Now this is the college life I longed for

Anne Shirley is about to do the unthinkable - postpone marriage and attend off to Redmond College. She still plans to get married, but only after her education.

She's found a darling house to rent with Prissy Grant (from Avonlea) and Phillipa Gordon (from Redmond). And now, her life will begin.

I loved the feel of this one - the hopeful wondering, the exciting change of scenery and the true friendships she finds. However. I do have a few issues with the way this one is written.

It almost feels like everything is solved too simply. All challenges are overcome with a bit of plucky effort and everything always works out just the way it needs to. Always.

And honestly, the first two novels I didn't mind this...but by the third novel of such coincidences, I am starting to grow a little tired of the sheer n  perfectionn of everything.

n  “It will come sometime. Some beautiful morning she will just wake up and find it is Tomorrow. Not Today but Tomorrow. And then things will happen ... wonderful things.” n

I still enjoy this series but there are a few problems/inconsistencies that are really throwing me off.

n  Dropping Diana Barry like a hot tamalen

Remember Diana Barry - Anne's one, true bosom friend?

n  Kindred spirits alone do not change with the changing years.n

Anne is such a liar.

Diana Barry - who was so essential to the first books - is pushed aside now that Anne's in college and Diana's raising a family.

I understand that friends grow apart over time but if that was the case, there should be a paragraph or two explaining that.

It's like...Diana was no longer useful to the plot so L. M. Montgomery just stopped writing about her. I mean, how hard would it be for Anne to write a few letters to Diana or for her to talk about missing her.

I feel so betrayed on Diana's behalf. So much for friendship.

n  The Schrodinger Catn

And I couldn't have been the only one completely flabbergasted by the cat story.

Upon discovery of a semi-friendly tom cat, Anne, Prissy and Phillipa n  decide to kill itn with chloroform under a basket.

After leaving the cat under the deathtrap for a night, Anne lifts up the basket only to discover that the cat survived. She then adopts the cat and becomes best friends with the feline.

You almost MURDERED the cat - seriously, what the hell Anne?

n  The Revolving Plotn

There seems to be a pattern to these books - Anne meets new bosom friends, one grumpy/ornery one and one miserable one (due to bad luck with true love).

Anne befriends the grump, tries (and ultimately fails) meddling in the miserable one's life...Then she learns valuable life lessons about not judging/meddling someone by their first impression. And everything ends happy.

Repeat.

n  Concluding Thoughtsn

Honestly, I'm more than a little disappointed by this one but not enough to stop the series. There were plenty of wonderful of moments and I really want to finish the series. Hopefully it picks up!

Audiobook Comments
Read by Renée Raudman - and it was a rather pleasant audio to listen to.

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Holy crap, do you guys know what this is?! It’s a New Adult book that was written ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO! (Seriously, that’s what this is!) I had no idea this sub-genre existed back then, lol!

College? Check. Relationship drama and angst? Check. Sassy, funny girlfriend? Check. Handsome, cocky love interest? Che— Wait, NO. No, no, nope! Move over all you hot, arrogant assholes, cuz Gilbert Blythe blows ALL of you out of the fricken water!

I totally loved this. LOVED. THIS.

Love love love love love :)

There were a lot of different things to love in the first book (and I loved it all), but I’ll admit that the thing that REALLY hooked me in was the cute rivalry between Anne and Gilbert. Oh, those two. . .

Omg, the angst! I had no idea! I didn’t know this book was gonna make me feel like this. All frustrated and hopeful and swoony and annoyed.

(I’m guessing I’m the only person on the planet who hasn’t ever read/seen this series before, but I’ll just spoiler tag anyway :P)




My heart thumped like crazy at so many parts! Like here:

“This is what I would once have called an epoch in my life,” said Anne, as she took Roy’s violets out of their box and gazed at them thoughtfully. She meant to carry them, of course, but her eyes wandered to another box on her table. It was filled with lilies-of-the-valley, as fresh and fragrant as those which bloomed in the Green Gables yard when June came to Avonlea. Gilbert Blythe’s card lay beside it.

(me: OH MY GOOOOODDDDD HE SENT HER FLOWERS EEEEEEK!!!!!)


. . .the flash in Gilbert’s eyes when he saw her lilies. . .

