I totally see why this is Christina's favorite--or maybe I loved it for different reasons!
A few things I loved:
--The female friendships. Montgomery totally nails that college-aged domesticity! Their conversations and relationships are realistic, despite all their differences. Also, as much as they talk about boys, they also talk about their dreams and futures. They're really intellectual in a lot of ways--taking all the top school awards in various subjects, etc. There's just this great cosy atmosphere.
--Also--Anne gets six proposals! Love it. That has to be a record.
--And of course I'm glad that she and Gilbert finally get together after spending the book making each other jealous and whatnot. Anne finally realizes that love isn't about her idealized dream man--it's about something more real and steady.
Oh--and it seems like most of the discussants have dropped out--is there interest in continuing the discussion on my blog, or would we rather just talk about it more informally (since Christina and I always talk about them over IM anyway). My feelings won't be hurt if no one wants to go on, but if you do, I'm happy to keep at it.
I'm cool with continuing the discussion. We had a book group of two for HP! Now we have three : )
Even though this is a bit "tamer" than my college experiences, in some ways it's not that different. It's great how we see Anne growing up in this book. I was always glad that it's seen as a good thing that the girls in this book study and do well in school.
I had forgotten about that first marriage proposal. How embarrassing! I was really struck this time with how patient Gilbert really is, letting Anne come to the realization on her own about their relationship. Roy Gardner is a great foil for Gilbert, and yet it's very believable that Anne would like him. I can remember dating some guys kind of like that.
I'm really struck by how Montgomery describes houses. So many of the houses in these books have these great "personalities". I love the names of the houses. Echo Lodge, Patty's Place, Green Gables. Makes me want to name my townhouse!
I do love Montgomery's cats--I love how even the supposed cat-haters secretly love the cats too! (Though that's mainly in a later book, I forget which one.) She really has a great way with descriptions (and I'd love to live in a house with as much personality as any of those, myself).
I remember there was this short story where there was a female man-hater with a cat and male woman-hater with a dog, and for some reason they're forced to live together for like a week. I think there's a quarantine or something. And of course they fall in love. It's true that Montgomery seems to have a soft spot for cats.
That story is in one of the Chronicles of Avonlea books. I love it!
Have you noticed how many papers they seem to write? They are always giving papers or sending papers to clubs, and yet they have time to sew clothes and bake cakes!
Reading the descriptions of places in Montgomery novels always make me want to take the time to notice my surroundings and try to make them lovely with words. I wonder if she knew she was doing that?
7 comments:
I totally see why this is Christina's favorite--or maybe I loved it for different reasons!
A few things I loved:
--The female friendships. Montgomery totally nails that college-aged domesticity! Their conversations and relationships are realistic, despite all their differences. Also, as much as they talk about boys, they also talk about their dreams and futures. They're really intellectual in a lot of ways--taking all the top school awards in various subjects, etc. There's just this great cosy atmosphere.
--Also--Anne gets six proposals! Love it. That has to be a record.
--And of course I'm glad that she and Gilbert finally get together after spending the book making each other jealous and whatnot. Anne finally realizes that love isn't about her idealized dream man--it's about something more real and steady.
Oh--and it seems like most of the discussants have dropped out--is there interest in continuing the discussion on my blog, or would we rather just talk about it more informally (since Christina and I always talk about them over IM anyway). My feelings won't be hurt if no one wants to go on, but if you do, I'm happy to keep at it.
Philippa is one of my absolute favorite Montgomery characters! She just seems so fun and adorable.
And Roy Gardner was a great foil for Gilbert. So easy for everyone else to see that he was boring and shallow and could never make Anne happy.
Also, Montgomery always has the best cat descriptions!
I'm cool with continuing the discussion. We had a book group of two for HP! Now we have three : )
Even though this is a bit "tamer" than my college experiences, in some ways it's not that different. It's great how we see Anne growing up in this book. I was always glad that it's seen as a good thing that the girls in this book study and do well in school.
I had forgotten about that first marriage proposal. How embarrassing! I was really struck this time with how patient Gilbert really is, letting Anne come to the realization on her own about their relationship. Roy Gardner is a great foil for Gilbert, and yet it's very believable that Anne would like him. I can remember dating some guys kind of like that.
I'm really struck by how Montgomery describes houses. So many of the houses in these books have these great "personalities". I love the names of the houses. Echo Lodge, Patty's Place, Green Gables. Makes me want to name my townhouse!
I do love Montgomery's cats--I love how even the supposed cat-haters secretly love the cats too! (Though that's mainly in a later book, I forget which one.) She really has a great way with descriptions (and I'd love to live in a house with as much personality as any of those, myself).
I remember there was this short story where there was a female man-hater with a cat and male woman-hater with a dog, and for some reason they're forced to live together for like a week. I think there's a quarantine or something. And of course they fall in love. It's true that Montgomery seems to have a soft spot for cats.
That story is in one of the Chronicles of Avonlea books. I love it!
Have you noticed how many papers they seem to write? They are always giving papers or sending papers to clubs, and yet they have time to sew clothes and bake cakes!
Reading the descriptions of places in Montgomery novels always make me want to take the time to notice my surroundings and try to make them lovely with words. I wonder if she knew she was doing that?
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