Anne Of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery
Puffin. Review by Gemma McLaughlin
While we wait for the next season of the television adaptation of Anne Of Green Gables, “Anne With An E” I’ve decided to go back and review the book. I’ve loved every second of the new Netflix TV show and was excited to delve into the story in its original, more detailed form. I obviously went to the book with my own opinions around the plot and characters but have tried to evaluate Anne Of Green Gables in as fair a way as possible.
Going into the story I was dazzled by the beautiful descriptions of landscapes and was fascinated to see what the characters I’ve already grown to love are thinking and the motives behind their actions. Despite the old fashioned language the messages portrayed were well written and easy to understand at any time.
At the beginning of the book we are introduced first to the town of Avonlea, and then to Rachel Lynde, the local gossip and friend to Marilla Cuthbert, a strong, capable older woman with a secret soft side, and her kind, quiet brother Matthew. Matthew and Marilla have been living together for most of their adult lives and decide to adopt a boy from Nova Scocia to help them with farm chores. The siblings are shocked when the orphan they receive is a young girl by the name of Anne.
Anne has a beautiful and wild imagination, a thin gangly figure, and shocking red hair. Although she is not expected by the Cuthberts, they welcome her into their home for what they think will be a short time. Despite Anne not being a boy and being in general quite different to what they expected she finds her way into Matthew’s heart and, though it takes some time, Marilla finds herself caring deeply for Anne.
Through fascinating and heart-melting twists and turns we learn about Anne’s past and all the awful things that led her to end up at Green Gables, living with the Cuthberts. We watch Anne attend school and learn how with mystery, danger and excitement she grows to be accepted by those around her and make some wonderful friends.
The book finished just as beautifully as it started and made me feel honoured to be allowed to peek into the life of Anne and the residents of Avonlea. I was left feeling hopeful and excited to see even more of them in the other books and of course in the visually and emotionally stunning tv adaptation.
Overall, the story was moving, inspired and of course, completely timeless. I adored the plot, characters and setting with all of my heart and hope to revisit Green Gables. This book is a classic for many reasons and all of these back me up in urging you to take the time to pick up the book and join Anne in her adventures as I have.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here