| Title | : | Anne of Green Gables |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0143131850 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780143131854 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 416 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1908 |
L. M. Montgomery's novel Anne of Green Gables recounts the adventures of Anne Shirley, an 11-year-old orphan mistakenly sent to a pair of siblings who intended to adopt a boy to help work on their farm in Prince Edward Island. Yet Anne's quirky personality and good-natured spirit causes the siblings to grow to love her anyway, and soon the entire town falls for the precocious little girl with bright red hair.
Cherished by both children and adults, Anne of Green Gables is a celebration of fierce individualism, and the families we create, rather than the ones we are born into. This Deluxe edition is enhanced with a foreword by bestselling author J. Courtney Sullivan, and an introduction and suggestions for further reading by Benjamin Lefebvre, as well as reviews and a selection of early writing by L. M. Montgomery about the process of writing Anne.
Anne of Green Gables Reviews
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I don't often give books five stars and as I neared the end of this book, I gave some thought to how many stars this book deserved. I've read the Anne of Green Gables series once before - over twenty years ago. In spite of the amount of time that has elapsed, I clearly recall reading the last book in the series very slowly and thinking to myself, "I will be so sad to not be able to read about Anne anymore." When I picked up this book a few days ago to re-read it, I found within a few chapters that it was like seeing an old friend. Anne was even more delightful than I recalled, since I now have daughters who share her "scope for imagination," her penchant for large words and her zest for life. Reading about Anne's appreciation for life's loveliness made me appreciate my daughters and long to live more in-the-moment myself. So, I decided that a book that feels like an old friend after twenty years deserves five stars.
Anne Shirley must be one of the most delightful characters ever written, largely because she is far from perfect. She makes mistakes, as we all do, but her mistakes are much funnier than my own feel and she makes me see the value in learning from each of them, laughing at them and moving on. Like my middle daughter, there is no lukewarm with Anne. I love that she approaches life enthusiastically, despite have spent a decade belonging to no one.
I also like that Anne talks straightforwardly about wanting, seeking and building friendships. Even now, I am hesitant, awkward and scattershot at building relationships. I may meet someone who seems a kindred spirit, but lack the time or, let's be honest, sheer boldness to approach them and seek to build a friendship. We see Anne seek and build relationships not only upon her arrival in Avonlea, but during her time at Queens.
One reasons I re-read this book was because two friends recommended it for it's fluency in writing dialogue. Unlike Little Women, which I attempted to read for the writing, this book did not disappoint. The dialogue sounds exactly like each character would sound and it flows smoothly from narration to dialogue and back. In fact, I'm baffled that Little Women routinely makes top 100 lists while Anne of Green Gables is nowhere to be found on the lists of must-read classics. Unlike the Little Women characters who are archetypes rather than three dimensional characters, Anne is a bold a female character who refuses to be categorized. That's exactly why I love her and love this book. -
How do you review a book that transcends books?
https://emmareadstoomuch.wordpress.co...
Do you ever love a book so much that it doesn’t feel like a book? You’re so immersed and reading is so effortless that you don’t feel like you’re reading at all? The characters are real enough to be people, and their problems and happinesses feel like they’re happening to you?
That was me with this book.
Which is all well and good until it comes down to reviewing it.
Basically what I’m saying is I’m at a loss for words. I’m saying I have nothing TO say. This is just too damn good.
I didn’t read this as a kid, or for many years after. I didn’t think I’d be interested. I had a copy for years with no intention of picking it up, because I am shallow as hell and only bought a copy in the first place because it’s pretty. (In my defense: look HOW pretty.) Honestly, I can’t remember why I decided to read it in the first place.
But I am very, very, VERY glad I did.
I love Anne so much. I love Green Gables. I love Diana, I love Matthew and Marilla, later on I love Gilbert (although I don’t really understand how people love him from this book alone. Not much to see).
After reading this, I was obligated to chase the high of the reading experience by picking up the next two installments as quickly as possible, and they were just as good. Mostly. But still an unparalleled level of good.
I guess what I’m trying to carry across here is that somehow this hundred year old children’s classic about an orphan girl moving to a rural island in Canada was one of the most unputdownable books I’ve ever read.
And also the writing is as pretty as the cover.
Bottom line: I want to live in this book, please and thank you.
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pre-review
fun fact: joy exists as a concrete object, and it's called Anne of Green Gables.
THIS BOOK IS PURE JOY.
review to come -
This story has such a special place in my heart. Utterly delightful from start to finish! Now, please excuse me - I'm going to go finish up my little cry. 🌻
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2021: Jestem szczęśliwa, że mogę żyć na świecie, w którym wydano "Anię z Zielonego Wzgórza"
2022: To moje 3 spotkanie z Anne w ciągu 3 lat. Możliwe, że wiecie jak ogromną sympatią dążę tę książkę. Tłumaczenie Bańkowskiej jest odświeżające i uwaga- po prostu świetne. -
"Dear old world," she murmured, "you are very lovely and I am glad to be alive in you."
This quote really accurately depicts how Anne lives her life and what makes you love her as a character. She's stubborn and makes mistakes, but she also has a huge imagination and sees the world as beautiful and full of possibilities.
I loved this SO much and I'm sad I never read it before! I love all the characters and the plot, and it's really fun to see Anne grow up through this book. The writing is also really really lovely.
I can't wait to read the sequels and follow Anne's story!
This has made it up to my favorite books of all time list, that's for sure.
REREAD NOTES
I didn't think I could love this book more but somehow I do?? I AM SO EMOTIONAL. -
yo Anne has no chill, she is practically a talking machine, I am not complaining tho
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Galentine's Day is right around the corner...so why not curl up with a good book? Check out my latest
BooktTube Video - all about five fabulous books on female friendship!
The Written Review
To come!
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"OH, Marilla"
"Fancy. It’s always been one of my dreams to live near a brook. I never expected I would, though. Dreams don’t often come true, do they?"
"It’s been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will."
Anne of Green Gables will always have a very special place in my memory, for it offered one of the loveliest, most wonderful stories I've ever read. This is something you could keep on reading for ever without tiring or loosing interest. I loved every chapter, every paragraph, every line, and down to the every little bit of it.
“Oh, Marilla, can I go right now—without washing my dishes? I’ll wash them when I come back, but I cannot tie myself down to anything so unromantic as dishwashing at this thrilling moment.”
Instead of narrating a perfect word with perfect occurring, this book offers a very much realistic existence, where the reader is met with all kinds of emotion. One could hardly conceal laughing in certain parts just as it is hardly possible to hold a tear in another part.
"Which would you rather be if you had the choice—divinely beautiful or dazzlingly clever or angelically good?"
Personally, I would've love if the book contained more narration on Anne's first two years, and move on to the next years from next book, though I guess it's coming from my own selfish need to have a better ending with Matthew. But on the other hand, I guess that inevitable reality of life adds to how the books is imprinted even deeply in one's mind and memory. In any case, the book forever remain one of my all time favorites.
"Diana, wilt thou give me a lock of thy jet-black tresses in parting to treasure forevermore?"
“Marilla, isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?”
