What’s it all about?:
“Matthew had taken the scrawny little hand awkwardly in his; then and there he decided what to do. He could not tell this child with the glowing eyes that there had been a mistake. . . .”
When eleven-year-old Anne Shirley arrives at Green Gables with nothing but a carpetbag and an overactive imagination, she knows that she has found her home. But first she must convince the Cuthberts to let her stay, even though she isn’t the boy they’d hoped for. The loquacious Anne quickly finds her way into their hearts, as she has with generations of readers, and her charming, ingenious adventures in Avonlea, filled with colourful characters and tender escapades, linger forever in our memories.
What did I think?:
I was very excited when Chrissi and I picked Anne of Green Gables as part of our Kid-Lit 2014 as it is one of my favorite children’s books ever and I remember reading it over and over again, delighted by the story and utterly charmed by Anne Shirley. It’s certainly a book that you can re-read quite easily as an adult and has definitely stood the test of time for me personally. The story begins with Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, a brother and sister team and owners of a farm called Green Gables. Time is marching on and Marilla begins to worry that her brother needs a little help around the farm so she has the brilliant idea of requesting a boy from the local orphanage that they can give a home to and that can assist Matthew as and when required. Matthew goes off to the station in the buggy to meet the new arrival (closely watched by Rachel Lynde, who has to know everyone’s business). Imagine his shock when waiting for him on the platform is a small freckled girl with red hair. The hair becomes important, believe me. Matthew is a quiet, shy sort of man especially around the female of the species and does not have the heart to leave Anne (spelled with an e) Shirley in the station so takes her home to Marilla, who is better at this decision-making thing. By the time they reach Green Gables, Matthew has become slightly enamoured with the bold, chattering little girl and decides to himself he wouldn’t mind having her around. Not so with Marilla. She is dumb-struck at the sight of Anne’s white, hopeful little face who is carting her “worldly goods” in a small bag with her. When Anne realises that they were expecting a boy she is devastated/in the “depths of despair,” but strangely enough, her funny little speeches, empassioned and straight from the heart strike something in Marilla who finds herself quite amused by the orphan and they decide to keep her.
The rest of the book follows Anne story as she grows up at Green Gables. She gets herself into a lot of interesting situations and learns a lot along the way. Some of my favourites and stand-out moments were when Gilbert Blythe teases her about her hair color so she proceeds to crack her slate over his head, then later on she attempts to dye her hair but it goes horribly wrong, finally the scene where she gets her “bosom friend” and “kindred spirit,” Diana, hideously drunk on what she thinks was raspberry cordial makes me laugh every time I read it. It is also lovely to see her relationship with Matthew and Marilla grow and develop, especially in times of great sadness. Although Anne does grow and learn as a person through the book, she still remains the sweet and endearing character that she has always been and that is why I’m proud to say that she was one of my first literary heroines (and probably still is!).
For Chrissi’s fabulous review, please see her blog HERE.
Would I recommend it?:
But of course!
Star rating (out of 5):
