Book Review: Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

All of the book reviews I’ve furnished are either practical, inspirational, or theological, but I’m a big believer in fiction, in stories. I believe stories let us see all that practical information in a real setting. I think they prepare us for interacting with the human condition, and they inspire us in ways more direct information can’t. Stories link truth and emotion making them easier for us to grasp and hold onto. Stories are important. They teach us about ourselves and others.

As a young girl, I was a great fan of Anne Shirley. Sure, she didn’t have a horse or a gun, but she was brave, kind, and filled with imagination. I watched the old TV show quite often and my parents gifted me with both a beautifully illustrated version of the first book and a paperback box set of the others. Anne was the girl who was like me, a tomboy with a knack for getting herself in a tight spot. She painted her world with a vivid imagination. So many of the girls in books I had suggested to me weren’t like Anne. Anne was looking at myself.

Over the years, I’ve often remembered Anne and some of her bigger mistakes as I’ve lumbered quite ungracefully through life. They’ve provided a comforting smile and a laugh, but I haven’t visited Green Gables since childhood. Liz, my sister, has talked about how she’s sharing it with her girls, and Lauren, a dear friend, waxed eloquent about her love for it at a Book Club dinner party, so I decided I should read it again. It was time. And it’s not a long read. I figured I could do it over the weekend, which was accurate.

Boy was I swept away. I’m pretty sure I enjoyed this book more in my 40s than I did as a young girl, though I do firmly believe every girl should get Anne as early as they can. She will just help them feel more comfortable in their skin. Give your daughters Anne. But give yourself Marilla. She is a delight as an adult.

So why bring this book up in a homemaker blog? Because, as I said, while practical books are so helpful, a great work of fiction can engage us more deeply and inspire us more fully. We are storytellers. We were created that way and HearthKeepers, this is a book for us.

In this book, you will find the home dearly loved, for who doesn’t love home more than an orphan? You will find the work of home honored and praised and the homemaker to be both the childless, the widow, the young, and the old. In this book, you will see a young woman who has a bosom friend, other girlfriends, and several women older than her who take an interest in her and teach her many things. Home, hearth, tending, sisterhood all gleaming in a romantic and realistic setting.

This book is filled with all things feminine without being hard, mean, ugly, prissy, bossy, or boring and dour. No one complains about being women. They just do what they do. No one complains about being married, homemaking, or raising children. It just is. And it’s wonderfully liberating as a modern reader to just see those things accepted. It’s like a cool rain in the middle of a too long summer.

You’ll be inspired to change from “the pond” to the Lake of Shining Waters. Anne’s romantic filter laid over her world will stir you to see beauty in yours. This book will help you delight in home and fill you up in the love of family, community, and nature. It will fill you with a zest for ordinary things!

Now, who wants to have some tea, knit, and chat?

Or….group trip to Prince Edward’s Island????