“Oh, Matthew, isn’t it a wonderful morning?" -
Are you also die-hard fan of Netflix series: Anne with an E! And also have you been pouting since the day you have heard the cancellation news? If your answer is no, that’s fine, you just miss another epic visual feast, shame! Especially the teen romance Anne and Gilbert is guaranteed to make you smile and warm your heart.
But before that, if you want to revisit the joy, innocence, naiveness, beauty of your childhood, just grab this book and meet with orphan Anne Shirley whose positive, optimistic, exciting energy is contagious. And you may prefer audiobook version to listen the powerful narration of Rachel McAdams.
For decades this book has been considered as children novel but it also teaches us so many things about life, parenthood, friendship, questioning town’s people’s biased, hypocrite thoughts and wrongful beliefs through the eyes of a little girl who has been accidentally adopted by Cuthberts: Marilla and Matthew: brother and sister who needed a boy to help them at farm’s chores. But as you may imagine Anne found a way of enchanting them with her pure joy and excitement. Yes, she stayed with them to be their mischievous, unique, cheery, smart daughter.
Here are my favorite quotes of the novel:
“People laugh at me because I use big words. But if you have big ideas, you have to use big words to express them, haven't you?”
“Why must people kneel down to pray? If I really wanted to pray I’ll tell you what I'd do. I'd go out into a great big field all alone or in the deep, deep woods and I'd look up into the sky—up—up—up—into that lovely blue sky that looks as if there was no end to its blueness. And then I'd just feel a prayer.”
“Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet.”
“Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It's splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world.”
This time I’m thanking Goodreads to put this book in “Most Popular 100 YA books list” and reminded me of how much I enjoyed it when I was a kid so helped me revisit my memories. As an adult, I still wholeheartedly adore this book! It truly made my whole weekend. -
"Excitement hung around Anne like a garment, shone in her eyes, kindled in every feature."
Oh, what sheer pleasure it was to spend just a moment in time with Anne and her delightful companions in this little classic. What pure joy to catch a glimpse of the beauty of Prince Edward Island. I am likely one of the last persons on earth… well, on Goodreads at least… to read this novel. What in the world was I waiting for?! As a child and adolescent, I wrongly assumed that this book would be of no interest to me. I wasn’t a ‘girly girl’ and surely this was written for ‘that sort’ of reader, right? Wrong! By the time I was old enough to know better, I thought I had grown too mature in years to pick this one up. Wrong again. The ‘sort’ of reader that this does appeal to however: one who appreciates exquisite writing and vibrant characters, one who relishes being steeped in another time and place, and one who enjoys an all-out fantastic story. In short, this book should satisfy nearly everyone!
You can’t help but fall in love with Anne. She is the friend you have always longed for, the daughter that will bring that much-needed light in your life, that student that any teacher would be proud to instruct. She is funny, imaginative, bright, and a regular chatterbox. She laments about her red hair, apologizes for being a ‘great trial’ to Marilla, and always manages to see the positive in most everything. However, she does maintain a long-standing rivalry with her peer, Gilbert Blythe. "She was as intense in her hatreds as in her loves." Nothing is ever lukewarm when it comes to Anne’s feelings.
There were moments I wanted to laugh with her and moments when I wanted to cry. When she first arrived at Green Gables, Anne learned that it had all been a mistake. For, Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert meant to adopt a young boy to help with the chores. A little girl was not needed. It nearly crushed me when Anne fell in love with Green Gables only to find that she must surely be turned away and carted straight back to the orphanage. "Have you ever noticed what cheerful things brooks are? They’re always laughing… I shall always like to remember that there is a brook at Green Gables even if I never see it again." What transpires after this will melt even the most hardened hearts.
Some might say this book is too wholesome, too charming, and perhaps too unrealistic. I have to say that I don’t believe those are good enough reasons to skip reading this enchanting novel! It didn’t take place just yesterday so I didn’t expect the trials and tribulations of today’s day and age. The events do occur on an idyllic island, so I felt the beautiful scenery I was immersed in was wholly believable. Anne is not a perfect little girl and each character has their share of flaws. Not every story has to be full of doom and gloom to get all the stars! Sometimes one just needs to sit back, relax, and just surrender to the small pleasures in life. We could all use a lesson from Anne’s book of optimism here and there!
"Dear old world, you are lovely, and I am glad to be alive in you." -
I will never forgive Netflix for cancelling Anne with an E.
Rtc -
The beloved classic 1908 novel about an orphan girl who mistakenly comes to the Prince Edward Island home of aging brother and sister Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, who just wanted an orphan boy to help Matthew with chores. After an initial kerfuffle about sending Anne back to the orphanage and getting the boy they had intended, hearts are softened, and Anne proceeds to upend their lives ... in what turns out to be very good ways for everyone involved.
Anne is eleven years old when she first comes to Green Gables, and the novel follows her adventures over the next five years. It’s kind of an episodic novel, with memorable characters. Anne is a chatterbox with a tremendously vivid imagination, passionate and sincere. Marilla and Matthew are drawn so well that I feel like I really know them (though it's disconcerting to realize that Matthew in the book has a long beard. My mind's eye refuses to see him that way, LOL. The miniseries has co-opted my imagination). And then there's Anne’s classmate Gilbert, who lives to regret some initial teasing about Anne's hair.
This novel has a healthy sense of humor that sets it apart from most literature of this period and keeps it from being too sticky sweet. It’s really so charming, with great insights into human nature, and lovely descriptions of P.E.I. It's a feel-good story and a total comfort read!
Anne of Green Gables spawned a slew of sequels and five other related novels, not to mention any number of film and TV adaptations. Not all of the sequels are great reads like this one - they start getting progressively more sappy - but I do recommend the first four books in this series if you liked this one. -
This story is cute, touching, heart-warming, tear-jerking. In other words, a classic!
The target audience is definitely not me. I would say it would be perfect for a teenage girl living in Canada in the early 1900s. That makes sense, because that is exactly what Anne is! However, the point of this obvious detail is that sometimes it is fun to read a classic and try to put your mind in the mindset of who it was written for at the time. A couple of the storylines seemed silly or to not make sense, but if I stopped and changed my mindset, it would click.
A bit of a history lesson combined with a well written story. If you haven't read this before, give it a shot and maybe you will find your inner early 1900s Canadian teenager! -
Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery
Anne of Green Gables is a 1908 novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery (L. M. Montgomery). Written for all ages, it has been considered a children's novel since the mid-twentieth century. It recounts the adventures of Anne Shirley, an 11-year-old orphan girl who is mistakenly sent to Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, a middle-aged brother and sister who had intended to adopt a boy to help them on their farm in the fictional town of Avonlea on Prince Edward Island. The novel recounts how Anne makes her way with the Cuthberts, in school, and within the town.
