Anne of Green Gables
Anne of Green Gables, Book #1
By L.M. Montgomery
ISBN#9780143131854
Author Website: www(.)lmmontgomery(.)ca/about/lmm/her-life
Brought to you by OB Reviewer Daniele
Synopsis:
The beloved coming-of-age tale of a spunky heroine named Anne “with an E,” now for the first time in Penguin Classics and packaged in a Deluxe edition.
M. Montgomery’s novel Anne of Green Gables recounts the adventures of Anne Shirley, an 11-year-old orphan mistakenly sent to a pair of siblings who intended to adopt a boy to help work on their farm in Prince Edward Island. Yet Anne’s quirky personality and good-natured spirit causes the siblings to grow to love her anyway, and soon the entire town falls for the precocious little girl with bright red hair.
Cherished by both children and adults, Anne of Green Gables is a celebration of fierce individualism, and the families we create, rather than the ones we are born into. This Deluxe edition is enhanced with a foreword by bestselling author J. Courtney Sullivan, and an introduction and suggestions for further reading by Benjamin Lefebvre, as well as reviews and a selection of early writing by L. M. Montgomery about the process of writing Anne. (Goodreads)
Review:
Being of a certain age, I read Anne of Green Gables some thirty-five years ago, and it was probably an edited version at that, so I jumped at the chance to read this deluxe edition honoring the seventy-fifth anniversary of author L.M. Montgomery’s death. It is thought provoking to read this now from an adult’s perspective. Anne (with an E) is just as captivating as ever, and the writing is still fresh. It is no wonder that Anne of Green Gables is beloved by all ages and an enduring classic.
Siblings Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert asked their neighbor to bring them a boy from the orphanage, but they got a precocious red headed eleven year old instead. Despite their reservations, they take a chance on skinny, little Anne, and their lives are changed forever…for the better. This first installment in a series of novels featuring Anne Shirley highlights Anne from the age of eleven to fifteen, following all of her adventures, mistakes, and lessons learned. It is interesting to see how Anne matures over the course of the book and how the town grows to love this quirky girl. I won’t lie, though I adore her sense of wonder and imagination, Anne’s incessant chatter is exhausting to this introverted reader. But, I would never want her to change. As a child, I did not give Marilla much thought, but I greatly appreciate her quiet love and devotion to Anne. Montgomery’s writing drew me right into the story. The sweeping descriptions and lush dialogue are second to none.
I greatly enjoyed my time at the turn of the twentieth century on Prince Edward Island. Revisiting Anne is like meeting up with an old friend that you’ve lost touch with. We should all strive to have Anne’s optimism and remember how wonderful it is to use our imaginations. Highly recommended for any age reader.