(me: OMG he sees that she chose HIS flowers to wear instead of Roy's COME ON YOU GUYS I MEAN SERIOUSLY JUST COME ON!!!!!!)


“I have a dream,” he said slowly. “I persist in dreaming it, although it has often seemed to me that it could never come true.”

(me: holy shit it’s really happening. IT’S REALLY HAPPENING!!!)



“There was nobody else - there never could be anybody else for me but you. I’ve loved you ever since that day you broke your slate over my head in school.”

Me: *sighs happily* No words. Completely satisfied.

Anne of the Island, L.M. Montgomery
Anne of the Island is the third book in the Anne of Green Gables series, written by Lucy Maud Montgomery about Anne Shirley. Anne of the Island was published in 1915, seven years after the bestselling Anne of Green Gables. In the continuing story of Anne Shirley, Anne attends Redmond College in Kingsport, where she is studying for her BA.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: بیست و پنجم ماه سپتامبر سال 2012 میلادی
عنوان: آنی شرلی در جزیره - کتاب سوم؛ نویسنده: ال.ام. مونتگمری؛ مترجم: سارا قدیانی؛ در 225 ص؛
آن شرلی در جزیره سومین جلد از مجموعه کتاب‌های آن شرلی اثر لوسی ماد مونتگمری است. خلاصه داستان: این بار آن شرلی قدم به دانشگاه ردموند می‌گذارد، و به همراه دوستانش در خانه‌ای به نام خانه «پتی» ساکن می‌شود. او با «رویال گاردنر» آشنا می‌شود. اما در انتها «رویال» را ترک کرده و با «گیلبرت بلایت» نامزد می‌شود. ا. شربیانی

OH MY HEART.

I love Anne and I love Gilbert and I love everyone and I love these books.

Following Anne's story has made me SO HAPPY it's just so lovely and I can't deal with how good this series is.

Anne at college and all her adventures are so lovely. <3

I have no other words besides that I love these books.

I know a lot of people are still waiting for their Hogwarts letter, and that’s fine and all, but I’m still over here waiting for my formal invitation to attend college with Anne and Gilbert and Philippa and the gang.

I’m sure it just got lost in the mail.

I adored Anne of Green Gables (in spite of the fact that I read it for the first time at 21 years old, on a whim, having no intention of reading it beforehand and, in fact, only having a copy at all because it was very pretty and I’m very book-shallow). Against all odds, I loved Anne of Avonlea just as much.

And even more unlikely-ly, I loved Anne of the Island most of all. (So far.)

The writing is beautiful. The settings are immersive. The storyline(s) are charming. And somehow all the characters are lovely, regardless of whether they’ve been there since the beginning or were just introduced two pages ago. I love all of them.

So you understand my confusion at the fact that I have not yet been invited to Prince Edward Island, let alone accepted to Redmond College, LET ALONE inducted into Anne’s friend group.

But like I said, I’m sure it’s just a matter of time.

(I love this series way too much to consider the alternative.)

Bottom line: GIVE ME THE NEXT ANNE BOOK!!! Please.

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i was late for work because i physically could not put this book down.

review to come / 5 stars

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hello i would like to live inside these books and be best friends with anne and also be of the island thank you that is all

I think this might just be my favourite book in the series so far. In this book, Anne heads off to Redmond and becomes a college student. The book captures the wistful sorrows which come with growing up, but also retains all of the wonder which makes the Anne books so special.

Ah . . . more comfort food in the form of a book.



After an eventful summer, changes are in store for Anne as she prepares to leave Avonlea for Redmond College.

Anne dressed in the cheerless gray dawn, for an early start was necessary to catch the boat train; she struggled against the tears that would well up in her eyes in spite of herself. She was leaving the home that was so dear to her, and something told her that she was leaving it forever, same as a holiday refuge. Things would never be the same again; coming back for vacations would not be living there. And oh, how dear and beloved everything was -- that little white porch room, sacred to the dreams of girlhood, the old Snow Queen at the window, the brook in the hollow, the Dryad's Bubble, the Haunted Wood, and Lover's Lane -- all the thousand and one dear spots where memories of the old years bided. Could she ever be really happy anywhere else?

But, there are new friends to meet and more challenges to conquer. Leaving home may bring heartache, but there is plenty of joy in store for our Anne.