عنوانهای چاپ شده در ایران: «آن شرلی با موهای قرمز»؛ «آنی شرلی در گرین گیبلز»؛ «آنی در گرین گیبل»؛ «دختر خانه سبز»؛ «آنی رویای سبز»؛ «آنی در گرین گیبل»؛ «دختر خانه سبز»؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز بیست و پنجم ماه سپتامبر سال 2012میلادی
عنوان: آن شرلی با موهای قرمز؛ نویسنده: ال.ام. مونتگمری؛ مترجم: امیرحسین علمشاهی؛ ویراستار: محمد سیفی؛ تبریز رهیافت، 1379؛ شابک9649020845؛ عنوانهای دیگر: آنی رویای سبز؛ آنی در گرین گیبل؛ دختر خانه سبز؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان کانادا - سده 20م
عنوان: آنی شرلی در گرین گیبلز - کتاب اول؛ نویسنده: لوسی ماد ال.ام مونتگمری؛ مترجم: سارا قدیانی؛ تهران، قدیانی، 1386؛ در 495ص، نقشه، مجموعه آنی شرلی - کتاب اول؛ چاپ دوم 1387؛ چاپ سوم 1388؛ چاپ هفتم 1392؛ شابک 9789645365880؛
آنی شرلی در گرین گیبلز، نخستین جلد از سری داستانهای «آن شرلی»، اثر «لوسی ماد مونتگمری» است؛ در این کتاب، «آن شرلی» یک دختربچه ی دوازده ساله، پای به «گرین گیبلز» میگذارد؛ «ماریلا»، و «متیو کاتبرت»، خواهر و برادری مزرعه دار، و صاحب «گرین گیبلز» هستند؛ آنها تصمیم میگیرند، سرپرستی پسربچه ی ده-یازده ساله ای را، به عهده بگیرند، اما کسیکه مسئولیت داشته، یتیم مورد نظر آنها را، از یتیمخانه به «گرین گیبلز» ببرد، به اشتباه، دختربچه ای به نام «آن شرلی» را، که والدینش را در سه ماهگی، از دست داده، به «گرین گیبلز» میآورد، و «آنی»، در آنجا ماندگار میشود، و به جای یاری به «متیو» در کشاورزی، به «ماریلا»، در خانه داری، کمک میکند، و ماجراهایی به وجود میاورد؛ او دوستی به نام «داینا بری»، دارد، دو دوست، از هم جدا میشوند، ولی آن دو هماره، کوشش دارند، به دوستی خویش پایبند بمانند.؛ ...؛
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 22/08/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 13/07/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی -
Reread 2022 - I got the first book in this beautiful cover and I hope I can actually like the rest of the series now so I can collect them!
What a lovely little book! There were a million excerpts I wanted to add but maybe at a later date.
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾 -
4.5 stars
Anne, my lovely, I feel restored."Marilla!" Anne sat down on Marilla's gingham lap, took Marilla's lined face between her hands, and looked gravely and tenderly into Marilla's eyes. "I'm not a bit changed—not really. I'm only just pruned down and branched out. The real me—back here—is just the same. It won't make a bit of difference where I go or how much I change outwardly; at heart I shall always be your little Anne, who will love you and Matthew and dear Green Gables more and better every day of her life."
Full RTC.
Pre-review:
You know what? I've been wanting to reread these books for probably a decade, and I'm still (inexplicably) battling my ever present book funk, so I'm just gonna do it.
Gilbert Blythe, you were my first and best book boyfriend. See you soon ;)
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Another fantastic reread. Feeling very nostalgic this year, and classics like this are a breath of fresh air! Wonderful.
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I never read Anne's story when I was younger, so when I heard that Rachel McAdams was narrating the first in the series I knew I had to give it a go. I'm a sucker for a celebrity-narrated audiobook (if you haven't checked out Maggie Gyllenhaal's reading of
The Bell Jar, do that now!).
It's wonderful to read a story that, for the most part, is extremely uplifting. There's hardly anything truly terrible that happens in this story, and that's quite refreshing. Granted, it is a children's novel and from the early 1900's—so it has that moralistic quality to it wherein each incident Anne undergoes resolves itself with a lesson learned. But it was delightful, and Anne's optimism is contagious. Rachel McAdams also does a great job at encapsulating that attitude; I felt like I could hear her smile.
If, like me, you've never given Anne's story a chance, I can highly recommend the audiobook route. And I'm definitely going to continue listening to this series, especially when I'm in need of a pick-me-up. -
"I don't know what lies around the bend, but I'm going to believe that the best does."
I cried, I laughed, and I fell in love.
I grew up watching these movies because my mom just absolutely loves them but I've never really been that interested in reading the book. I knew I'd read it someday but it wasn't a top priority at all. I had to read this for my can lit course this semester and boy am I ever glad for that. I absolutely adored this story. Anne is such a darling and she just makes me look at the world differently and want to use my imagination more, she makes me feel like a kid again. I loved all the characters and the writing was fantastic. The ending just made me want to read the rest of the series! LOVED IT! -
Anne of Green Gables is everything. I got interested in reading this book after hearing Ariel gush about it for years. And I initially wanted to save it for October (“I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” – duh) but I'm so glad that I didn't. I fell sick in February and was in the mood to read a cute children's book, which is why I picked up this book.
Anne of Green Gables recounts the adventures of Anne Shirley, an 11-year-old orphan girl, who is mistakenly sent to two middle-aged siblings, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, who had originally intended to adopt a boy to help them on their farm, Green Gables, in the fictional town of Avonlea in Prince Edward Island, Canada. The novel recounts how Anne makes her way through life with the Cuthberts, in school, and within the town.
And yes, it's a story suitable for children but I feel like it hits closer to home as an adult. Much of its humor (and believe me, this book is HILARIOUS) would have been lost on me as a child. Also the intricate character dynamic of Anne and her new foster parents. I am really happy that I read it as an adult.But really, Marilla, one can’t stay sad very long in such an interesting world, can one?
I feel like this book can be truly hit or miss for people, and it all hinges on whether or not you will take to Anne as a character. She's a child, 11 at the beginning of the book, 16 when it ends, so she is definitely annoying af at times, self-centered, oblivious to the problems of other people, she literally won't shut up and I'm positive that her dialogue makes up at least 60% of this novel. ;) So, she's not a character that just everyone will love. But if you do, you will fall head over heels in love with this book.
Anne of Green Gables is charming, hilarious, heart-warming, and gut-wrenching at the same time. I didn't expect to laugh out loud (for real, no hyperbole!) every other page. Every single joke landed with me. Montgomery's witty writing style, the banter, Anne's hilarious monologues and Marilla's unsympathetic responses, the little adventures and mishaps that Anne gets herself into on a daily basis – it's all so wonderful.
This book feels like a spring morning, with the first sun in months on your skin, it tastes like your favorite apple pie, it smells like the ocean. I know I'm repeating myself but it is simply wonderful. I didn't expect to fall in love with Green Gables and its inhabitants as much as I did – Anne, Matthew and Marilla will always have a place in my heart. As well as the other inhabitants of Avonlea, most notably Diana (who is a queen), Gilbert (who is everything), Mrs. Rachel Lynde (who is an icon!), and Miss Stacy (who is doing the Lord's work out here). I love all of them more than life itself.
