3,75/5

Jakże ciężko mi się czytało tę książkę! Nie poznałam Pat w dzieciństwie, a dorosłe podejście nie pozwoliło mi na bezkrytyczne czytanie tej powieści. Zmęczyłam się więc niekończącymi monologami Judysi oraz romantyczną wizją życia.
Pat poznajemy jako kilkulatkę i towarzyszymy jej aż do osiągnięcia dorosłości. To rezolutna dziewczynka, która wychowuje się wśród licznego rodzeństwa, a jej najważniejszą powiernicą jest Judysia - pomoc domowa. Judy pochodzi z Irlandii i jej liczne monologi utrzymane są w dialekcie i pełne są galickich wierzeń. To właśnie Judysia ma największy wpływ na wychowanie i kształtowanie światopoglądu Pat. Matka jest wieczną nieobecną. I chociaż w rodzinie wszyscy ją kochają i poważają, co uwydatnione jest pod koniec książki, to trudno w to uwierzyć, skoro przewija się tylko w tle. Nie w powieści praktycznie żadnych interakcji między Pat a mamą, dziewczynka z wszystkimi problemami zwraca się do Judy.

Ciąg dalszy: http://przeczytalamksiazke.blogspot.c...

Definitely not my favorite book by LM Montgomery. I enjoy descriptive prose as much as the next person, but this story had WAY too much. The first serveral chapters are little more than descriptions of the house, the trees, the fields, the people, etc. I get it, Silver Bush is pretty! The story starts picking up around chapter 9. I really enjoy a couple of the characters, but I found Pat herself to be somewhat annoying. In particular the fact that she is obsessed with her house to the point of neurosis. She seems to grow very little over the course of the book. However, others around her do which simply makes her immaturity that much more apparent. There were several characters and scenes which seemed to exist for no other reason than to cause conflict. One character in particular I felt had no redeemable qualities and existed solely to torment poor Pat. I also found Judy Plum's character a difficult one to read. I quite liked her personality, but her dialog is written entirely with an Irish accent. This made it difficult to always understand what she was saying. All of this having been said, there were several parts I enjoyed and a few really great lines. One I particularly enjoyed is: "No matter what dreadful things happened at least there were still cats in the world." All in all, I did enjoy Pat of Silver Bush, but found it lacking much of the charm of the Anne series.

This was my first time reading Pat of Silver Bush (somehow I missed it as a child?) and I really enjoyed it. We get to see Pat grow from a girl of 7 to a young woman of 18. There are many similar elements to the Anne books and a few Montgomery tropes, but Pat feels fresh. I loved her close-knit nature--not many friends, but several good ones. I'm looking forward to Mistress Pat.

When I was entering my teens I fell in love with L. M. Montgomery's heroines. I started with Emily of New Moon and then moved on to Anne of Green Gables. While those two series still hold special places in my heart, I must say that I am baffled by Pat of Silver Bush.

Most of Montgomery's stories are about young women, usually pre-teen through late twenties, tacking adverse situations with grace and brains. Pat, though, comes from a fairly well to do family. She has a comfortable life and wants to keep it that way, no matter what. She has no desire to change or grow or even to leave her family home. In fact, in the end, she chooses Silver Bush over her long time boyfriend.

There is a long narrative tradition of stories ending almost where they started with the protagonist having grown or learned from the events of the story. Pat's resolute desire to avoid change would baffle even Tzvetan Todorov. Pat grows older over the course of the book but she doesn't grow as a character. She is the most boring and depressing heroine in a Montgomery book I've read.

Pat as a character is apparently redeemed in the last chapter of a follow up novel, Mistress Pat (1935). I however have no desire to spend any more time with Pat and her beloved home.

When I first discovered Montgomery's books at the tender age of 11ish, Mom set me loose with basically the entire collection, but told me that, if she was me, she wouldn't bother reading the Emily books or the Pat books because they're depressing. Now that I'm 39, I thought to myself, "I'm a grown woman! I can read these books and make my own assessment!" And you know what? Mom was right. I barely made it through the Emily books alive, with their absolutely unrelenting negativity and creepy groomer "friend," and Pat is probably my least favorite Montgomery to date. I already know all the spoilers for Mistress Pat and will NOT be reading that one, but I thought that I could at least try this one... but... no dice.

