Customer Reviews

Anne of Green Gables (Signet Classics)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm a guy, 29 years old, who has just read Anne of Green Gables for the first time (at the behest of my fiancee).

It is a wonderful book.

You do not have to be a young female to enjoy the adventures of one. Anne Shirley is a delight of a character. She's brave and intelligent and so very earnest. It is a treat to read about her coming to live at Green Gables and the relationships she develops there. There's real depth in some of the characters, especially Anne's guardian, Marilla, who remembers, if only faintly, what it was like to be young and passionate, and is drawn irresistably to that in Anne and rejuvenated by it.

This and Tom Sawyer are the two great works about childhood in my experience. Yes--children would love to read, or be read, either of them. However, adults can get much out of reading them, too, and things that will not be available to the younger set. These books are both about children from an adult's perspective (neither Twain nor Montgomery were 9) and so an adult's perspective can assist in a reading of them, too. And, finally, while I'm certain that women are able to relate to being a girl on a different level than men can, we're all able to relate to the main virtues of an Anne Shirley and the beauty of childhood that she embodies.

Unlike the title of the current Spotlight Review, this is not just for any girl, but for any*one* with a scope of imagination.

What girlhood is complete without the charming adventures of one of literature's most spritely heroines, Anne [with an e] Shirley? I've read this book time and time again since I was a child, and I still cannot get over just how much character and heart can be splashed into a single novel.

In the lovely world of a Victorian Canada the Cuthberts, an elderly brother and sister, decided to adopt a boy to help with farm work. However, there is a mistake and instead the awkward, idealistic Anne winds up in their home. She's an orphan who lives romantic dreams and is not afraid to speak her mind. She sounds irritating, but she is a fantastic, well-rounded character, as is everyone else. Anne quickly makes a name and a place for herself in her new home as she grows up through all the usual horrors of adolescence.

I had never read this book for fear that it would be too much like Little House on the Prairie which I had heard were heartwarming books where nothing much ever happened. Though Anne of Green Gables is certainly heartwarming and describes the interesting but not action packed life of a young girl, Anne's character is not the ordinary sweet little girl that you might expect to read about. Though wanting to be good, Anne spends most of her time dreaming about "romantic" things such as a beautiful pond near by which she named the Lake of Shining Waters, and the demons and goblins that live in the Haunted Wood. Her chatter fills the entire book and barely a page goes by without her contemplating some fantastical thought. This is a beautifully written novel and there needs to be no wondering as to why it has endured for the one hundred years that it has.

No matter what age you are or what genre of book you usually read, this is a terrific work of art. Everyone should take a rainy afternoon off to sit back, relax and read one of the greatest novels ever published. (And all other novels in the Anne of Green Gables series is just as exceptional!)

Anne of Green Gables is about an orphan who is adopted by Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert. It takes Anne awhile to adjust to life in the elegant Green Gables, and gets into some pretty funny mishaps, like accidently giving her friend Diana too much raspberry cordial, for example, but in the end finds her way. Anee's point fo view is hilarious and very entertaining. This is a wonderful read for girls everywhere and is a classic that is not to be missed.

I first read "Anne of Green Gables" when I was a young teenager. It had been my mother's favorite book and was not in print at the time. My grandmother had a copy of this book as well as most of the other "Anne books". I was completely enchanted by the odd little red headed orphan who spelled her name with an "e". At the end of two weeks, I had read all of the Anne books and started over at the first. As the years passed, the books came back into publication and I've purchased copies of everything by L.M. Montgomery that is in print. More than 20 years later and I still love the Anne books.

L.M. Montgomery created characters so believable that you can imagine your own joy at seeing the White Way of Delight for the first time or the mortification of jumping into bed on top of your best friends grumpy old aunt. This is a story you can read over and over and never be bored. I must warn you though. When this story ends, you will want to pick up "Anne of Avonlea" and when you finish that one, you won't want to waste any time picking up "Anne of the Island". Unlike other sequels or series, the story doesn't get old or redundant. Anne goes to Queens and then makes it to college. She marries and has children of her own in "Anne's House of Dreams" and "Anne of Windy Poplars". Finally, the series ends with stories of her children in "Rainbow Valley" and with "Rilla of Ingleside" as her youngest deals with being a young woman during WWI. Instead of buying just the first book, buy the set, The Complete Anne of Green Gables Boxed Set (Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island, Anne of Windy Poplars, Anne's House of Dreams, ... Rainbow Valley, Rilla of Ingleside)

I desparately wanted to like this book as a child, but even with my advanced reading level, I never enjoyed it. In my late teens I tried again, and was finally able to appreciate Anne of Green Gables for what it is-- a fun and timeless classic. Over the years I have read and re-read the entire series, always delighted, engaged, and sad to see it end.

After reading this book more than once, and enjoying it every time, I truly believe I can assess this book with ease. I have found it each and every time written beautifully but understandably. The main character, Anne Shirley and the imaginative world she creates is even more so captivating.
As the first book of the series, we are introduced to Anne who is rather predictable at times, but the things that L.M. Montgomery does to her and how it affects her life keeps me reading on and on. The flowery language is flowery only in it's descriptive ways and not too much that younger girls (and even boys) cannot comprehend it. Her adventures are another thing that makes it for everyone, you don't have to read profanity to be interested. To read of such a bright little girl growing into such a wise but evermore interesting should be good enough for everyone.
She has many adventures, and at the beginning many could be called misadventures. Like, putting liniment in a cake instead of vanilla, such important a cake that it was meant for a role model of her's, the preacher's wife. Another, where a boy who secretly likes her calls her "carrots" and causes the poor dear to break a slate over his head. From then on a grudge would last for many a time.
Over all I think the romanticism and appeal to every age makes this a book that will last in my heart and many others.

but my whole family loves this book along with the whole series. L.M. Montgomery's style of writing brings you right in with Anne. She makes the reader feel like a kindred spirit.

A girl who is accidentally chosen to be adopted winds up being the best thing that ever happened to Green Gables. Lots of fun and excitement is the only thing that can describe the life of Anne.

Anne of Green Gables is a book that inspired me greatly. The characters, the story line and the obstacles that the characters overcame were very influential to me. Anne of Green Gables was written by L.M. (Lucy Maud), Montgomery. It is a story of a simple orphan girl, named Anne Shirley who had been from family to family and felt as if nobody wanted her. It starts out telling how an elderly man and his sister planned to adopt a boy but by fate received the little orphan girl, Anne. I loved this book because I loved listening to the adventures and life lessons Anne went through. This book taught good moral lessons that every child should learn.