50 pages in I hate it; I swear there are bits where this book would make Rod and Todd Flanders want to form a Deicide cover band.

But while the preachiness never quite goes away ("If your sister burns your life's work and you don't immediately fall on your knees and forgive her, God might kill her and it'll be your fault!") Alcott is going somewhere with it. The character work here is quite good, and while the cozy "poor"-people-with-servants-during-the-civil-war setting may not be the grittiest of social realisms, it works. Much like Great Gatsby, recommended reading for deep-cover spies wanting to know how Americans want to see themselves.