First off, this book is somewhat boring compared to other Montgomery stories. It should have been titled "Judy of Silver Bush" because huge chunks of the book are just Judy telling telling random stories about random people we don't know and never will know, all in a somewhat annoying Irish brogue (delightful to hear in real life, annoying to read). Judy heads up the "let's enable Pat in her unhealthy aversion to change" club, constantly sheltering her and scolding the family if they don't treat Pat with the reverence she "deserves." Don't get me wrong - I liked Judy just fine, I just felt like a lot of this book focused just as much on her as the titular character.

Generally, Montgomery does a good job sketching characters and making me feel as though I know them, but that was completely lacking here. Even Pat herself can basically be summed up with "hates change and is obsessed with Silver Bush" and that's pretty much her entire character. It took me several chapters to even know which names belonged to actual siblings because Montgomery (weirdly) doesn't particularly introduce them. We're told repeatedly that Pat and Sid are best friends (Sid is a brother), but absolutely never see that actually happening on the page - in fact, we mostly see the opposite, times when he lets Pat down or doesn't understand her or keeps going out with the one girl Pat can't stand at school. I absolutely never bought Pat and Sid being BFFs and was persistently puzzled as to why Pat would for one second depend on Sid for her future happiness, i.e. being so convinced that he really wasn't ever going to get married and that they could just live at Silver Bush together forever. (Spoiler for Mistress Pat:  Did Montgomery already know what she was going to write in Mistress Pat? It felt like a lot of the arbitrary things that happened in this book were just to set up all the absolutely horrific things she planned to do to these characters in the sequel. I definitely feel like she killed off Bets just so Sid could marry the dreadful Binnie girl in the second book. Knowing that that was what was going to happen definitely made me enjoy this book a lot less. )

Nothing happens in this book. Many of Montgomery's books are somewhat episodic, but perhaps because she was covering so many years (10+) this one just felt rather scattered, with no consistent storyline to further what was happening. It's just "here's a random thing that happened. Here's Judy telling some irrelevant stories. Oh, that Judy, so funny! Hey, here are some descriptive paragraphs about nature!" This book just wasn't actually GOING anywhere.

I think what really got me about this book is that Pat has ZERO character growth. Other Montgomery heroines actually change - Anne, Emily, Jane, Valancy, even Marigold - but Pat is completely stagnant as a person and as a character. At the beginning of the book, she has completely meltdowns any time there is even a POSSIBILITY of something changing (her pouting around and refusing to eat because her sister MIGHT stay with family in a nearby town to go to a better school? I almost stopped reading after that because she annoyed me so much. What an absolute brat), and at the end of the book - she still does! She consistently doesn't care about what is best for the people she supposedly loves, because what is best for people is for them to change and grow and go on to live their own lives and Pat doesn't want that to happen. She's so petty about everything - people going to school, people pursuing other careers, people getting married, freaking people deciding to shave off their own moustache - because it messes up HER little perfect life that she can't BEAR to see changed. And instead of her family gently helping her learn that CHANGE IS PART OF LIFE, they all just handle her with kid gloves and go out of their way to avoid upsetting her. (And hey, here's a tip, maybe part of the reason Pat doesn't like leaving home is because you all freaking wait until she's gone and then go on with some major change you know she's going to hate and haven't bothered to remotely prepare her for, like cut down trees! And then act all surprised when she doesn't want to leave anymore! Maybe absolutely blindsiding someone with huge changes isn't actually the best way to help them learn to deal with change in a health manner!)

At the beginning of the book, Pat is literally obsessed with Silver Bush and it being the perfect place and her never leaving there and always living there, and basically she worships Silver Bush. In the end - it's the same. She doesn't actually try anything new, beyond one year of school in a nearby town, and instead just comes back home to Silver Bush. Don't get me wrong - I'm a homemaker, I love it, I love my home and I love my family and I love caring for them. I think being a homemaker is a noble and beautiful thing, and just as important, valid, and useful as a "career." HOWEVER Pat's situation is simply NOT HEALTHY. She only wants to care for Silver Bush because it means she can keep everything the same as it has always been.

I found Pat annoying as a small child at the beginning of the story, and found myself genuinely worried about her when she was a young woman at the end. She had learned nothing, had not grown or developed, and her obsession with keeping things the same had, I think, reached the point of mental illness by the end of the book. By the time you're 19 you should be old enough to realize that change is part of life, and while it can be sad or upsetting, you can't stop it, and pouting and crying and making everyone around you feel bad doesn't actually solve the problem or prevent the change.

