Anne is the series I am going to attempt to read in 2009. Unlike the Chronicles of Narnia last year and Harry Potter the year before, I haven’t read most of the Anne books, but I am looking forward to diving into them. This one was a re-read.
Anne of Green Gables is a well deserved classic, it is a book whose heroine endears herself to readers young and old. Bright and energetic, imaginative and fun, creative and talented, Anne is everything that a girl wants to be. Who among us doesn’t identify with Anne in some way? Feeling like an outsider and talking too much definitely resonate with me! We are drawn to her for all our different reasons and we love her, and so we read.
That’s not to say that the writing itself isn’t strong. On the contrary, I found Anne of Green Gables to be quite well written this read, my first of adulthood. The descriptions are lovely and transport the reader to the terrain Mongomery herself knew so well. Even the descriptions themselves are so colored by the eyes of Anne and her dramatic, fun-loving spirit.
Anne could be the sort of protagonist that annoys readers with her perfection, but instead, she draws us in with her flubs and missteps. She makes a lot of mistakes, but “never the same one twice!” The way she deals with these imperfections is a great lesson to young readers, moreso than many moralistic novels I can think of.
Lucky for her, Kate received a hardback copy when she was just an infant from one of the many older women who love Anne in her life, Miss Reba. This book is one I cannot wait to share with both of the girls. (10/10)
LOOOOVED the Anne series. I think the last book, ‘Rilla of Ingleside’ was my favorite. I really like the other ‘Emily’ series that L.M. wrote too.
Ok, that’s it. I’m playing follow the leader. I’ve been having such a terrible time in Canada finding local authors that aren’t bleak and despairing (uh, Munro anyone?), and it’s been such a bummer because I really rely on literature to help me connect with wherever I happen to be living. It finally occurred to me just last week that LM Montgomery is CANADIAN. Hallelujah. I loved Anne so, so much as a child (I even adored the TV mini-series) so I think it’s such a brilliant idea that you’re reading those books as an adult. Kristen, I heart you So. Much.
I have been contemplating a reread of the series for a couple of years now, and am even more inspired/excited after your review! Although I made it through most of the series as a young girl, I never finished. Like Kate, I too received a beautiful hardbound edition as a gift from a dear family friend – seems like it’s time to dig it off the shelves at my parents’ house next time I’m there!
Fine. I’ll reread them. I think I may be the only person to have totally HATED them as a child. I even hated the TV series, and have harshly judged my good friend Ann for loving them. Just thinking about it makes me want to fake a stomach ache and head to the school nurse. But, alas, I trust you. And I do so love a book series as it takes the pressure of selecting books.
Elizabeth, I would have pegged you as an Anne lover. Maybe you two have too much in common… ;)
It’s a rural thing. I don’t do rural. No Little House on the Prairie, Little Women, Little Men. Not the books, not the movies, and not the TV shows. Oh, and I also Hate the Waltons. I know. I’m weird.
adore these books!