Anne of Green Gables did not only make me laugh in ways I haven't laughed in a long time (at a book), it also made me cry, more like historically sob over the pages, so much so that they're wavy right now. Since I had read through the chapter titles before jumping into the story, I was pretty certain that something would happen at the end of the book that would completely wreck me. And yes, I was right. It happened. And it wrecked me. [I'm really happy that the show, "Anne with an E", took a different approach and didn't include that event in any of their three seasons. I would not have been able to handle it again.]
The only minor criticism I have of this novel is that it could've been 50-70 pages shorter. The first half was AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING – like I said before, literally laughing out loud on every page – but when Anne grew up, I felt like Montgomery could've told her story a little more tighter, as some of Anne's adventures and mishaps just started to feel repetitive and I wanted to see her character growth a bit earlier.
Nonetheless, I still flew through this 400+ pages children's classic in four days – whilst nursing a headache – so it was still a true page-turner for me. I cannot wait to return to the world of Avonlea some day – ya'll have convinced me to give the second and third book in the series a shot. I need to see more of my baby Gilbert!
Favorite/ notable moments: (spoilers ahead!)
– ‘If Marilla had said that Matthew had gone to Bright River to meet a kangaroo from Australia Mrs Rachel could not have been more astonished.’ – from the first chapter on I knew I was going to be in for a fun ride; Montgomery's wit and humor is unmatched and EXACTLY my cup of tea
– ‘She was sitting there waiting for something or somebody and, since sitting and waiting was the only thing to do just then, she sat and waited with all her might and main.’ – and from her first appearance, I fell in love with Anne Shirley
– Anne telling Matthew: ‘I’ve never belonged to anybody – not really.’
– ‘Will you please call me Cordelia?’ she said eagerly. ‘Call you Cordelia! Is that your name?’ – Marilla was like WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON UP IN HERE???
– ‘I can’t. I’m in the depths of despair.’ – half of the humor is that Anne is so fucking extra, she's the most dramatic of children and her vocabulary is UNMATCHED
– ‘And when people mean to be good to you, you don’t mind very much when they’re not quite – always.’ – I found it really interesting how differently Anne’s past abuse are portrayed in the book vs the show ("Anne with an E"), it's much more explicit in the show due to all the horrifying flashback scenes where we see Anne getting whipped by her former foster parents and bossed around, bullied and assaulted at the orphanage, the book is much less overt
– however, similarly to Harry Potter, it's pretty unrealistic that Anne got out of these horrifying situations without any mental issues or problems, just like Harry, she's basically the purest, most naive and even confident and self-assured child, and whilst I love that for her, it's not a realistic portrayal of how children who are abused/neglected FOR YEARS during their early childhood and teenage years feel and act
– Marilla telling Anne: “I haven’t any use at all for little girls who aren’t neat.” was such a fucking low point, I love Marilla but especially in the beginning of the book she is highly manipulative and emotionally abusive towards Anne (by dangling the threat of not keeping her over her head constantly), it was hard to read
– However, it is worth of note that Marilla is the one shouldering most of the responsibility of Green Gables, therefore, she has to be the practical (harsher) one, whereas Matthew – who comes across as more sympathetic – can allow himself to keep his head in the clouds and indulge Anne's every whim (but only BECAUSE Marilla manages everything)
– ‘I never say any prayers.’ […] Marilla decided that Anne’s religious training must be begun at once. Plainly there was no time to be lost. – Marilla really was like WE BROUGHT A HEATHEN TO THIS HOUSE
– ‘I’d love to call you Aunt Marilla,’ said Anne wistfully. – WHY IS SHE SO PURE?
– After Mrs Rachel calls her ugly: ‘You have hurt mine worse than they were ever hurt before even by Mrs Thomas intoxicated husband. And I’ll never forgive your for it, never, never!’ – first of all, Rachel was an ass for that, but more notably, again, we get some hints at Anne's past abuse but nothing specific ... due to the fact that it's left to the imagination, one imagines the worst, but if Rachel calling her ugly is worse than anything Mr Thomas did, then it couldn't have been as bad as I first imagined (= sexual assault)
– ‘Puffed sleeves are so fashionable now. It would give me such a thrill, Marilla, just to wear a dress with puffed sleeves.’ – I love her more than life itself!
– When Anne and Marilla went to pay the Barrys a visit, so that Anne could be introduced to Diana, Mrs Barry asked: ’How are you?’ And Anne replied: ‘I am well in body although considerably rumpled in spirit, thank you, ma’am,’ said Anne gravely.
– ‘I don’t feel that I could endure the disappointment if anything happened to prevent me from getting to the picnic. I suppose I’d live through it, but I’m certain it would be a lifelong sorrow.’ – ANNE HAS ZERO CHILL
– ‘I believe this child is crazy.’ – same, Marilla, SAME
– After Marilla forbids her to attend the picnic: ‘My heart is broken. You’ll feel remorse of conscience some day, I expect, for breaking it, Marilla, but I forgive you.’
– Anne wishing she’d been the one who nearly drowned during the class trip instead of Jane Andrews – LOL
– Mr Phillips can suck my ass => whipping his students, humiliating them in front of the class, and let's not talk about the Prissy situation (PUKE) ... I love how they showed his true colors in the show!
– Once, when nobody was looking, Gilbert took from his desk a little pink candy heart with a gold motto on it, ‘You are sweet’, and slipped it under the curve of Anne’s arm. (HOW SWEET) Whereupon Anne arose, took the pink heart gingerly between the tips of her fingers, dropped it on the floor, ground it to powder beneath her heel, and resumed her position without deigning to bestow a glance on Gilbert. (CAN SHE CHILL? NO? OH, OKAY.)
– After Diana’s mother forbids her to associate with Anne (due to the wine debacle) and the girls have to say their farewell: ‘Ten minutes isn’t very long to say an eternal farewell. Oh, Diana, will you promise faithfully never to forget me, the friend of your youth, no matter what dearer friends may caress thee?’
– ‘Diana gave me a lock of her hair and I’m going to sew it up in a little bag and wear it around my neck all my life. Please see that it is buried with me, for I don’t believe I’ll live very long. Perhaps when she sees me lying cold and dead before her Mrs Barry may feel remorse for what she has done and will let Diana come to my funeral.’ – I AM TELLING YOU SHE HAS NO CHILL
– ‘Marilla, isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?’
– Marilla literally being xenophobic, she literally hates all foreigners and only trust Canadians ??? (‘How often have I told you never to let one of those Italians in the house! I don’t believe in encouraging them to come around at all.’ OKAY KAREN)
– In the sudden stab of fear that pierced to her very heart she realized what Anne had come to mean to her. => I really love Marilla's arc (in regards to Anne) though, she started out as this tough "unfeeling" woman and came to love her like her own daughter, BEAUTIFUL!
– ‘I don’t believe I’d really want to be a sensible person, because they are so unromantic. Mrs Lynde says there is no danger of my ever being one…’ – Rachel telling it straight as it is
– AUNT JOSEPHINE ... I loved her in the books already (her asking the girls to sent her more story? HOW PURE) but her take on the show (literally being a lesbian icon) was also refreshing
– Matthew telling Anne: ‘Don’t give up all your romance…’ I AM SOBBING
– ‘That’s the worst of growing up, and I’m beginning to realize it. The things you wanted so much when you were a child don’t seem half so wonderful to you when you get them.’ – I didn't remember asking for a therapy session, hello?