This book covers four eventful years in Anne's life, including the hilarious circumstances surrounding the publication of her first short story, the death of an old schoolmate, and the marriage of another. Anne herself receives some mighty strange marriage proposals. This is my favorite:

"Yeh're a likely-looking girl and hev a right-smart way o' stepping," said Sam. "I don't want no lazy woman. Think it over. I won't change my mind yit awhile. Wall, I must be gitting. Gotter milk the cows."

This makes my husband's proposal of "You're sturdy enough for farm chores" seem almost romantic. (At least he didn't skedaddle off to feel up a bunch of cow's udders.)

THAT LAST PARAGRAPH OMG I WILL GO DOWN WITH THIS SHIP

جلد سومم تموم‌شد. این سه جلد تو این دوران واقعا انرژی خوبی بهم داد. خیلی خوشحالم که دارم میخونمش. از هر صفحش کلی حس خوب میگیرم، به نظرم این مجموعه، یکی از صادق‌ترین و واقعی‌ترین شخصیت‌های کتاب‌ها رو داره. شخصیت‌هایی که خود واقعیشون هستند و خواننده هر لحظه در فضا و‌مکان
داستان غرق میشه. جلد سوم خیلی خوب بود

After this book the series has lost its charm, I don't think I'll read any of the other books. This wasn't exactly a bad book... just kind of tedious. It takes place over 3 years and goes between Anne being at college and at Green Gables.

The best part: Anne and Gilbert finally get together!

The good part: It's fun to see Anne and her friends making a home out of Patty's place, even if her new friend Phil is extremely annoying.

The bad part: Davy is still disturbing to read about. He cries because he missed the "fun" of seeing Mrs. Lynde fall down the cellar stairs and hurt herself. Anne is proposed to 6 times. She turns down pretty much every one of them, it gets a little silly.

The worst part: The author is constantly inserting her views on god and politics into the story.

The horrifying part: Anne and her friends find a stray cat and they decide to kill it by putting it into a box with chloroform. WTF. Even worse, Mr. Harrison decides he doesn't want his dog anymore so he hangs it. After it survives and tries to hide in the barn, he hangs it again. WTF. I know things were different back then but WTF!!! It's horrifying how calm they all are about murdering animals when they get so offended by statements like "God knows."

The spell is broken. You guys know how much I loved the first book in this series but its sequels annoy and bore the shit outta me. I loved Anne as a character in the first book because she has flaws, gets into silly scraps and has so much to learn. In Book 2 and 3, she is just insufferable. She has become such a Mary Sue. Everything comes natural and easy for her, every-fucking-body worships and loves her, every man she interacts with proposes to her, everyone wants to be her friend, she's everyone's favorite, she's the best in college, she's a gifted writer, her looks are captivating ... yada yada yada. I can't take it anymore.

To give you some examples of Montgomery's ridiculous heroisation of Anne: I shit you not that every fucking character loves Anne the best out of all people. "Phil adored Anne and Priscilla, but especially Anne." Ruby tells Anne on her fucking deathbed (she's dying of consumption) that she always liked her the best out of all of her school chums. When Charlotta the Fourth returns from Boston, she tells Anne: "I haven't seen anyone in Boston that's equal to you." Anne is such a special snowflake that even Rusty, the cat, who usually hates all (!) people, LOVES Anne. I cannot deal with tomfoolery like this. I am done.

On top of that, Montgomery's writing feels much more (out-)dated in Book 2 and 3 than it did in the first book. All of a sudden she has become this hyper-Christian and moralising writer. Her work reads more like Christian propaganda, and I found it insufferable. Anne has become so moralising and patronising herself, I could literally picture Montgomery sitting at her desk thinking to herself how well she did with infusing her (Christian) lessons and values into her young readers. Big yikes. Book 2 and 3 read as if Montgomery was writing a pamphlet on how a proper woman (aka wife) should be.

n  “Phil, you're not really frivolous,” said Anne gravely. “Way down underneath that frivolous exterior of yours you've got a dear, loyal, womanly little soul.”n

Does that sound like the fun little girl we all came to love in the first book to you? Anne, what the hell? What has happened to you? Oh yeah, you had to grow up. Ugh.

