo es mucho, pero supongo que no cuajará hasta la segunda parte en plan Papaíto piernas largas), pero a mí lo que me impresionaba era ver mujeres con la cabeza tan libre. Ahora soy consciente de lo que me han marcado estos libros.

Por lo demás no me acordaba nada de la trama, pero todo da lo mismo, lo que cuenta es vivir un rato en esas casas. Y esto, que se puede decir de F. H. Burnett, L. M. Montgomery, Alcott o incluso Daphne du Maurier era un lugar en el que refugiarse fuera de este mundo, y por eso a todas las he leído hasta emborracharme. Lástima que en aquella época fuera tan difícil conseguir libros. Las bibliotecas eran un animal mitológico, tenías que contentarte con lo que había en casa, comprar con lo que te dieran para tu cumpleaños (en una papelería, lo que hubiera, porque en mi barrio no había librerías) y hasta que no tuve edad para echarme al metro (ocho años, no tanto), no pude salir a buscar librerías de viejo por este mundo. Gracias infinitas a mi abuela, que siempre tuvo paciencia para eseñarme dónde estaban y cómo tenía que comprar. Las salidas con ella de los sábados por la mañana eran magia en estado puro.

Eight Cousins lacked a lot of the charm found in Little Women. The story was too sappy for my liking and I thought the main character was spoiled, or at least overly indulged. ( )

Review for audio only -- see my Kindle edition for a review of the book.

Marie Therese does a fine job narrating this children's book in the version 2 of LibriVox's recordings. ( )

When I was in my early teens, there was a trifecta of authors that I devoured: Jane Austen, L.M. Montgomery, and Louisa May Alcott. I even made an informational web page about them on Angelfire... those were the days...

Anyway, revisiting a book like Eight Cousins reminds me exactly how I was influenced by these characters. A lot of my world view was shaped by this innocent wholesomeness, exemplified by Rose, the main character. Her ladylike presence automatically inspired people around her (namely, men) to be their best selves! So much gentility and respect! This impressed me mightily! I subconsciously stored this fascinating social education away, only to find that's not quite how it goes...

But while it's a bit out of place in the modern age, and occasionally some would say naive, I'm glad it was part of my youth and wouldn't trade it for anything!

In this book, orphaned Rose comes to live with her guardian uncle, and her neighbors are 7 boy cousins and a bunch of other corresponding aunts and uncles!

She arrives a tired, droopy little thing who survives on strong coffee, is proud of her tightly cinched little waist, and is about as uneducated as most girls of her class... but Uncle Alec changes all that. By the end of the book she's well on her way to being a truly healthy young girl with high spirits and noble ambitions, who can also make her 7 cousins toe the line.

There are some delightful episodes, such as the "freedom suit" her uncle orders for her (the opposite of a corset). And, pay particular attention to the development of Mac, her bookworm cousin... because there's more to come in the next book!! ( )