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What I am reading Wednesday
Jan. 10th, 2018 01:07 pmI’m still rereading L. M. Montgomery’s Anne-books.
Anne of the Island I always enjoyed this book, mostly, I think for Patty’s Place. I really wanted to live there. Otherwise it really isn’t that memorable, apart from Philippa Gordon who is quirky and amusing. Anne’s other friends; Stella and Priscilla, are rather anonymous. We are told when they first appear in Anne of Green Gables what they look like and about their personalities, but they never really do anything which showcase those personalities, and I find them rather forgettable.
Anne of Windy Poplars This have always been one of my favourite Anne-book. Anne’s letters to Gilbert are amusing, and thankfully Montgomery doesn’t include the love letter parts. I like Anne winning the Pringle’s over, albeit completely by chance, and I like the character of Katherine Brooks. I also like Little Elizabeth. The child with a dead mother and absent father is something Montgomery use several times- in Anne of Avonlea we have Paul Irving. But paul is basically the perfect child, and even if his father isn’t around, it is clear he loves his son. And though paul’s grandmother is strict, she is also a loving caretaker. Little Elizabeth's story is far bleaker, and she is a more interesting character. Anne is rightly concerned over the emotional abuse of the child, though now, as an adult, I don’t find the solution very satisfactorily. I don’t buy that a father who hasn’t even been bothered to write to his daughter for eleven years, will hardly be the perfect parent the books try to present him as.
Reading this book I realised that Montgomery did a massive change in when the books takes place. Anne of Green Gables starts around 1895, but you probably only get that if you know your fashion history. Those puff sleeves Anne dreams on is a very distinct fashion detail in the years before the turn of the century. And in this book, when Anne is in her early twenties, The 1906 San Francisco earthquake is mentioned. But Rilla of Ingleside takes place during WWI and Rilla is Anne’s youngest child, and as she is fifteen in 1914- well, obviously that chronology doesn’t fit.
Anne's House of Dreams I didn’t like this book at all as a child and I probably only reread this a few times. To my surprise I liked it a lot better now. The previous Anne-books are quite episodic, but in this one we have only three plot threads; Anne’s first years of marriage, leslie Moore’s deeply unhappy marriage, and captain Jim and his Life Book. I found captain Jim boring as a child, and I found him rather boring now too. But for the first time I actually liked Gilbert. My main beef with him in the previous books is that he doesn’t seem to have any personality. We know basically nothing of his interests, apart from him being good in school, and when we are told he is going to be a doctor we haven't had any indication this is actually something he is interested in before. But here we see him as someone clearly interested and invested in his job. I also thought the occasion when Anne and Gilbert disagree was nicely handled. I couldn’t read the chapter about little Joyce- it was far too close to home. Reading this book in my teens I didn't like Leslie who I thought oddly unpleasant to Anne. But now I thought it was quite understandable- she has had a very hard life and it isn’t so strange she sometimes find it difficult to cope with anne’s happiness. I also didn’t understand how horrible her marriage actually is. She is forced to marry a man she dont want at sixteen, and it’s obvious he rapes her on their wedding night. All in all, this book has been the biggest surprise in my re-read.
Chronicles of Avonlea A collection of short stories where Anne is only seen briefly, and mentioned once or twice. It really highlights the tropes Montgomery like, the two sisters where the older is dark and quirky, and the younger is sweet and weak. Or the two lovers who part in their youth and eventually are brought together again. My favourite is “Old Lady Loyd” about an old woman who is too proud to tell anyone she isn’t rich anymore, but horribly poor and lonesome. Then the daughter of her former lover turn up, and Miss Lloyd falls in love again. Over the course of several months she plays the fairy godmother, slowly sacrificing more and more to help the young woman. I like it because the main character isn’t perfect; she is quirky and haughty, and I also think the description of her loneliness if heartbreaking.
Anne of the Island I always enjoyed this book, mostly, I think for Patty’s Place. I really wanted to live there. Otherwise it really isn’t that memorable, apart from Philippa Gordon who is quirky and amusing. Anne’s other friends; Stella and Priscilla, are rather anonymous. We are told when they first appear in Anne of Green Gables what they look like and about their personalities, but they never really do anything which showcase those personalities, and I find them rather forgettable.
Anne of Windy Poplars This have always been one of my favourite Anne-book. Anne’s letters to Gilbert are amusing, and thankfully Montgomery doesn’t include the love letter parts. I like Anne winning the Pringle’s over, albeit completely by chance, and I like the character of Katherine Brooks. I also like Little Elizabeth. The child with a dead mother and absent father is something Montgomery use several times- in Anne of Avonlea we have Paul Irving. But paul is basically the perfect child, and even if his father isn’t around, it is clear he loves his son. And though paul’s grandmother is strict, she is also a loving caretaker. Little Elizabeth's story is far bleaker, and she is a more interesting character. Anne is rightly concerned over the emotional abuse of the child, though now, as an adult, I don’t find the solution very satisfactorily. I don’t buy that a father who hasn’t even been bothered to write to his daughter for eleven years, will hardly be the perfect parent the books try to present him as.
Reading this book I realised that Montgomery did a massive change in when the books takes place. Anne of Green Gables starts around 1895, but you probably only get that if you know your fashion history. Those puff sleeves Anne dreams on is a very distinct fashion detail in the years before the turn of the century. And in this book, when Anne is in her early twenties, The 1906 San Francisco earthquake is mentioned. But Rilla of Ingleside takes place during WWI and Rilla is Anne’s youngest child, and as she is fifteen in 1914- well, obviously that chronology doesn’t fit.
Anne's House of Dreams I didn’t like this book at all as a child and I probably only reread this a few times. To my surprise I liked it a lot better now. The previous Anne-books are quite episodic, but in this one we have only three plot threads; Anne’s first years of marriage, leslie Moore’s deeply unhappy marriage, and captain Jim and his Life Book. I found captain Jim boring as a child, and I found him rather boring now too. But for the first time I actually liked Gilbert. My main beef with him in the previous books is that he doesn’t seem to have any personality. We know basically nothing of his interests, apart from him being good in school, and when we are told he is going to be a doctor we haven't had any indication this is actually something he is interested in before. But here we see him as someone clearly interested and invested in his job. I also thought the occasion when Anne and Gilbert disagree was nicely handled. I couldn’t read the chapter about little Joyce- it was far too close to home. Reading this book in my teens I didn't like Leslie who I thought oddly unpleasant to Anne. But now I thought it was quite understandable- she has had a very hard life and it isn’t so strange she sometimes find it difficult to cope with anne’s happiness. I also didn’t understand how horrible her marriage actually is. She is forced to marry a man she dont want at sixteen, and it’s obvious he rapes her on their wedding night. All in all, this book has been the biggest surprise in my re-read.
Chronicles of Avonlea A collection of short stories where Anne is only seen briefly, and mentioned once or twice. It really highlights the tropes Montgomery like, the two sisters where the older is dark and quirky, and the younger is sweet and weak. Or the two lovers who part in their youth and eventually are brought together again. My favourite is “Old Lady Loyd” about an old woman who is too proud to tell anyone she isn’t rich anymore, but horribly poor and lonesome. Then the daughter of her former lover turn up, and Miss Lloyd falls in love again. Over the course of several months she plays the fairy godmother, slowly sacrificing more and more to help the young woman. I like it because the main character isn’t perfect; she is quirky and haughty, and I also think the description of her loneliness if heartbreaking.
