June 2024
Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
I feel like I have gained a friend for life with this book. A kindred spirit if you will. I had been resistant to pick this book up despite its popularity. Or perhaps because of its popularity. I don't much like jumping on bandwagons. Which often leads me to discover all the best books about a decade or more after their publications. However, I believe certain stories and certain characters come to me when the time is right. As is the case with Anne of Green Gables.
For those of you, who, like me, are a little late to the party, let me briefly sum up what the book is about.
The story follows an orphan named Anne (spelled with an E obviously). She's mistakenly sent to live with the siblings Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert. They had plans to take in a boy who could help around their farm in the fictional town of Avonlea on Prince Edward Island. Instead they're met with little 11 year old, red-haired Anne.
"What good would she be to us?"
"We might be some good to her."
From there she encounters a variety of characters. Some, bosom friends for life. Others, enemies from the start. The relationships she has with the grown-up women in her life are the most compelling to me. Mrs Rachel Lynde and Miss Josephine Barry (and even Marilla) are frosty opinionated ladies, but when paths are crossed with Anne they are warmed by her fire. Perhaps not immediately outwardly so much as inwardly. They're secretly amused by and enamoured with the chatty little girl.
Who doesn't stay a little girl throughout the book. It covers several years of her life. From 11 to 16. The transformation Anne goes through is extraordinarily well-written. Lucy Maud Montgomery uses only the best words in the English language for this tale and manages it all without being pretentious or tedious.
"October was a beautiful month at Green Gables, when the birches in the hollow turned as golden as sunshine and the maples behind the orchard were royal crimson, while the fields sunned themselves in aftermaths."
Anne is such a force of nature. Her imagination is her biggest friend and her greatest foe at the same time. It often lands her in trouble, but it also saves her in many ways and attracts others to her. When you are unapologetically yourself, that tends to happen. Anne is determined to see the world in its most flattering light. Which I found a most enviable trait. It colours her days brighter even when there aren't many bright things about. Which is not to say she doesn't occasionally throw herself into the depths of despair after a particularly mortifying mistake. But upon reflection she acknowledges that she has learned from those mistakes and she truly has. She earnestly improves all the time.
Well now, while I truly adore Anne, Matthew might be my favourite character. He's quiet and stays to himself mostly, trying not to 'put his oar in'. And yet, he's an absolutely crucial component of Anne's development. Not to mention he's the one who made me laugh the most. The chapter in which he attempts to buy Anne a dress is endearingly humorous. You just want to hug the man for trying. And for insisting on puffed sleeves of course.
"Matthew, much to his own surprise, was enjoying himself. 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."
After finishing this book I was left with that melancholic emptiness that inevitably follows when you've just read a story that connected with you on a multitude of levels. That's how I know I've not only read an incredible book, but experienced an incredible book. I was delighted to find out that Maud had written a total of 7 more novels that feature Anne. Which means something pleasanter may still await me.
"I'm always sorry when pleasant things end. Something still pleasanter may come after, but you can never be sure." - Anne Shirley
If you are still hesitant about reading Anne of Green Gables, please hesitate no longer and jump on the bandwagon with me. I guarantee you'll find a kindred spirit or two along the way.
Comments