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3.37 AVERAGE
3.37 AVERAGE
Oh my. Well, even the best of authors can have a clinker or two in their oeuvre, and this has to be L.M. Montgomery's.
Miss Lucy, what is this? Eric is a stalker, fetishizes Kilmeny’s innocency, and has very demeaning, controlling, objectifying, and predatory thoughts and actions towards the woman he supposedly is in love with… he claims that he “could never care for an ugly woman” and he doesn’t care a wit about Kilmeny except for her looks and submissiveness. Others, such as Eric’s friend David and his own father had doubts if Eric was really in love until they saw her. Then it was all “oh she is perfect” “eric she is the one”. I can see where Eric gets it though, his father is just as weird and disgusting. Nasty business.
There is a spring feeling atmosphere, but I skimmed so much, even the pretty descriptions and the SAP in this book?? Barf.
CONTENT: racism towards Italians. Very disturbing comments towards Kilmeny being childlike and Eric fetishizing it.
In two words, skip this.
There is a spring feeling atmosphere, but I skimmed so much, even the pretty descriptions and the SAP in this book?? Barf.
CONTENT: racism towards Italians. Very disturbing comments towards Kilmeny being childlike and Eric fetishizing it.
In two words, skip this.
Some old lady recommended me this book while at work and she thought I would really like it. As a fan of L.M. Montgomery I was excited. Once starting this book I thought it was hard to get into with the old timey writing but then got used to it. I thought the main character was kind of an unreliable narrator and a bit boring. I did like Kilmeny's character and I loved the setting and how the author described the orchard. The writing was very beautiful. After finding out the age gap between Kilmeny and the main character I kind of got weirded out and thought that was very odd, but I guess that's how it was back then. But what I don't like is how Kilmeny was always presented as kind of dumb and naive. The main character really only seemed to like her because of her beauty. But besides some flaws it was a very enjoyable read and surprisingly never got boring. I kind of have to rate it a little higher than I would if it wasn't written by L.M. Montgomery because I love her books!
This book is problematic in so many ways (male gaze, ethnic origin stereotyping, savior complex, ableism), but fans of L. M. Montgomery will likely want to check it out for the sake of completion (as well as for an example of her earlier, less successful writing). On the plus side, her depiction of quirky characters and description of the natural settings is as great as ever, but the story itself is not great.
This is a sweet innocent romance but I got annoyed by how Kilmeny’s primary virtue is beauty, with a heavy dose of naivety. I guess I expected a heroine with more spark from this author.
fast-paced
My first audiobook for 2016. This book is definitely of another era and is kind of an interesting artifact about disability and difference. But it doesn't have the charm of Anne of Green Gables and it has even more medical handwaving than The Blue Castle (my personal favorite L.M. Montgomery book).
Ultimately, the hero was obsessed with Kilmeny's innocence and childlike qualities to an uncomfortable extent for this modern reader/listener.
Ultimately, the hero was obsessed with Kilmeny's innocence and childlike qualities to an uncomfortable extent for this modern reader/listener.
This woman is the same one who wrote Anne of Green Gables? Really? This book was the written equivalent of a Lifetime Movie. Extremely fluffy with no substance but it passed the time.
I had a hard time rating this book. I read this the first time, fairly uncritically, in my early 20s and really enjoyed it. Now in my middle age, I am having a harder time with this story. First, it is full of prejudice towards ethnicities other than WASPS, which is not unusual or unexpected for the time. Second, the main character is obsessed with Kilmeny's beauty, which is touted as her most important quality. Most troubling to me was that he constantly refers to her as an innocent "child," but then wants to marry her, knowing that her whole life, she's literally only met five people. It was a little creepy. I think 20 years ago, I would have given this 4 stars, today I would give it 2, so will split the difference.