2* because there were some brief moments of storytelling that were engaging, but in the end - Mom, you were right. The Pat books really aren't worth my time.

Spoilers for Mistress Pat/why I'm not reading it in full:  Mom summarized Mistress Pat for me in a desperate attempt to keep me from reading it. Is knowing what happened better than reading it for myself? Maybe? Haha But yeah, I'm not interested in reading a story where the brother Pat thought of as her best friend, the one who has always promised that nothing could separate them and that they would always be close - marries someone that Pat can't stand, someone who despises their whole family, who hates all their traditions, who sneers at everything, who hates Silver Bush, who thinks everything is stupid, and who goes out of her way to make everyone miserable. Like... no thank you?? WHY would Montgomery EVER write such a thing? How could she purposefully make May the most unlikable person in this entire book, and then decide that Sid should MARRY her and bring her to Silver Bush in the next book?? SO HORRIFIC. Of course, it doesn't matter because then Montgomery BURNS DOWN SILVER BUSH. So instead of Pat actually learning to deal with change in a health manner, her entire life is destroyed and she just goes and marries Jingle because now that, you know, she's homeless, she suddenly magically realizes that he was THE ONE all along. Ugh. Gross. No.

Another Montgomery book down! I apologize in advance for this lengthy review...

General Thoughts:
To start, here's a little bio I put together of Pat, based on my musings of her type of character: As mentioned in the book, she has “French-English-Scotch-Irish-Quaker blood” (what a combo!). Most importantly, probably the first thing you should know, I believe, is that Pat loves things. Specifically she loves Silver Bush and anything connected to it. She loves many things found in nature. She loves people (dearly). And cats. And Pat is self-proclaimed “hopelessly Victorian” (take from that what you will).

For a while, when I would read L.M. Mongtomery's books, it seemed like each heroine I read about turned out to be my new favorite from all her books (first it was Anne that I fell in love with, then Emily, then Valancy, and most recently Jane – who at this moment still takes the cake). I cherished reading Pat's story, but this heroine didn't reel me in as some of the others have so easily done.

Regardless, I wouldn't have minded the satisfaction of knowing that there's a book out there called “Pat's House of Dreams” … just like the title of an Anne book I'm fond of. You'll know, once you read “Pat of Silver Bush” why I would desire to read a book of that title, but alas, it's not a real book. However, I can imagine just as good as the best of them – Pat and Anne, for example.

When I first started my reading of “Pat of Silver Bush”, I thought I'd have a running commentary on each chapter. This is now what I wish I'd have done for “Jane of Lantern Hill”, which I read a year ago (as I loved each and every chapter so intensely). Might as well not accidentally make the same mistake. I'll try to keep out the spoilers, in case you haven't read the book yet.

So here's my chapter-by-chapter notes... I hope you find them just a little bit witty...


Chapter 1: Introduces Pat
I'm not sure that I learned too much about Pat after chapter 1, as it seems I gleaned much more on Judy Plum. Maybe this is because Pat loves Judy so much. Judy appears to be the housekeeper at Silver Bush, I believe. Pat isn't an orphan, or anything like an orphan; so this is different. I think the last few pages of the chapter allowed me to see a bit more of Pat when she talked so vividly about the house cat, Gentleman Tom (who Judy says was n  “a bit particular who he spoke to”n). But Pat and I are certainly not on bosom friend level yet.

Chapter 2: Introduces Silver Bush
I'm seeing more of Anne Shirley in Pat now, particularly in the way she names all the places around Silver Bush. And she's only 7 at the moment? As usual, Montgomery has infused quite the imagination into this little girl's brain. Even more now, I'm seeing that little Pat has a terrible penchant for cats (it's ever-increasing).

And at last, one of my favorite details so far... n  “But there was one house in which there was never any light...an old white house among thick firs on the top of a hill to the southwest, two farms away from Silver Bush. It was a long, rather low house...Pat called it the Long Lonely House. It hadn't been lived in for years. Pat always felt so sorry for it, especially in the 'dim' when the lights sprang up in all the other houses over the countryside.”n (Hello, this familiarity in Emily Byrd Starr. Hello, my Disappointed House.)