– Gilbert had ambitions, she knew, and Ruby Gillis did not seem the sort of person with whom such could be profitably discussed. => Anne, honey, I know you’re jealous but please stop shaming this girl
– ‘Well now, I’d rather have you than a dozen boys, Anne,’ said Matthew patting her hand. ‘Just mind you that – rather than a dozen boys. Well now, I guess it wasn’t a boy that took the Avery scholarship, was it? It was a girl – my girl – my girl that I’m proud of.’ – THESE ARE LITERALLY MATTHEW’S LAST WORDS TO ANNE, I AM NOT OKAY
– “The Reaper whose Name is Death” => As soon as I saw that chapter title I knew I wouldn’t be ready for what’s to come … this was the most painful chapter, I literally SOBBED so much, I can’t remember the last time I cried this hard during a book (…probably when I read a memoir about the Rwandan genocide … yeah, that’s how bad I cried)
– For the first time shy, quiet Matthew Cuthbert was a person of central importance; the white majesty of death had fallen on him and set him apart as one crowned. – STOP STOP STOP, the tears are flowing again!!!
– Anne deciding to stay with Marilla and help her with the farm instead of going away to study at Redmond – I AM SOBBING
– “When I left Queen’s my future seemed to stretch out before me like a straight road. I thought I could see along it for many a milestone. Now there is a bend in it. I don’t know what lies around the bend, but I’m going to believe that the best does. It has a fascination of its own, that bend.” – STOP STOP STOP
– Gilbert giving up his teaching position for Anne, + the two of them reconciling at the end of the book – I AM SOFT ... I am only reading the next two books for their relationship tbh, I NEED to see them together!
***
Update 1: For the first time in my life, I got myself a Netflix subscription. Yes, it was for Anne with an E. Just watched the first episode (literally sobbed the whole time). I HAVE ZERO REGRETS. Can't wait to see where this show takes me!
Update 2: It has only taken in a week to watch the entirety of all THREE SEASONS of "Anne with an E" (...and oh boy I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS, not all pleasant, especially when it comes to how trauma-ridden and separated and unresolved the storylines of the Black and indigenous characters were...) and I need more of this world. I can't believe that season 3 basically ends where book 1 ends ... with Anne wanting to go to college. GAAAAAAH. I wanted so desperately to see her in college and SEE her relationship with Gilbert ... guess I'll have to read book 2 and 3 after all. Will place my order shortly lmao. -
Which books changed me as a reader?
One would like to answer that Tolstoy or Dostoevsky or Dickens or Lagerlöf or Proust determined my path as a lifelong reader. But I doubt that is the case for most of us. They are more often the effect of falling in love with an entirely different kind of book, a root cause leading all the way to tackling Ulysses.
One of the most inspiring books I read as a young girl was the seemingly endless series of Anne (with an "e"), who has all the odds against her, and yet grows up to be a loving, caring, independent and determined woman who consistently follows the path her heart and brain dictate to her, even or especially when it goes against the narrow conventions of her conservative environment. She doesn't win the hearts of her community by being sweet and subdued and grateful, though. She wins them by showing bravery and creativity!
She taught me to love the poem "The Lady of Shalott", and I learned it by heart with her! She taught me small town prejudice and the value of education to stand above pettiness. She taught me that love can exist in the strangest of places, and I think I loved her in the same way her shy stepfather Matthew did. She taught me that one can be wrong and still get it right.
Lucy Maud Montgomery taught me the power of storytelling to change the hearts of adolescents who are reading and living in the world of fiction. For I have grown up in rural Canada a century ago. Yes, I have, several times! Just like I grew up in an English boarding school with Sarah Crewe, admiring
A Little Princess the most when she was starving.
...
On either side the river lie
long fields of barley and of rye
... -
غلطة واحدة غير مقصودة غيرت حياة 3 أشخاص
كل ذلك بدأ عندما طلبت ماريلا كنثبرت من السيدة سبنسر التي نوت إحضار فتاة يتيمة لتتبناها من ملجأ نوفا سكوشيا , ان تحضر معها صبي من ملجأ الأيتام ليعاون ماثيو كنبثرت أخاها الخجول ستيني العمر الذي بدأت عليه علامات التعب والإرهاق ولم يعد يستطع الاهتمام لوحده بالمرتفعات الخضراء الساحرة بجمالها الطبيعي الخلاب
-المرتفعات الخضراء-
عند ذهاب ماثيو لإحضار الصبي من محطة القطارات , صدم صدمة تمنى فيها حضور ماريلا لحل المشكلة التي تواجهه كما اعتادت !!
لكن ما الذي حصل ؟؟
تم إحضار فتاة بدلًا من الصبي !!
وأي فتاة هذه , كثيرة الثرثرة , عميقة الخيال جامحة العواطف وحمراء الشعر مزين وجهها بالنمش الذي كانت تعتبره هذه الفتاة سبب شقاء حياتها هو وشعرها الأحمر الغير معتاد
eبحرف ال anne تلك هي
بالنسبة لشخص خجول مثل ماثيو كان من المتوقع ان يبقى صامتا غير قادر على التصرف ولا الحديث , لكن آن لم تدع فرصة للسكوت وتدارت الموقف . بدأت تبث له مشاعرها وسعادتها بحضوره , و أخيرًا ستحظى بعائلة تتبناها وفي جزيرة الأمير إدوارد ايضًا . يا سلام , بدى وكأن احلام آن بدأت تتحقق بعد تخلصها من ملجأ الأيتام بنوفا سكوشيا أخيرًا
-جزيرة الأمير إدوارد -
لكن لم يقوى ماثيو الحنون العطوف على تحطيم سعادتها وآمالها , ولم يكن من الإنساني تركها في محطة القطار لوحدها عندما بدأت الشمس تغرب مهللة بقدوم القمر , فقرر أخذها ليدع القرار الحاسم في يد أخته ماريلا
لم يكن يعلم ماثيو أن هذه الفتاة في طريق الذهاب للمنزل ستأسره وتزرع في قلبه شيء مشرق وساطع يجعله مسحورًا بها !! ويجعلهما توأما روح للأبد
طريقة تحدثها وإستخدامها للكلمات الكبيرة التي لا تسمع عادة من أطفال في سن ال11 أذهلته ايما إذهال. لكن آن تقول أن الأفكار الكبيرة تحتاج لأن توصف بعبارات كبيرة !
