Reading Journal: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (audio)

 

 

Book Description:

"She'll have to go back."

Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert have decided to adopt an orphan. They want a nice sturdy boy to help Matthew with the farm chores. The orphanage sends a girl instead—a mischievous, talkative redhead who the Cuthberts are sure will be of no use at all. But as soon as Anne arrives at the snug white farmhouse called Green Gables, she knows she wants to stay forever. And the longer Anne stays, the harder it is for anyone to imagine Green Gables without her.

My thoughts:
After another read (actual a listen this time) through Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (narrated by Barbara Caruso), I am still just as enchanted with Anne as I was the first time I read about her. I love her imagination, her talkativeness, her drama, essentially I love her delight in everything. She is like a breath of fresh air!

One thing about listening to the story is that I could really listen to all the wonderful descriptions and imagine them in my own mind. With the film version of Anne of Green Gables I already have a picture in my mind that I can pull up, but when I actually listened to what she was describing I came up with a different picture in my mind.  Don't get me wrong I do enjoy the film, but the book is so much better!

Also while listening through it this time I was drawn to the special relationship that Anne had with Matthew. Unlike Marilla, he wasn't afraid to love Anne from the start and soon wasn't afraid to show it or tell her. Overall, his quiet love adds that little bit of extra perfectness to the the story.

As I have stated before, Anne's story has always been at the top of my list and and am loving that I can share my love of Anne with my daughter. My only problem now is that I can't wait until next year to delve into Anne of Avonlea, so I'm off to  have an appointment with my iPod Touch!

Here are some of my favorite Anne and Matthew moments:*

"It was dreadful of me to forget," said Anne apologetically, "but that was the afternoon I was trying to think of a name for Violet Vale and it crowded other things out. Matthew was so good. He never scolded a bit. He put the tea down himself and said we could wait awhile as well as not. And I told him a lovely fairy story while we were waiting, so he didn't find the time long at all. It was a beautiful fairy story, Marilla. I forgot the end of it, so I made up an end for it myself and Matthew said he couldn't tell where the join came in."  

"Matthew, did you ever study geometry when you went to school?"  

"Well now, no, I didn't," said Matthew, coming out of his doze with a start.

"I wish you had," sighed Anne, "because then you'd be able to sympathize with me. You can't sympathize properly if you've never studied it. It is casting a cloud over my whole life. I'm such a dunce at it, Matthew."  

"Well now, I dunno," said Matthew soothingly. "I guess you're all right at anything. Mr. Phillips told me last week in Blair's store at Carmody that you was the smartest scholar in school and was making rapid progress. 'Rapid progress' was his very words. There's them as runs down Teddy Phillips and says he ain't much of a teacher, but I guess he's all right."

"Oh, I know I'm a great trial to you, Marilla," said Anne repentantly. "I make so many mistakes. But then just think of all the mistakes I don't make, although I might. I'll get some sand and scrub up the spots before I go to school. Oh, Marilla, my heart was just set on going to that concert. I never was to a concert in my life, and when the other girls talk about them in school I feel so out of it. You didn't know just how I felt about it, but you see Matthew did. Matthew understands me, and it's so nice to be understood, Marilla."

"Well now, I was proud of her and I did tell her so 'fore she went upstairs," said Matthew.

 

 

Matthew had declared to her his conviction that she "would beat the whole Island." That, Anne felt, was something it would be foolish to hope for even in the wildest dreams. But she did hope fervently that she would be among the first ten at least, so that she might see Matthew's kindly brown eyes gleam with pride in her achievement.

"If I had been the boy you sent for," said Anne wistfully, "I'd be able to help you so much now and spare you in a hundred ways. I could find it in my heart to wish I had been, just for that." "Well now, I'd rather have you than a dozen boys, Anne," said Matthew patting her hand. "Just mind you that—rather than a dozen boys. Well now, I guess it wasn't a boy that took the Avery scholarship, was it? It was a girl—my girl—my girl that I'm proud
of."

*I'm sorry I don't have page numbers since my book has been lent out, but you can check out the free version here.

 

A big thank you to Carrie at Reading to Know for hosting the L.M. Montgomery Reading Challenge.