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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
As usual, I love L.M. Montgomery and her extraordinary depictions of ordinary life. I found the descriptions of baby hunger and Anne's feelings and development after the loss of Joy particularly poignant, and I was happy that Gilbert had a personality in this one. Every major character in this book was really interesting to me. My least favorite part was how Jim, at least, seemed to discredit Anne's early life as "not a tragedy." Anne may have had her "this is the worst thing ever" experience when she lost Joy, but I think it's safe to say that her early life was a tragedy, and it isn't really fair to say that Anne couldn't understand Leslie at all because Anne hadn't experienced tragedy. The types of tragedy were just different. Even if Anne had never suffered, it probably isn't fair to claim that she couldn't be adequately empathetic. It's also interesting to me that Anne's pain was discussed as not comparing to Leslie's when it was talked about as helping her relate to Katherine in Windy Poplars.
Anne Shirley is now Anne Blythe and is a cherished character from childhood reading. Reading the Anne of Green Gables series as an adult is comfort in book form. Anne's optimism is contagious, her resilience in the face of sorrow; admirable, and her ability to find kindred spirits anywhere is classic. What more can be said other than I Love this series!
* * *
Reading this series from the start has been a joy this year! I never get bored with reading of Anne's life, both her happiness and her sorrow. Most of the Green Gables folks barely make an appearance, but there are many new characters to know and love: Captain Jim with all of his life stories, Miss Cornelia with all of her "that's just like a man speeches", and Leslie's tragic life and redemption.
My year long Anne reading will probably extend into another year as a new job steals some of my reading time, but that just means another year of Anne is in my future.
* * *
Reading this series from the start has been a joy this year! I never get bored with reading of Anne's life, both her happiness and her sorrow. Most of the Green Gables folks barely make an appearance, but there are many new characters to know and love: Captain Jim with all of his life stories, Miss Cornelia with all of her "that's just like a man speeches", and Leslie's tragic life and redemption.
My year long Anne reading will probably extend into another year as a new job steals some of my reading time, but that just means another year of Anne is in my future.
Book number 5 of the Anne of Green Gables series is finally done, and I am as happy & satisfied as I was after reading the first Anne book.
But before I move on, those of you who have elephantine memories might remember that I had last reviewed book 2 of the series. What about books 3 & 4? Here's a brief note about them...
Book 3 is Anne of the Island, detailing Anne's years at Redmond college. Gilbert proposes, Anne refuses, Anne find a potential new beau named Roy, Roy proposes, Anne refuses, Gilbert falls sick, Anne realises her mistake and true love triumphs. (Not putting a Spoiler Alert here because you already knew that the two of them would be together, didn't you? Right from the first book?) Book 3 was as descriptive and as filled with endless new characters as Book 2, with only some of those characters actually taking the story ahead. So my feelings for it were exactly the same as for the second book: decent read but too much description for my liking. Rating: 2.5/5.
Book 4 is Anne of Windy Poplars, mostly containing massive missives sent by Anne to her fiance Gilbert who is away at medical school. So far, and by far, the most boring book of the series. It is an epistolary novel, but the letters by Anne just seen to drag on and on and on with totally useless trivia about the locals in the new place where she is working as a school Principal. I discovered later that though this is the fourth book in terms of series chronology, it was actually written seventh! I wish LM Montgomery hadn't written this at all. I was almost on the verge of quitting the series after this disaster of a book. Only the curiosity of seeing Gilbert and Anne together made me continue. Rating: 1/5
Today, after completing Anne's House of Dreams, I'm glad my romantic curiosity got the better of my logical side. After the unnecessary story stretch and boring characters of the previous two books, we finally have the story moving ahead clearly and beautifully. Gilbert is a doctor now. Anne and Gilbert are wed, and they move into their own "house of dreams" in a distant village to begin their new life together.
The writing is crisp and picturesque right from the first page. Though it is still descriptive, it does not overdo it. The new characters introduced are so interesting that you can't help falling in love with them.
For those who are not much fond of endless nature descriptions and needless chatter in books, I would say that you can safely come to book 5 after book 2. All that you need to know about books 3 & 4, I have written here in the short notes. There's nothing else of importance or interest in them. This is strictly my opinion of course. Serious fans of the series might enjoy all the detailed descriptions and beating about the bush.
Three books more to go on the series, and I hope they will be in the same vein as this delightful book 5. It would be great if the series ends on this high.
Rating for Anne's House of Dreams: 4.5/5
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Join me on the Facebook group, "Readers Forever!", for more reviews and other book-related discussions and fun.
But before I move on, those of you who have elephantine memories might remember that I had last reviewed book 2 of the series. What about books 3 & 4? Here's a brief note about them...
Book 3 is Anne of the Island, detailing Anne's years at Redmond college. Gilbert proposes, Anne refuses, Anne find a potential new beau named Roy, Roy proposes, Anne refuses, Gilbert falls sick, Anne realises her mistake and true love triumphs. (Not putting a Spoiler Alert here because you already knew that the two of them would be together, didn't you? Right from the first book?) Book 3 was as descriptive and as filled with endless new characters as Book 2, with only some of those characters actually taking the story ahead. So my feelings for it were exactly the same as for the second book: decent read but too much description for my liking. Rating: 2.5/5.