ولا ننسى شغفها بإعطاء كل ماتراه جميل إسم يليق به , مثل درب البهجىة الأبيض , بحيرة المياه البراقة , درب العشاق , شجرة ملكة الثلج
صدمة ماريلا بالمخلوقة الصغيرة الثرثراة كانت عظيمة . إستائت ماريلا بالخطأ الذي أقدمت عليه السيدة سبينسر . ماحاجتها بفتاة ثرثارة ؟
غايتها صبي يساعد ماثيو في تخفيف عبئ اعمال الزراعة والحصاد مع ماثيو
هذه الفتاة لن تعود عليهما بأي نفع ولا فائدة . لكن ماثيو الخجول الصامت حاول ان يقنع ماريلا بكونها قد تفيدهما ببعض الكلمات الخجولة , لكن قرار ماريلا كان حاسمًا لإنها لم تدرك ان قلب ماثيو تعلق بهذه الصغيرة الدرامية
ولكم أن تتخيلوا حالة الإحباط والأسى التي انفجرت بآن بعد هذه الخيبة العظيمة بعدما قطعت كل هذه المسافات !!
حياتها كما تقول , مقبرة للأحلام
ولكن حتى ماريلا ستغير رأيها في آن وستشعر بطعم اللوعة والمرارة عند رحيلها , لم تعد المرتفعات الخضراء هادئة وموحشة كما كانت . أصبحت الحياة تعج والشمس تشرق والنجوم تسطع في المرتفعات الخضراء بعد قدوم آن
في هذه الرواية نشاهد آن الطفلة ذات ال11 عامًا تنمو , تخطأ اخطاء فادحة وتتعلم منها وتجتهد خلال خمس سنوات , من لحظة قدومها للمرتفعات الخضراء الى وصولها لسن ال 16 بعد ان اصبحت تهتم بطموحاتها اكثر من ثرثراتها
في 382 صفحة تعرفنا الكاتبة العظيمة لوسي مونتغمري على تطورات مراحل آن بإحاطة العديد من الشخصيات المحببة للقلب والمضحكة . وبترجمة سكينة إبراهيم الرائعة التي شكلت تحفة أدبية مترجمة
...
السيدة ريتشيل ليند من أبرز شخصيات أفونليا , والمعروفة بتداول القيل والقال من مصادر موثوقة وبروزها كعنصر فعال وعملي في أفونليا
وهي التي سخطت على ماريلا عند معرفتها برغبتهما في التبني والتي إستهزأت من شكل آن بجسمها الهزيل ونمشها وشعرها الأحمر فأنفجرت بها الأخيرة لتنمو بعدها بينهما علاقة حلوة تناكد فيها إحادهما الأخرى
ديانا باري الصديقة الصدوقة لآن , التي تعاهدت معها آن على أن تظلا صديقتا الدرب وان يتشاركا الفرح والمرح والخيال والأمآل والأحلام
وابننا الصبي جيلبرت بلايث الذي أثار سخط آن وتصرف بشكل غير مقصود بإثارة حنقها عندما نعتها بالجزرة ليدفعها للحديث , لكن هذا أدى لقطع كل سبل التواصل بينهما خلال 5 سنوات حقدت فيها آن على جيلبرت الذي ندم أشد الندم وماكان قاصدًا سوا مشاكستها , لكن كل ثلج يذوب يومًا ما . فجيلبرت هو الآخر يتميز بالإجتهاد الذي تنافس فيه في أفونليا مع آن لتسابقهما الدائم على إحراز أعلى المراكز حتى مع وجود ولع وحزن مقاطعة آن له .
و لا ننسى طيبة قلب الإخوة الأعزبين ماريلا وماثيو اللذان لم يتقاعسا عن تلبية حاجيات آن وتربيتها بشكل صحيح وتقويمها على الرغم من إنعدام تجاربهما بتربية الأطفال وهما اللذان لم يختارا شريكًا لهذه الحياة ليأتي عطاء الله لهما بآن ويمثلان العديد من الصفات الطيبة والأخلاق والمبادئ الحميدة بحبهما لآن ولتصرفهما معها بالطريقة الصائبة ولفخرهما بها
حقيقة بدون مبالغة , هذه الرواية أروع رواية اقرأها على الإطلاق , وأظن انه من المعيب على دور النشر ان لا تساهم بطباعة وإعادة نشر هذه التحفة التي ستسحر العديد من القلوب
احتاجت الرواية التي نشرت في عام 1908 , 100 عام تقريبًا لتصبح معروفة بين أوساط القراءة على الرغم من غيابها للآن عن معرفة العديد من القراء
هذه الرواية التي تليها مجموعة كتب أخرى تتحدث عن حياة آن وقصصها المشوقة الأخرى تشكل تراث ادبي لكندا , وانا افتخر بوجود كاتبة أنثى مثل لوسي إستطاعت غزل الكلمات كأنها خيوط حرير لتبهج به قلوب القراء وتسحرهم بشخصية آن التي تدفع القراء لمحبتها ولتغير نظرتهم لهذه الحياة التي تبدو من عين آن كأنها الجنة .
ليت لنا القليل من خيالها وتأملاتها الكفيلة بحمل روح ساطعة ومشرقة داخلنا .
آن تعلم الصغار والكبار معنى جمال الشمس بأِشعتها الذهبية وضوء القمر الساحر والأشجار الجميلة والعشب الأخضر وكل ماهو في الحياة , آن تعطينا درسًا بجمال هذه الحياة التي تستحق أن نحلم فيها وأن نسعى ونجتهد ونتأمل في جمال هذا الكون البديع وان لا نخاف ولا نخجل من الغوص بأعماق خيالاتنا التي تسعد أرواحنا
غيرت آن حياة ماريلا وماثيو اللذان ماعادا يطيقان المرتفعات الخضراء بغيابها , سحرتهم بكلامها وثرثراتها الغنية الحالمة المبهجة
لن تكون القراءة الأخيرة للكاتبة الرائعة لوسي مونتغمري ولا القراءة الأخيرة لهذه الرواية التي أرى انها تستحق ان تكون في جميع مكتبات القراء وان تعاد قرائتها لعدة مرات
لا أظن ان أحدًا سيفهم ما اشعر به من بهجة ومحبة إلا عندما يقرأ الرواية بمحبة وتأني ليستمتع مع آن وماثيو وماريلا بتطورات الرواية بأفراحها وأحزانها , فكما هو حال الحياة كلنا سنمر بمواقف حزينة وخسارة تشكل صدمة عميقة علينا , لكن الحياة لا تنتهي ولا جمال الدنيا يزول كما قالت آن
ربما آن شخصية روائية , لكنها أجمل شخصية قد يقرأ عنها احد يومًا , تعيش في قلوب قرائها ومحبيها مذكرةً إياهم بجمال هذه الحياة وبقيمة الخيال الذي انعمه الله علينا
هؤلاء الثلاث غاليين على قلبي بشكل كبير جدًا .
ولأول مرة أقول ان بعض المسلسلات المقتبسة عن روايات لها جمال لا يقل عن روايتها , انصح بمشاهدة المسلسل المقتبس من الرواية بنواحي عديدة حيث شملت أجزاءه الثلاث أحداث الرواية الأولى مع بعض التغييرات وبشكل غير متوقع من شبكة نتفلكس لم يكن فيه لقطات غير محتشمة ليتناسب مع جميع الأعمار ويزرع اخلاق ومبادئ في نفوس المشاهدين
مادامت آن موجودة فكل ماتطل فيه سيكون ناجح ومبهج للقلوب ..
