Kim Hee Eun - Dear My Girls, vol. 01-02 (Chi. trans.)

[oyceter]

This is a version of Little Women in which the March sisters go to an English boarding school: Meg's a teacher, Jo's the much-squeed-over fencing club president, Amy's pretty much herself, and Beth is a resentful girl jealous of being the ugly duckling among her accomplished sisters.

I am not sure why making Beth resentful and jealous horrifies me in a way that making Triptaka a gun-wielding, foul-mouthed misanthrope does not. Wait, actually, it's probably because I've read enough retellings of Journey to the West to see any changes as playing with the story, whereas I don't think I've ever really seen an adaptation of Little Women that wasn't done straight. On the other hand, I am completely amused by Jo as the gender-bending crush object of all the girls in school and her swooping ponytail. I think the manhwaka took most of the internal conflicts we see with Jo and give them to Beth instead, with less of an emphasis on wanting to be good and more of an emphasis on wanting to rebel.

That said, the manhwaka does know the book very well from her notes, which almost makes the changes odder for me. Also, I cannot tell at all how accurate her representation of clothing and etc. is... I am constantly shocked to see people's knees and calves exposed because their skirts stop a little below their knees, and then it's nothing until the boots start. But! That may just be my own preconceptions about Victorian clothing. And I think the manhwaka moved the time so it's post-Civil-War.

Anyway! This was just a bizarre reading experience for me, since I grew up reading Little Women and am highly unaccustomed to having assorted shirtless bishounen, grumpy clumsy shoujo-manga-heroine Beth, and Utena-like Jo in it. And Laurie has a crush on Beth!

(Also, I am secretly rooting for Amy just because she is such a brat.)

Comments

[fmanalyst.livejournal.com]

Your description is mind-boggling to me. Little Women is one of The mainstays of my childhood reading experience. I'm curious to see the manhwa but also terrified. The cultural dissonance may be too much for me.

[oyceter]

It is so weird! I got a little better with it by volume 2, but I am still not sure how to judge the manga because my main reaction is "GAH! Beth!"

[shewhohashope.livejournal.com]

This sounds brilliant.

[I have ASN Volumes 8 and 9 in my hands right now and should have 10 in a few days!!]

[oyceter]

I cannot tell if it is brilliant or just weird! I think I read LIttle Women too often as a kid. But I still love cross-dressing manhwa hero(ine) Jo.

[Eeeee! ASN!]

[heavenscalyx.livejournal.com]

I suspect that Louisa May Alcott (also the writer of many Victorian blood-and-thunder stories) might have approved of this transformation. It sounds kinda fun.

[oyceter]

It is immensely fun! It just sort of blew my mind.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

That sounds really interesting! I guess Jo's hair grew back.

[oyceter]

It is really interesting and extremely weird! I cannot tell if anything in LW happens in it at all, like Amy's burning of Jo's book or whatnot.

[larryhammer]

Janni once read a YA novel reset in contemporary California suburbia, with a boy named as the POV trying to figure out why these new next-door neighbors are dead ringers for the March sisters of Little Women. She cannot, at the moment, remember the title.

Also: c.f. Burst Angel.

I think I'm in love with the idea of Jo with a bouncy ponytail.

---L.

[oyceter]

Oh, what about Burst Angel? I don't think I've heard of it.

[larryhammer]

Gonzo anime with a manga prequel set in a less-than-lawful future, about a boy who wants to become a pastry chef who ends up working for a band of female mercenaries (as one does) named Jo, Meg(umi), Amy, and Sei. Other parallels to LW are extended but tenious, especially once the yurilicious overtones ramp up between Jo and Meg.

---L.

[oyceter]

Whoooa, weird! Thanks for the description.

[mystickeeper.livejournal.com]

OMG, I totally want to read this!

[Yes, I know I'm a few days behind the ball.]

[oyceter]

So am I! I think I just am getting through answering several weeks worth of comments...

[lykslyks.livejournal.com]

woah, it really is weird then.. i mean, it really is bizarre that lots of things are different in the manhwa o.O
but anyways, it's still fun reading it because of the hottie (male protagonist) lol..
thanks btw! :D

[oyceter]

Yeah, the art is lovely. It's just the story that boggles me, especially because the manhwaka does seem to be so familiar with the original!

[(Anonymous)]

I am new to the world of manga etc. etc. Is this book in English? I can't find the book(I hate reading on the computer) on Amazon.

Your summary was interesting. I dont know if I should be horrified or interested in this book now.

[oyceter]

No, sorry =(. Or if it's been licensed, I don't know about it? I read the Chinese edition when I was in Taiwan (I put the translation/language I read it in in the header of the posts, but the abbreviations are probably kind of confusing).

hello

[(Anonymous)]

i have a message to kim hee eun ... it goes like this ,,, im hoping to read a lot of her version a little womens so please make the next chapter.... please ....
by jieun-- avid fan