Anne of Green Gables

Author: Lucy Maud Montgomery

Review:

Anne of Green Gables is a very familiar title for classic fans. I have watched clips online, but somehow never ventured to read it until recently the book club monthly challenge required us to pick up a book with a color in its title.

I had read Little Women long back and had enjoyed it thoroughly, it is still one of my favorites. A tale of girls growing up together, their bonding with their parents, siblings, friends and how their personalities mature as they step into adulthood was a joy to read.

Anne of Green Gables is similar, if not the same. A young orphan girl alights from a train station in the quaint town of Avonlea in Prince Edward Island, a province in Canada. She does not know that she was being sent as a mistake to a family who was looking to adopt a boy. Her to-be guardians, an aging brother, and sister wanted a boy to help them with their chores.

This is the story of Anne, her dreams, her relationships and her journey to womanhood. As a child, Anne is forever talking and imagining things around her. She gets lost in her dreams and fails to do her chores regularly. Anne is guileless and has many flaws than virtues. There are a lot of references made in the book about the way we parents are concerned over the children for their imperfections. As her guardian Matthew puts it “she will turn alright, her heart is in the right place!” Despite her goof-ups and continuous chatter, people of Avonlea take into her free-spirited nature and pure heart. With her innocent yet profound comments, she slowly and steadily wins the hearts of her guardians and neighbors alike.

As she grows up, Anne is shown progressing in various aspects, her education and her experience teach her many things. As any coming-of-age book centered around a girl, this book also focuses a lot about Anne’s wardrobe, her hairstyle, her manners, her evolving beauty, and her social etiquette. From a brat who loses her temper in seconds to a girl who wishes not to augur ill to people who hate her, Anne’s personality evolves a long way. 
  
The beauty of nature and its healing influences are well captured in the changing seasons of Avonlea through its breathtaking landscapes, the enchanting orchards, the winding pathways, and the lovely brooks. 

  What I liked most about the book is that the author focuses more on Anne, her inner growth and her little victories over her own disappointments rather than the perceptions of the people around her. As in any book, there is always a jealous rival, and a handsome boy noticing the heroine. But the references are very subtle and the undercurrent runs only in the background. Those nostalgic typical girl games– a tea-party where girls are suddenly grown-up women, a story club filled with martyrs and tragic heroines, the foolish trouble causing dare games, bring back fond memories of childhood. 

It is also a story of kindred spirits. Anne keeps searching for kindred spirits around her and sees many despite variations in age, gender, and social status. And in her words,” Kindred spirits are not as scarce as I used to think. It is splendid to know there are so many of them in the world".


We all want to meet a few kindred spirits in our lifetime, don’t we? 

I could not put down the book, it is a little treasure which I will cherish forever.

It is the first, in the series. I am looking forward to reading the next. I am sure the backdrop will be equally beautiful and the characters will develop further, but somewhere in the back of my mind am pretty sure this one will be my favorite for I know one element for sure will be missing in the other books  – the innocence and joy of childhood.