Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery || Book Review

Anne of Green Gables is out of my comfort zone in 2 ways—a classic and a middle-grade book. The latter isn't as much of an issue as I enjoy quite a few MG books but I tend not to go for them. The former is something I've been working on overcoming lately.

When I saw a cute edition of this in the bookstore, I bought it and finally read it.

about Anne of Green Gables

Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert are in for a big surprise. They are expecting the arrival of an orphan boy to help work at Green Gables, their farm and home – but a skinny, red-haired girl turns up instead. Feisty and full of spirit, Anne Shirley charms her way into the Cuthberts' affection with her vivid imagination and constant chatter. It's not long before Anne finds herself in trouble, but soon it becomes impossible for the Cuthberts to imagine life without 'their Anne' – and for the people of Avonlea to remember what life was like before this wildly creative little girl whirled into town.

Anne of Green Gables is a classic children's story about knowing your worth, the power of imagination, and finding your family. Much beloved by readers for generations, once read, Anne will never leave your heart.

Content warnings: death, grief.

my review

Before I even considered reading the book, I tried watching the Netflix adaptation titled Anne with an E. For some reason, I didn't get past episode 1 even though it was endearing. I kept it on my watchlist for another day and it has been there for over a year.

Now that I've liked a few classic books, I'm open to more of them. Seeing Puffin's paperback of Anne of Green Gables with a very cute cover made me pause and pick up the book at the bookstore.

A good book cover makes a ton of difference. Try not to judge a book by its cover all you want but most of us are visual people. When we see pretty things or aesthetic things, we like them. Our tastes may be different but we all have some specific taste.

This book cover, illustrated by Chris Silas Neil, perfectly captures the essence of the story. It's bright and playful and shows a girl walking in a beautiful backdrop of nature. Even while reading the book, I often stared at the cover, imagining Anne traipsing through a meadow and appreciating it, making up fictional stories.

I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.

Back when this quote trended on Instagram reels with beautiful scenes of October, I thought it was just a random sentence that someone posted and everyone co-opted. Only after reading this book did I realize that it came from Anne of Green Gables. The trend makes much more sense now.

The story is filled with beautiful settings and descriptions. Right from the beginning, we're treated to big descriptions of gorgeous places. Hills, meadows, sunrises, sunsets, ponds, fields, and more. There is no shortage of beautiful places in this book.

Reading the descriptions made me want to live in the book. I was lowkey jealous of Anne for growing up in such a beautiful place. I realize that she's a fictional girl but there must be such places in real life and I'm jealous of the people who get to live there too.

As someone who grew up in a concrete jungle and who craves to be among nature's best art on vacations, reading this book was like going on an imaginary vacation.

I loved the imagery. I loved how the beautiful setting was almost a character in the story because of how Anne interacted with her surroundings. She fully appreciated what Avonlea had to offer, gave gorgeous names to gorgeous places, and took inspiration from everything.

There's such a lot of different Annes in me. I sometimes think that is why I'm such a troublesome person. If I was just the one Anne it would be ever so much more comfortable, but then it wouldn't be half so interesting.

Anne was a character. Loud, rambly, opinionated, empathetic, and full of heart. She's stubborn to the point of not uttering the name of her rival for years. She will put in the work needed and go after her ambitions with all her might. She makes a ton of mistakes and learns from them.

Most other characters don't like Anne when they first meet her but she grows on them and soon, they're all charmed by her. Anne doesn't get offended when she's initially disliked and takes the later development in stride.

The story was so interesting only because of the kind of person she is. You can tell through the page that she lights up every room that she steps into. She may make several silly mistakes but she also saves the day many times with ease. Everything she does and says is riveting.

She can talk for 20 minutes straight without a pause, which she often does in the book. I won't lie, my reaction would've been the same as Marilla's, who got headaches because of Anne's talks and often cut her off in the initial days. But soon, Anne's rambles grew on Marilla and they grew on me too.

People laugh at me because I use big words. But if you have big ideas, you have to use big words to express them, haven't you?

When we're introduced to her—let's be honest, the book is Anne's world and not a world created for her, the reader is only a silent character that follows her—Anne is 11 years old. Right from the start, you can tell that Anne is not a regular 11-year-old girl.

She pours all of her heart into everything and expects the same in return. She has grand expectations from the world and, when reality falls short, tries to use her imagination to cover the gap. She appreciates her surroundings even while talking a mile a minute. She is aware of her many faults and valiantly tries to make up for them.

Initially, she felt like an over-exuberant child who should grow up soon. But as the book went on, I wanted to live like her. I didn't want her to change, to lose her shine and imagination, and I wondered when I lost mine.