Book 4 is Anne of Windy Poplars, mostly containing massive missives sent by Anne to her fiance Gilbert who is away at medical school. So far, and by far, the most boring book of the series. It is an epistolary novel, but the letters by Anne just seen to drag on and on and on with totally useless trivia about the locals in the new place where she is working as a school Principal. I discovered later that though this is the fourth book in terms of series chronology, it was actually written seventh! I wish LM Montgomery hadn't written this at all. I was almost on the verge of quitting the series after this disaster of a book. Only the curiosity of seeing Gilbert and Anne together made me continue. Rating: 1/5
Today, after completing Anne's House of Dreams, I'm glad my romantic curiosity got the better of my logical side. After the unnecessary story stretch and boring characters of the previous two books, we finally have the story moving ahead clearly and beautifully. Gilbert is a doctor now. Anne and Gilbert are wed, and they move into their own "house of dreams" in a distant village to begin their new life together.
The writing is crisp and picturesque right from the first page. Though it is still descriptive, it does not overdo it. The new characters introduced are so interesting that you can't help falling in love with them.
For those who are not much fond of endless nature descriptions and needless chatter in books, I would say that you can safely come to book 5 after book 2. All that you need to know about books 3 & 4, I have written here in the short notes. There's nothing else of importance or interest in them. This is strictly my opinion of course. Serious fans of the series might enjoy all the detailed descriptions and beating about the bush.
Three books more to go on the series, and I hope they will be in the same vein as this delightful book 5. It would be great if the series ends on this high.
Rating for Anne's House of Dreams: 4.5/5
********************************************
Join me on the Facebook group, "Readers Forever!", for more reviews and other book-related discussions and fun.
EDIT: After my first time reading the whole Anne series, this is probably my fav book of the series!
This is one of my favorites in this series. I loved the new characters in this book, especially Captain Jim and Leslie.
From the beginning of this series, I thought I would never be happy with Anne living anywhere else except at Green Gables, but I really love the life that Gilbert and Anne are creating together in Four Winds.
The addition of new characters brings out Anne's personality more and her friendships help to shape the beautiful young woman she has become. I'm excited to see where the next book takes us.
From the beginning of this series, I thought I would never be happy with Anne living anywhere else except at Green Gables, but I really love the life that Gilbert and Anne are creating together in Four Winds.
The addition of new characters brings out Anne's personality more and her friendships help to shape the beautiful young woman she has become. I'm excited to see where the next book takes us.
4.5/5 a lovely book with some difficult events and good questions about the nature of friendship, loving people through hard times, and following feelings vs. doing what is right. Great supporting characters that are lifelike and would be a pleasure to know.
So many tears. I’ve forgotten how much I love this series.
"Anne's House of Dreams" really makes a line in the series where these are not necessarily children's books anymore. The unrelenting "goodness" of Anne is tempered as she begins to navigate married life as well as the myriad sorrows of adulthood -- maybe it's just the mood I'm in of late, but I found myself in tears both happy and sad more than once during my read. These later books in the series will (probably) never be as beloved to me as the stories of Anne's girlhood, but I am finding these more adult stories surprisingly relatable and lovely in their own right.
I don't have much to say about this book that I haven't already said about the series in my reviews for the previous books because it continues all the great themes and powerful, beautiful writing as well as strong, diverse female characters. It struck me as considerably more sad than the others, but it still maintains a good balance of joy and sorrow.
It's a bit rough that now that Anne is married and moved away from Green Gables for good, the old Avonlea crowd is scarcely mentioned. Likewise her Queens and Redmond pals have moved on, but Montgomery succeeds in conjuring up a whole new batch of interesting characters to populate her fifth instalment of the Anne novels. She also gives us more delicious descriptions of the beautiful scenery in Anne's new town and acquaints us with new houses and their respective idiosyncrasies. As always, Anne moves through life winning hearts and helping people to an extent that almost challenges credibility. But it is fiction, after all, and moreover there really are such people in the world, fortunately.
Something else I appreciate in the series that I haven't mentioned yet is how interesting it is historically. Montgomery includes a lot of the commonplace details of everyday life that are too often overlooked in literature. She describes the different fashions of the day and lets us know what kinds of cakes her characters eat, how and where they shop, what medical treatments they receive, and what techniques they use in sewing, knitting, crocheting, and embroidery (all of which I love and practice myself!). This adds to the rich realism and endearing frankness of the novels, but it also provides an interestingly candid glimpse at rural maritime life in Canada a century past.
It's a bit rough that now that Anne is married and moved away from Green Gables for good, the old Avonlea crowd is scarcely mentioned. Likewise her Queens and Redmond pals have moved on, but Montgomery succeeds in conjuring up a whole new batch of interesting characters to populate her fifth instalment of the Anne novels. She also gives us more delicious descriptions of the beautiful scenery in Anne's new town and acquaints us with new houses and their respective idiosyncrasies. As always, Anne moves through life winning hearts and helping people to an extent that almost challenges credibility. But it is fiction, after all, and moreover there really are such people in the world, fortunately.
Something else I appreciate in the series that I haven't mentioned yet is how interesting it is historically. Montgomery includes a lot of the commonplace details of everyday life that are too often overlooked in literature. She describes the different fashions of the day and lets us know what kinds of cakes her characters eat, how and where they shop, what medical treatments they receive, and what techniques they use in sewing, knitting, crocheting, and embroidery (all of which I love and practice myself!). This adds to the rich realism and endearing frankness of the novels, but it also provides an interestingly candid glimpse at rural maritime life in Canada a century past.