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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
How strange to think of Anne of Green Gables growing up to watch airplanes overhead and sacrificing sons to distant battlefields.
I think this book was maybe a little raw. I think maybe Maud processed the war for herself through the writing of it. And as such, it is fascinating, although there are parts that seem maybe like not her most "polished" work. For instance, Susan's war monologues giving the play-by-play of current events got to be tedious.
But she captured the psychological transformation so well -- the journey from a world where war seemed impossible, the the long, harrowing drudgery of it, and out to the other side.... And the burden of grief and anxiety. She truly mastered the art of devastating the reader with a single sentence in this book.
Sidenotes: I find I do not love Walter as much as I did as a younger reader. Sigh. Though Rilla has grown on me immensely. And to see Anne and Gilbert all grown up and with greys in their hair, grappling with the sorrows of life, was so poignant. And I found Gertrude ridiculously annoying start to finish, but I feel so guilty about it, because I have this sense that Maud modeled Gertrude upon herself as a way of inhabiting the story and giving voice to her own experience.
I think this book was maybe a little raw. I think maybe Maud processed the war for herself through the writing of it. And as such, it is fascinating, although there are parts that seem maybe like not her most "polished" work. For instance, Susan's war monologues giving the play-by-play of current events got to be tedious.
But she captured the psychological transformation so well -- the journey from a world where war seemed impossible, the the long, harrowing drudgery of it, and out to the other side.... And the burden of grief and anxiety. She truly mastered the art of devastating the reader with a single sentence in this book.
Sidenotes: I find I do not love Walter as much as I did as a younger reader. Sigh. Though Rilla has grown on me immensely. And to see Anne and Gilbert all grown up and with greys in their hair, grappling with the sorrows of life, was so poignant. And I found Gertrude ridiculously annoying start to finish, but I feel so guilty about it, because I have this sense that Maud modeled Gertrude upon herself as a way of inhabiting the story and giving voice to her own experience.
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I can’t love this final book in the Anne of Avonlea series as much as I’d like, because it’s mostly about her daughter Rilla, and Rilla can’t compare. Most important earlier characters are barely mentioned, and I’m particularly bitter about the short shrift to Marilla, to whom Rilla owes her name and probably her fictional existence. And something happens to a kitten that I I just couldn’t bear. It’s also a long propaganda piece for the Canadian war effort in World War I, then known as the Great War. (Ironically, one of the characters comes home at the end and declares that everyone now understands that they must make a world where wars can’t happen.). There’s a lot of implausible prophetic dreaming and intuition and Montgomery also appropriates some well known true stories about loyal dogs — plus the legacy of the McRae poem about the poppies of Flanders Field — without attribution. But the book also does what only Montgomery can do. It captures the look and weather and seasons of Prince Edward Island, and the lifestyle and vitality of the people who lived there in the time period spanned by these books. I bid a very fond farewell and am glad I finally read this classic series.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Oh my. Finally. My heart!! I loved this series as much as I knew I would and I kinda want to just start it all again! What do you do after an Anne of GG/Rilla of Ingleside hangover?!? Maybe I’ll figure it out when my heart stops aching that it’s over.
I loved all of these books from beginning to end - but what an end. Thank you, Lucy Maud Montgomery. ❤️
I loved all of these books from beginning to end - but what an end. Thank you, Lucy Maud Montgomery. ❤️
I wasn't sure if I would like this book since it isn't really about Anne Shirley at all. I loved it though. It was a great read even if there wasn't nearly enough Anne and Gilbert in it.
Such an emotional book, but beautifully written. That dog, though! Dog Monday has my heart.
I can't understand how anyone who can write a character as charming as Anne Shirley can write a character as boring and irritating as Rilla Blythe. This book is about the Blythe family on Prince Edward Island in Canada during World War I. The prose is overwrought and the dialogue is pretty awful most of the time. Everyone is busy being noble and brave for the Cause, and they are all convinced that God is on their side. Montgomery should have stopped with the books in which Anne herself is the main character. I never want to read this again.
Well, I did read it again with lowered expectations. I will never empathize with a character who cares more about being a social success than going to college, oh, right, that's Rilla, the main character. The spotlight is shared mostly between Rilla (oh, those diary entries, ugh) and Susan, who talks even on for pages at a time. It's hard to imagine a more implausible love story; Ken and Rilla supposedly fall in love based on sitting out one dance together and one visit to the house when nobody else was home. And I'm sorry, Ken is an arrogant jerk, asking a girl of sixteen to sit around waiting for him when he goes off to battle, based on these two flimsy encounters. It is discouraging to see Anne become so boring and conventional. I don't know why Montgomery didn't write about Nan or Di, it would have been way more interesting.
Well, I did read it again with lowered expectations. I will never empathize with a character who cares more about being a social success than going to college, oh, right, that's Rilla, the main character. The spotlight is shared mostly between Rilla (oh, those diary entries, ugh) and Susan, who talks even on for pages at a time. It's hard to imagine a more implausible love story; Ken and Rilla supposedly fall in love based on sitting out one dance together and one visit to the house when nobody else was home. And I'm sorry, Ken is an arrogant jerk, asking a girl of sixteen to sit around waiting for him when he goes off to battle, based on these two flimsy encounters. It is discouraging to see Anne become so boring and conventional. I don't know why Montgomery didn't write about Nan or Di, it would have been way more interesting.