I ended up liking this much more than I thought I would. I started it expecting the sensation thriller/romance but it changed tack quickly into something quite different. Sylvia is a difficult heroine to like but I did like her. She can be willful and also just stupid but there is something about her trying to find her way in the world that is really amazing to see. All the characters are driven by such strong emotions in different ways and I found their struggles very powerfully portrayed. At times it descended into soggy morality but mostly it was very forthright about making choices in life and living in them. A surprising but very enjoyable read.

This started out dreadfully slow......2 characters - betrothed - going on and on in Alcottian flowery prose about duty, honor, 'I cannot be what you deserve", and blah, blah, blah.....and frankly 2 very unlikable characters. Was not sure if this might not be the book that finally forces me to stop reading before completing. But then chapter 2 begins and it suddenly seems a somewhat normal book (still rather Alcottian, though!). It was slightly charming, rather disjointed, but i got caught up in the rather unfortunate love triangle, chose my side, and rambled on to hopefully cheer it all to the conclusion I wished......but alas, no! There were several unexpected jolts, a bunch more disjointed-ness, and just as the final conclusion was occurring in my charming turn of the century hardcover, I turned from page 320 of Louisa May Alcott's "Moods" to page 321 of "Daddy's Girl" by L. T. Meade!!!! Who the hell is Sybil? What gold mines in Queensland? I have never been so lost in my life.....and then i figured it out. But wait!!! What about the end of my book?????? Fortunately, I found it online at Project Gutenberg, found the proper chapter and finished it on my tablet. Unusual, yet memorable experience. Oh, and did i get the ending i wanted??? NO! But the fact that i cared must make it worthy of 3 stars. Next? ( )

“Moods” is an apt title, because I found that my mood adapted with the changing narrative tone, which went from intriguing and upbeat to didactic and mundane. Had the second half of the book been as absorbing as the first then I would’ve rated this at least four stars.

The book title essentially refers to the main character, Sylvia, who first appears as an overgrown spoilt brat. But she becomes endearing when she goes through several changes, showing how good-hearted she is, while at times she’s absent minded, causing upset through her impatience.

I like the love triangle element to the story. The three main characters – Sylvia, Adam, and Geoffrey – are all likeable in their own way. The author does a great job of bringing them to life, which isn’t surprising, because she is a great author, then and now.

But no matter how talented the writer, the reader will lose interest in a story that fails to grip them. I’m not saying the book’s second half isn’t gripping as such, but for my tastes it becomes tiresome.

Maybe I’d feel differently if I’d been alive during the time when this was first published. After all, many of the problems that are blown up so big in this novel would be trivial today. The 1800s are almost like an alternative dimension when you consider how daily life has altered.

But the good outweighs the bad and my respect for Louisa May Alcott remains strong. I especially liked the chapter where Sylvia, her brother, and her future lovers go for a boat ride and camp out. The scenes where she and Adam venture off together, encounter a fire, and are out longer than intended are all superb. ( )

La Alcott più nota al pubblico, quella delle "Piccole donne", qui ci appare un'autrice moderna dalla voce più autentica. La famiglia e i valori esaltati nelle altre opere, i quadretti idilliaci con tanto di focolare domestico, pargoli e fornelli qui lasciano il posto ai dubbi e ai conflitti vissuti da una donna, Sylvia, insofferente alle regole e ai principi imposti dall'educazione del tempo.
Scritto nel 1865, quattro anni prima di "Piccole donne", fu oggetto di critiche pesanti e considerato naturalmente sconveniente. Venne contestato soprattutto all'autrice di avere osato trattare il tema dell'infedeltà coniugale essendo nubile, del resto non poteva che suscitare sdegno la coraggiosa critica della Alcott all' etica puritana dell'America di metà ottocento.
Pubblicato per la prima volta in Italia, il libro è arricchito da un'interessante nota critica di Henry James. ( )

On my list of books to read by favorite authors, Moods was touted to be unlike her stories for young women. I would say yes, and no. I found her writing style and gentle moralizing to be the same. The subject matter was definitely more geared to adult readers, but the story had the same feel. (I feel I can speak with some authority here, having been reading Louisa for at least 30 years now.)

I just watched a PBS special on LMA, and some historians speculate she may have been subject to manic depression. This was interesting in that the heroine of Moods was also subject to rather violent mood swings. Very typically of LMA, the heroes and heroine of the story must come to terms with the darker side of themselves, and make sacrifice for the good of those they love. ( )