حسنًا , الآن آن بنت صبية جميلة ويافعة لديها احلام كبيرة بعد انهائها الدرجة الأولى هي وجليبرت بمعهد كوين للتدريس لتقرر ان تتخلى عن منحة الجامعة لتنقذ المرتفعات الخضراء بعد المصيبة التي حلت عليهم والأحزان التي مرت بهم
لكن ما زال هنالك الكثير ينتظر آن , لم تنتهي الحكاية هنا
إقتباسات :
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One I really should have read when I was younger. 😕
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Every edition of this book is truly beautiful.
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Heart-Warming And Charming But……
Anne of Green Gables has a lot going for it. I read the adorable pink Puffin Classic hardcover version while listening to my *free* audiobook from Audible narrated by none other than Rachel McAdams (the actress from The Notebook).
This book is so good that I picked up a stray reader while listening to the audiobook.
Set in Canada, an elderly couple, Matthew and Marilla, want to adopt a tween orphan boy to help them with chores around the farm. However, due to some miscommunication, the couple receives an opinionated, outspoken, imaginative girl, Anne. The couple quickly becomes smitten with her and decides she can stay.
Montgomery perfectly captures the essence of these formative years where one questions one’s identity. Anne contemplates the exact name she would like to be called and even the spelling.
In 1908, when Anne of Green Gables was first published, strong female characters in literature were not as prevalent. And, of course, I am a sucker for books with strong female leads.
However…
The premise of this story is faulty. In my experience, people on a farm still have work to do. Instead of just being bewitched by Anne’s charm, I wish she would have helped more around the farm and used her imagination to improve things.
There is a thin line between visionary and imagination, and, disappointingly, this line was never explored.
Further, Anne has a friend, Diana, whose path veers from Anne’s. However, her storyline seems to be suddenly dropped. Did she get married? What did she do with her life?
Also, some of the paragraphs were too long. Anne would go on and on, and, while I understand the author wants to convey that Anne is excited and talkative, this point is a bit overdone.
Anne of Green Gables is better than Little House on the Prairie but not quite as good as Little Women.
2024 Reading Schedule
Jan Middlemarch
Feb The Grapes of Wrath
Mar Oliver Twist
Apr Madame Bovary
May A Clockwork Orange
Jun Possession
Jul The Folk of the Faraway Tree Collection
Aug Crime and Punishment
Sep Heart of Darkness
Oct Moby-Dick
Nov Far From the Maddening Crowd
Dec A Tale of Two Cities
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I so desperately wish I would’ve met Anne when I was a child, because we would’ve been bosom friends. However, I didn’t first read this book until I was in my 20s, and I was really missing out on something wonderful. But better late than never, right? I’ve since read this book 4 times, and I’ve loved it more every time I’ve read it.
Anne Shirley reminds me so much of myself as a child, minus the red hair. She’s doggedly optimistic, though she can be incredibly dramatic when things don’t go her way. She’s always getting into scrapes that seem impossible, even though she always means well. She’s a dreamer and a lover of nature and novels. I was all of those things as a child, and I think I’ve done a pretty good job of maintaining those characteristics as an adult (even the propensity for getting into trouble, unfortunately). Anne’s greatest gift is her imagination, and so is mine. I’ve visited thousands of different worlds and time periods through that imagination, and it’s one of the things I’m the most thankful for.
Anne adores Green Gables, the little farm where she comes to reside in Avonlea. She loves Matthew and Marilla, the siblings who take her in. Anne is one of the biggest nature nuts I’ve ever come across, and I love how she renames things with more “appropriate” (in other words, more romantic) names, such as The Lake of Shining Waters instead of Barry’s Pond. I can’t express to you how very “me” that is! When I was a little girl, I was always naming parts of our land and pretending they were far away places.
I have always been incredibly thankful to have been raised in the country, where my imagination could run wild every single day. I’m thankful for spring flowers, summer fruit, rambunctious goats, and mockingbird song outside my window. I’m thankful for summers in the pool and for wild thunderstorms as I go to sleep. I’m thankful for the nearness of my family and the distance of the rest of the world. I’m thankful for the freedom to take a long walk without worrying about my safety. And I see that same thankfulness in Anne Shirley. We are without a doubt kindred spirits, even if she is fictional.
Another thing I have in common with Anne is a passion for stories, both the reading and the telling of them. I know of nothing else that can transport a person and allow them to live a thousand lives instead of only the life they’ve been given. There is something magical about the ability of letters on a page to create something new in the minds of whoever reads them. Anne of Green Gables is no different. I felt completely at home in Avonlea, and I thoroughly enjoyed following Anne’s adventures (and misadventures) through her late childhood.
If I could reach into the world of fiction and adopt any literary orphan, Anne would be one of my top two picks alongside Harry Potter. I have to confess, though, I’m pretty sure Anne would come out on top if I could only choose one. She’s enchanting and lives life to the fullest, and she’s a much better person than she believes herself to be. I love Anne with all of my heart, and I can’t wait to share her with my niece. She’s a character that I’ll keep revisiting for the rest of my life, and I can’t imagine ever tiring of her. Kindred spirits are hard to find, but I definitely found one in Anne of Green Gables.
Also, isn't this edition lovely?! -
A Beautiful Dreamer
As charming as she is Anne of Green Gables makes you fall in love with her not for her wit, but for her wholehearted love of life and the beauty of this world. She hates and loves with intense power for a little girl. I cried and smiled often during this story and I am so glad I finally read it. -
Click here to watch a video review of this book on my channel, From Beginning to Bookend.
Eleven-year-old Anne Shirley is an orphan girl in need of a family. She may be scrawny and freckled with red hair but she’s also loving and bright with imagination. When she’s mistakenly sent to Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, elderly siblings who plan to adopt a young boy to help around their farm, Anne faces the prospect of securing a home and a loving family – if she can prove she’s worth keeping.
First published in 1908, Anne of Green Gables has long enchanted readers, young and old alike. How could it not with such an effervescent heroine at its heart? Anne is a delightful companion with which to explore the splendor of Green Gables and the quaint town of Avonlea (a fictional town modeled after Montgomery’s hometown of Cavendish in the maritime province of Prince Edward Island, Canada). Montgomery crafts such stunning descriptions of the terrain that her prose risks outshining Anne. With descriptive language that titillates the senses and the imagination, Montgomery brings the rustic setting of Avonlea to life. Gypsy winds, perfumed air, dew-wet ferns, woodland blooms, and trees adorned with glimmering gossamer are just the beginning of the wondrous discoveries made by Anne during her “raptured voyages of exploration.”
It was a pretty road, running along between snug farmsteads, with now and again a bit of balsamy fir wood to drive through or a hollow where wild plums hung out their filmy bloom. The air was sweet with the breath of many apple orchards and the meadows sloped away in the distance to horizon mists of pearl and purple.