Apart from Phil (WHO IS TRULY ICONIC) I also didn't enjoy any of the new characters. To give you some examples of Phil's iconic behaviour, here are some of her outlooks on life/being a woman: "I really hated the thought of being married for a few years yet. I want to have heaps of fun before I settle down." (as you should!) and "Being in love makes you a perfect slave, I think. And it would give a man such a power to hurt you." (she sure knows what's up!). The reason why I liked Phil so much is that she felt how Anne felt in the first book. Fun, independent, iconic. Funnily enough, I loved her romance with Jonas Blake ("It is impossible—but I'm horribly afraid it's true. I'm happy and wretched and scared. He can never care for me, I know.") a lot more than the shenanigans of Anne and Gilbert.

One thing I cannot excuse, however, is when the girls try to chloroform Rusty the cat and it's all played for shits and giggles, as if that's not animal torture and a literal crime?? I was so confused.

I hated how Anne let Roy Gardner on. He truly deserved better but he was a useless character bc it was clear from the start that Anne would end up with Gilbert. Didn't care for Miss Lavendar and Davy in Book 2, so no surprise that I didn't warm to them in this one. There's decidedly too little of Diana Barry in this book. And Rachel and Marilla are still my faves (I love that they are flat mates now!) but I also would've loved to see more of them. Their scenes were the best!

The last chapter was sickly sweet but it fuelled me with some energy. Gilbert is decidedly too good for Anne ("I asked you a question over two years ago, Anne. If I ask it again today will you give me a different answer.") but I am happy that they ended up together. Nonetheless, I was quite bored that the two of them were basically serving Laurie & Jo throughout this entire book (with Gilbert's first proposal and Anne's rejection of him etc.). Like, we get it. And it got so much worse when Anne only realised that she loved Gilbert when he was literally dying of an illness. Like, bestie, wake up? Where have you been for the last five years? You cannot tell me that Anne didn't have an inkling before, it is so clear that she was in love with Gilbert from the very start.

However, I hate that Montgomery basically insinuates that it is a woman's place to get married and have children. Diana gives birth to her first child, and Jane Andrews marries a Winnipeg millionaire. I feel like it would've been the bolder choice to have at least Gilbert move on to marry Christine and have Anne ending up on her own (... not permanently, but at least for the time being of Book 3 and 4). All in all, I feel like the gang grew up way too fucking fast. I'll forever cherish Book 1 and their childhood merriments, but basically straight up beginning with Book 2 it was "you're an adult woman now, so get it together and find a husband now". I'm not saying that that wasn't the reality for most women of Montgomery's time but Book 1 felt so progressive and daring, whereas the rest of the series is so mainstream/run-of-the-mill and tame. I'm afraid Anne has lost her charm.

Why I chose to listen to this audiobook:
1. I've decided to reread this classic Canadian series since I first read it almost 50 years ago and have forgotten large portions of it except for the fact that I enjoyed it;
2. it was a free loan on Libby; and,
3. August 2023 is my "Historical Fiction" Month.

Praises:
1. I loved seeing how Anne Shirley matures into a young lady. When she leaves Avonlea in PEI to attend Redmond College for 4 years in Nova Scotia, she makes new friends while still associating with her old ones, explores her writing skills more deeply, and even receives several marriage proposals (some humorous, some heartbreaking);
2. Anne continues to find joy no matter where she lives. I can relate to her delightful pleasures of nature during the spring, summer, and autumn months (also, like me, she doesn't seem so enamored with winter as much);
3. I'm always amazed at the patience Anne and her friends show towards vain peers and ornery busybodies;
4. I was most amused when Mr. Harrison and Anne discuss her first abysmal failure at story writing for a magazine. Also, I continued to chuckle at Davy's characterization. His comments had me laughing! I found that his antics to be generally harmless compared to boys his age nowadays;
5. I felt deeply moved by the heart-wrenching scenes between Anne and her dying friend, Ruby Gillis, as well as some of Anne's conversations with Gilbert; and,
6. narrator, Laurie Klein, has the perfect intonation for all the characters!

Niggle:
A couple of chapters deal with animal abuse meant to be amusing, but I couldn't get there.

Overall Thoughts:
Once again, author L. M. Montgomery has depicted her heroine as all too human; although sweet and charming, she is also flawed. Anne is a strong young woman ahead of her time and would make a fine role model for young readers today.