It sounds so wonderful to live like her: appreciating everything and not worrying about a thousand different things. Sure, she has her faults, but she also lives life to the fullest. How many of us do that anymore?

My copy of the book has an introduction by Lauren Child, who accurately captured the feeling, "How did she manage to be so much herself? I had no idea, but to read about such a girl was liberating indeed, even if I found it impossible to follow her lead."

Reading about Anne being curious and imaginative all the time made me want to pause all my sombre adult thoughts and become her. When was the last time I was that curious about anything? Although I do let my imagination run wild at times, when was it to imagine something very good instead of running through a bad possibility?

They keep coming up new all the time - things to perplex you, you know. You settle one question and there's another right after. There are so many things to be thought over and decided when you're beginning to grow up. It keeps me busy all the time thinking them over and deciding what's right. It's a serious thing to grow up, isn't it, Marilla?

Throughout the book, she says truths that make me pause and want to frame them. They're sometimes in response to adults who give her valid advice and she gives such a reasonable response that it made me question my beliefs.

In one place, Marilla laments that Anne sets her heart on too many things and will face many great disappointments in life. I thought the same thing while reading. But I realized that I had to change my attitude when Anne responded, "Oh Marilla, looking forward to things is half the pleasure of them. You mayn't get the things themselves; but nothing can prevent you from having the fun of looking forward to them."

I, and many people around me, live with the idea that life is full of ups and downs. Often, while we're happy, the happiness is reduced because we remember that sad things will be coming soon to balance life out. It took me a long time to learn to see the other way during low periods, and that good things will soon follow. However, we still see it as a mix of happy and sad and don't enjoy anything to the fullest.

Reading about Anne's philosophy, which is so different from what we all think, was refreshing. It's funny how I relate much more to Marilla than Anne despite being closer in age to the latter.

I've heard of this book being required reading in some schools in other countries and I wonder if I would've gotten the entire context of the last several chapters if I read it in high school. I don't think I would've. I don't think I would've loved the book as much if I had read it in school, honestly. So much of it is in response to the adult life—it wouldn't have had as much depth to high school me.

It's not surprising that every character in the book is eventually charmed by Anne. I wanted to be her and I wanted her as my best friend. I wanted to learn from her and I wanted to give her a hug.

That's the worst part of growing up, and I'm beginning to realize it. The things you wanted so much when you were a child don't seem half so wonderful to you when you get them.

The book follows Anne for a good number of years so we see her grow and change. There are time jumps so that we always see Anne in a beautiful season where she can appreciate nature and we're not stuck watching her slowly grow.

It was honestly tragic to watch her grow up towards the end. She doesn't lose all of herself to become like Marilla, but we can clearly see the regular change as one grows up and takes on the problems of the world on their shoulders.

The last 25% felt like a winter season. I wanted to go back and reread the book because I wanted to bask in the spring and autumn seasons. I wanted to forget about the problems that come with growing up.

However, the book ended on a melancholy positive note which was perfect. It was a fitting end after all the years that we spent with Anne. And, if I may be selfish, it was a nice way to gently let the reader go back to their real lives.

Anne's horizons had closed in since the night she had sat there coming home from Queen's; but if the path set before her feet was to be narrow she knew that flowers of quiet happiness would bloom along it. The joys of sincere work and worthy aspiration and congenial friendship were to be hers; nothing could rob her of her birthright of fancy or her ideal world of dreams. And there was always a bend in the road!

overall

I loved Anne of Green Gables. I loved the characters, the relationships, the writing, the plot—everything. I can't wait to reread it in the future when I need a pick-me-up.

I didn't expect a book that was first published in 1908 to be so relatable. But then, isn't that the whole point of why some books become classics and others fade away after a while? Classics contain emotions and concepts that are timeless.

Although it's not one of my absolute favourite books, I know that I will reread it a few years down the road. The book may follow a girl through ages 11 to 16 but it is a must-read for all adults who feel bogged down by life. Sometimes, we need an Anne to loudly announce that we can achieve anything with kindred spirits and a scope for imagination.

I highly recommend this book to everyone!

chat with me!

Have you read Anne of Green Gables? What did you think of it? Or is the book on your TBR?

Have you seen the Anne with an E adaptation? I'm not too sure about watching it because it looks like the story is shortened and pared down to fit the length of only a few episodes. Would you recommend it?

Also, I only recently found out that this is a series and not a standalone book?! I always thought Anne of Green Gables was it. Its ending was so good that I couldn't imagine there being a sequel. But apparently, there are 8 more books in the series?? Do we follow Anne till she's 40?? If you've read the sequels, let me know if I should read them!