Wild cherry trees and rose bushes grow unfettered, and the birds are always singing, but one gets the sense that Anne Shirley could find happiness and adventure no matter where she goes, whether she be surrounded by beauty or not. Even though Anne’s story is recounted through an omniscient narrator, readers experience wonder of the world as if through Anne’s eyes. At every turn, her personality overflows and her indomitable spirit knows no bounds. She’s an eloquent child with an adoration for big words; “if you have big ideas,” Anne insists, “you have to use big words to express them.” She speaks in a refined manner that belies her age and can always be counted on to impart wisdom.
You can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will.
Anne is a loquacious child with long-winded stints of dialogue. This trait was less noticeable when reading the book as a young girl and proved slightly annoying during this re-read as an adult. It’s a defining quality of Anne’s personality, however, something one cannot help but eventually love about her. There’s a comforting predictability to Anne’s bubbling personality; readers can always be certain that her uplifting thoughts and sophisticated proclamations will boil over and spill from her mouth with abandon. Matthew Cuthbert, much to his own surprise, finds Anne’s chatter quite pleasant.
Like most quiet folks he liked talkative people when they were willing to do the talking themselves and did not expect him to keep up his end of it. Be he had never expected to enjoy the society of a little girl.
Matthew Cuthbert is described as an “odd-looking personage” with an “ungainly figure.” He’s a shy, quiet man who is made uncomfortable by most women, taking exception only to his sister and their gossipy neighbor who lives a quarter-mile away, Mrs. Rachel Lynde.
Women were bad enough in all conscience, but little girls were worse. He detested the way they had of sidling past him timidly, with sidewise glances, as if they expected him to gobble them up at a mouthful if they ventured to say a word.
He’s quite taken aback to discover a girl in place of the boy he expected to retrieve from the train station, but he’s too kindhearted (and too cowardly) to leave her behind. He decides to escort her back to Green Gables so that his sister can “tell this child with the glowing eyes that there had been a mistake.”
Marilla Cuthbert exudes none of the warmth found in her brother. She’s a practical woman, tall and thin “with angles and without curves,” who furrows her brows at wastefulness and excess.
Here sat Marilla Cuthbert, when she sat at all, always slightly distrustful of sunshine, which seemed to her too dancing and irresponsible a thing for a world which was meant to be taken seriously.
Marilla insists that Anne be returned to the orphanage. When Anne asks if Marilla would keep her if she were a more attractive child, Marilla replies simply, “No. We want a boy to help Matthew on the farm. A girl would be of no use to us.” Despite her stern countenance, Marilla agrees to accommodate Anne for the night and decides that, rather than sleep on the couch prepared in the kitchen chamber for the anticipated boy, Anne should sleep in the east gable room.
While Anne sleeps, Matthew and Marilla discuss what to do about the “odd little figure” with the “long braids of red hair and the eager luminous eyes.” Marilla is quite determined not to keep her, while Matthew reveals he’s already warming to Anne’s irresistible charms.
“Matthew Cuthbert, you don’t mean to say you think we ought to keep her!”
Marilla’s astonishment could not have been greater if Matthew had expressed a predilection for standing on his head.
“Well now, no, I suppose not – not exactly,” stammered Matthew, uncomfortably driven into a corner for his precise meaning. “I suppose – we could hardly be expected to keep her.”
“I should say not. What good would she be to us?”
“We might be some good to her,” said Matthew suddenly and unexpectedly.
And therein lies Anne’s challenge: She must make herself useful around the farm and prove herself worthy of a home at Green Gables by staying out of trouble. But Anne and trouble go together like spring flowers and honey bees. Be it contending with Marilla’s practicality, navigating the politics of a new school, solving the mystery of pesky boys, or trying to make new friends as an ungainly orphan girl, trouble is never far behind the efforts of Anne Shirley.
If Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert can find it in their hearts to cherish this little girl, their lives will be made richer for it. And if Anne can stay out of trouble, she might just find a loving home in a beautiful place.
With lovely prose and an unforgettable heroine, Anne of Green Gables is an endearing book brimming with scope for the imagination. -
Why I chose to listen to this audiobook:
1. a cousin loaned me her copies of the first three books in this series back when I was only 13-years-old. I remember enjoying them then, but I wanted to refresh my memory before continuing on with the rest of this series;
2. it is available for free on Hoopla; and,
3. July 2023 is my "O' Canada Month"!
Praises:
Author
Lucy Maud Montgomery fleshes out her characters in a most heartwarming manner!
MC Anne Shirley - early on in the story, I had to empathize with this spirited young girl's unfortunate upbringing. I wonder if her overactive imagination was a matter of survival during her earlier neglectful years. I found her to be quite endearing with her dramatic, passionate and kindhearted qualities. Her descriptive love of nature and pure meditative joy over the most simple things helped me envision her natural surroundings. Even though adoptive guardian Marilla Cuthbert's sarcasm and criticalness and nosy, busybody neighbor Rachel Lynde's downright rudeness are perfect foils, it was satisfying to see how they were eventually won over by Anne's innocence. And although she held grudges at times, overall, Anne is a most winsome, delightful character!
Overall Thoughts:
Set on Prince Edward Island in the early 1880s, Montgomery used her childhood memories to write this classic. Her descriptive settings made me feel like I was a part of the Avonlea community.
One must be in the right frame of mind before reading this story. Don't expect a strong plot or villains set out to make Anne's life miserable. Written in 1908 with youngsters in mind, it is a lighthearted, pleasant read.
Nostalgia at its finest! -
"Well now, she's a real interesting little thing," persisted Matthew.
Truer words were never spoken when the whirlwind known as Anne Shirley comes to live with siblings Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert at Green Gables.
In one terrific example of cosmic trickery, the Cuthberts, who were hoping to adopt a boy to help out around the farm, are sent instead a garrulous and imaginative, red-headed girl. Matthew takes to her immediately. Marilla needs some convincing.
"Matthew Cuthbert, you don't mean to say you think we ought to keep her!"
Marilla's astonishment could not have been greater if Matthew had expressed a predilection for standing on his head.
"Well now, no, I suppose not -- not exactly," stammered Matthew, uncomfortably driven into a corner for his precise meaning. "I suppose -- we could hardly be expected to keep her."
"I should say not. What good would she be to us?"
"We might be some good to her," said Matthew suddenly and unexpectedly.
Poor Anne, who has spent her brief life in foster homes caring for the children of drunkards, or penned up in an orphan's asylum, is devastated.
"You don't want me!" she cried. "You don't want me because I'm not a boy!"
But, of course she gets to stay, and as Matthew predicts, they are indeed good for her. The surprising thing is how good she is for them. Anne's unbounded enthusiasm for the world around her is infectious, and before long, Marilla finds herself reminded of the young girl she once was.
"All sorts of mornings are interesting, don't you think? You don't know what's going to happen through the day, and there's so much scope for imagination."
Imagine Anne's delight at seeing Prince Edward Island for the first time.
If you ever need a reminder of how amazing the world can be, look no further than Montgomery and her plucky, indomitable heroine.
Green Gables
This book is my comfort food - my grilled cheese with tomato soup, my hot chocolate on a cold winter's day, my cupcakes with sugary frosting.
"Dear old world," she murmured, "you are very lovely, and I am glad to be alive in you."
First read in 1986. Fourth reading 8/15/2023.
