Friday, November 07, 2008

rainbow valley discussion thread

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4 comments:

Alicia K. said...

Is it time to discuss Rilla of Ingleside yet?!?

This one blurs together with the previous one for me--more children's antics, etc. Is this the one where they adopt the runaway orphan girl who tells outlandish stories? And the ridiculous spinster sister romance subplot?

Apparently the whole book is available online if, like me, you need a refresher!

ahartsell said...

Yeah I was really surprised how much of this particular book I didn't remember. Most of the other ones I remembered fairly well, but not this one. I'm glad I'm not the only one.

It is the one with the runaway orphan girl, though her stories aren't really outlandish. Her language is just "shocking". She really was abused by the woman she lived with. But Miss Cornelia saves the day and takes her in.

I forgot just how much of this book is really about the minister's kids rather than being focused on Anne's kids.

christinamerge said...

Yeah, I always skip Rainbow Valley in my re-reads. This was the first time I had read it in ages. It's fairly non-essential reading, but is this the one where Susan finally gets a proposal?

ahartsell said...

No, Susan doesn't get a proposal in this one.

I do like the part where Walter has a fight. That's perhaps the most vivid scene in the book for me. I always remember how he just hated the ugliness of it.

I also liked Una (one of the minister's kids). She's kind of a timid quiet girl, but she does two very brave things in the book that help the other characters. I always thought that was really cool.

But yeah overall not the best book. I'm just always annoyed it doesn't focus more on Anne's children. Instead we get all these other plots. And yet I always remember it being more about Anne's kids than it is.