Chapter 3: Concerning Parsley Beds
Pat, Patsy, Patrica. This girl's family tree has me out of sorts. It appears she has a full family, complete with a father and a mother, siblings, – and yet another sibling on the way. So, she's not orphaned, half-orphaned, or been sent away to live with strange relatives. Where are you, Montgomery that I know?

Chapter 4: Sunday's Child
Still a little befuddled in finding that one extra spark from Montgomery. It feels like it's 80% her. I want 100%, stat.

Chapter 5: “What's in a Name?”
I just need a touch of tragedy...

Chapter 6: What Price Weddings?
Ah. I may have stumbled onto something. One sentence in particular contains dramatic and prophetic foreshadowing, perhaps? It remains to be seen. And an a different note, since I haven't mentioned it yet... I truly do love Judy Plum and her amazing stories. And her Irish lilt.

….

Chapter 10: A Maiden All Forlorn
At last! An orphan appears. Hopefully this is headed somewhere interesting.

Chapter 11: Dinner Is Served
Indeed, Jingle is a fine lad and an adequate new friend. Ahem. How I adore this line... n  “She and Jingle had one of those chummy laughs that ripen friendship.”n

Chapter 12: Black Magic
McGinty is missing! That lovely little dog has up and gone off somewhere... I can't hardly stand the thought of it. And I'm not sure that even if I were to read the chapter a hundred times, I'd ever understand that twisted ending to the dilemma. (Caution to parents: This chapter takes place during Halloween, and Pat ends up visiting a local “witch”.)

Chapter 13: Company Manners
It's Christmas time now, and, oh, what a delightful what it is. Especially Jingle. How is it that I think that this is secretly a book about an orphan boy instead of his friend Pat? His story is what pulls at my heartstrings.

n  “[Norma:] 'We've got shutters on our house, too...ever so much greener than yours. You should just see our house. You haven't a veranda...or even a garage.'
'No. But we've got a graveyard,' said Pat triumphantly.
Norma was a bit floored. She couldn't deny the graveyard.”n

Chapter 14: The Shadow of Fear
Pat reminds me of a miniature Anne Shirley, still. I love how she had to n  “run out in the twilight to tell the good news to the silver bush and the leafless maples.”n And another favorite line: n  “Even in winter Silver Bush was lovely because of what it sheltered and hoped for.”n This reminds me of my home.

Chapter 15: Elizabeth Happens
I love it when new friends enter the picture. Don't you?

Chapter 16: The Rescue of Pepper
No! Judy, don't tell me such things about Bets. I'll not hear of it.

n  “Sometimes we call each other Gertrude and Margaret. We are so sorry for our middle names because they are never used. We think they feel bad about it.”n

Chapter 17: Judy Puts Her Foot Down
(Caution to parents: Pat misbehaves horridly. It involves bathing – in moonlight, not water.)
n  “'Pat!' said Aunt Edith, with forty exclamation points in her voice.”n

….

Chapter 20: Shores of Romance
Oh! What an adventure Pat gets into now!

Chapter 21: What Would Judy Think of It?
n  “Uncle Robert calls her his Maiden Aunt behind her back and you can just see the capitals.”n

Chapter 22: Three Daughters of One Race
Pat seems to be growing up well, putting away some of her childish ideals. Why, she's now turning 13? My, my. And she didn't even slap her relatives this time when they visited.

Chapter 23: Mock Sunshine
I love this line... n  “The Gordons had had a telephone put in at last and Jingle and Pat generally kept the wire from rusting.”n Plus some bewitchingly beautiful news arrives... and yet... I have my doubts.

Chapter 24: Ashes to Ashes
Goodness, this is heart-breaking! My poor Jingle. For just as for Pat, he will always be Jingle to me – and by no other name can I call him.

Chapter 25: His Way Is on the Sea
So. It has been foreordained, a teacher is what Pat must grow into, whether she wanted a career or not.

Chapter 26: Gentleman Tom Sits on the Stairs
After experiencing some earthly trials, Judy gets to make the finalizing proclamation: n  “She isn't the child inny more. She'll never be the same again.”n After all her trials though, Pat receives a bounteous reward, I daresay, in the end.

Chapter 27: Glamor of Youth
I love the idea of a “glory box” where you store all your sentimental treasures and souvenirs.

Chapter 28: Even as You and I
Concerning a potential suitor: n  “It was thrilling to discover that he liked cats and was not in the least annoyed when Bold-and-Bad rubbed against his best trousers and haired them.”n (… AND HAIRED THEM!) One of the most unique lines in the book. And another favorite from this chapter, showing off some of Pat's fieriness?

n  “'I'm not quite senile yet,' said Pat.
Harris laughed.
'So it can scratch.'”n

Chapter 29: April Magic
Oh, the sadness of it all! I would say it's the saddest chapter yet. However, the next chapter title warns of more tragedy, and I hardly don't know what to expect...

Chapter 30: One Shall Be Taken
This chapter certainly swiped away every bit of happiness, and it all came so out of the blue. And yet Montgomery still had to add a sense of humor to the occasion of mourning: n  “'That awful girl,' Mrs. Binnie always said when she told of it. 'She talked like a perfect heathen.'”n … But on a serious note, anyone suffering from grief might be affected by this part of the story.

….

Chapter 32: Exile
A funny little description of Pat, now at college: n  “A bit proud.... A bit reserved.... A bit odd....”n I like that bit of wording. Maybe it feels like me.

This was a great look into Pat's life at school, her interactions with Jingle, who may be her only friend there. But I love hearing about their trips home together on the weekend, and about how McGinty always makes sure to travel over to Silver Bush – always at the right time to see his master home.

Chapter 33: Fancy's Fool
These young gentlemen just don't know that they shouldn't speak of Silver Bush in that way. Of course, maybe they know now.

Chapter 34: “Let's Pretend”
Ah. We're back to the good old days, of Pat and Jingle wiling their precious time away together in the most charming of ways. What quirky remarks they share with each other, and yet they understand each other perfectly.

Chapter 35: Shadow and Sunshine
A very touching chapter, although I'd rather not talk of it and give away any of the plot here.

….

Chapter 39: The Chatelaine of Silver Bush
Ooh. He'll have her yet. What intriguing words, leaving me anxious to see what happens in the sequel.

And so... n  “Childhood was gone. The 'first fine rapture' of youth was gone.”n

دنیای جادویی مونتگومری زیباست و قهرمانانش دوست داشتنی اند…فضاها و خانه‌هایی که توصیف میکنه سرشار از عشق و زندگی هستن. کمتر کسی می تونه خونه ایی مثله مونتگومری عزیز با کلماتی فوق العاده بسازه. بیشه نقره ایی برای پت فقط خونه اش نیست بلکه تمام دنیاش هست. ترجمه نسبتا خوب بود و در ابتدای کتاب هم مترجم گفته که نویسنده به خاطر لهجه ایرلندی که برای شخصیت جودی به کار گرفته است تلاش کرده که این تفاوت رو تا جایی که می تونه نشون بده. فقط ساکنان خانه بِی شور خاله های پت هستند ولی مترجم اون ها رو عمه ترجمه کرده.

I couldn’t help but fall in love with Silver Bush and the people that live and love in it. Montgomery’s descriptions make you feel like you’re actually there.

4 stars only because Judy’s stories of fairies and “ghosts” were a bit too much and I wouldn’t have tolerated so much nonsense being put into my children’s heads were I to live in Silver Bush.

I last read this book (along with its sequel) in high school and had thought Pat to be one of Montgomery’s better characters. I stand by that. Silver Bush has such magic. Pat savors life’s joys and rallies from life’s blows. Montgomery creates an alluring world in which Silver Bush is as much of a character as Pat herself. Delightful.

Pat does not like change. That’s what this book is all about - a girl who fiercely loves her family and her home exactly the way it is. And any speck of change results in an end of the world crisis. For myself, never having had a home for more than a few years in a row, made this a little hard to relate to. And Pat’s emotional displays got a little over the top and annoying. But the supporting characters offer a lot the the story. Judy has to be my ultimate favourite old maid servant L.M. has ever created. And Jingle is also a favourite, shame on Pat for seeing him as just a friend. Bets is a little too good, but I guess Pat needed at least one female friend.

It’s nice that for this story, Pat isn’t an orphan, isn’t particularly bright, and doesn’t want to be a writer. It offers a welcome change from Anne and Emily.

Hvis man, som jeg, holder af Anne fra Grønnebakken, så slukker Pat of Silver Bush den samme tørst. Meget charmerende og kær og den dejligste form for eskapisme i en svær tid.