yo Anne has no chill, she is practically a talking machine, I am not complaining tho

"Excitement hung around Anne like a garment, shone in her eyes, kindled in every feature."

Oh, what sheer pleasure it was to spend just a moment in time with Anne and her delightful companions in this little classic. What pure joy to catch a glimpse of the beauty of Prince Edward Island. I am likely one of the last persons on earth… well, on Goodreads at least… to read this novel. What in the world was I waiting for?! As a child and adolescent, I wrongly assumed that this book would be of no interest to me. I wasn’t a ‘girly girl’ and surely this was written for ‘that sort’ of reader, right? Wrong! By the time I was old enough to know better, I thought I had grown too mature in years to pick this one up. Wrong again. The ‘sort’ of reader that this does appeal to however: one who appreciates exquisite writing and vibrant characters, one who relishes being steeped in another time and place, and one who enjoys an all-out fantastic story. In short, this book should satisfy nearly everyone!

You can’t help but fall in love with Anne. She is the friend you have always longed for, the daughter that will bring that much-needed light in your life, that student that any teacher would be proud to instruct. She is funny, imaginative, bright, and a regular chatterbox. She laments about her red hair, apologizes for being a ‘great trial’ to Marilla, and always manages to see the positive in most everything. However, she does maintain a long-standing rivalry with her peer, Gilbert Blythe. "She was as intense in her hatreds as in her loves." Nothing is ever lukewarm when it comes to Anne’s feelings.

There were moments I wanted to laugh with her and moments when I wanted to cry. When she first arrived at Green Gables, Anne learned that it had all been a mistake. For, Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert meant to adopt a young boy to help with the chores. A little girl was not needed. It nearly crushed me when Anne fell in love with Green Gables only to find that she must surely be turned away and carted straight back to the orphanage. "Have you ever noticed what cheerful things brooks are? They’re always laughing… I shall always like to remember that there is a brook at Green Gables even if I never see it again." What transpires after this will melt even the most hardened hearts.

Some might say this book is too wholesome, too charming, and perhaps too unrealistic. I have to say that I don’t believe those are good enough reasons to skip reading this enchanting novel! It didn’t take place just yesterday so I didn’t expect the trials and tribulations of today’s day and age. The events do occur on an idyllic island, so I felt the beautiful scenery I was immersed in was wholly believable. Anne is not a perfect little girl and each character has their share of flaws. Not every story has to be full of doom and gloom to get all the stars! Sometimes one just needs to sit back, relax, and just surrender to the small pleasures in life. We could all use a lesson from Anne’s book of optimism here and there!

"Dear old world, you are lovely, and I am glad to be alive in you."

The beloved classic 1908 novel about an orphan girl who mistakenly comes to the Prince Edward Island home of aging brother and sister Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, who just wanted an orphan boy to help Matthew with chores. After an initial kerfuffle about sending Anne back to the orphanage and getting the boy they had intended, hearts are softened, and Anne proceeds to upend their lives ... in what turns out to be very good ways for everyone involved.

Anne is eleven years old when she first comes to Green Gables, and the novel follows her adventures over the next five years. It’s kind of an episodic novel, with memorable characters. Anne is a chatterbox with a tremendously vivid imagination, passionate and sincere. Marilla and Matthew are drawn so well that I feel like I really know them (though it's disconcerting to realize that Matthew in the book has a long beard. My mind's eye refuses to see him that way, LOL. The miniseries has co-opted my imagination). And then there's Anne’s classmate Gilbert, who lives to regret some initial teasing about Anne's hair.



This novel has a healthy sense of humor that sets it apart from most literature of this period and keeps it from being too sticky sweet. It’s really so charming, with great insights into human nature, and lovely descriptions of P.E.I. It's a feel-good story and a total comfort read!



Anne of Green Gables spawned a slew of sequels and five other related novels, not to mention any number of film and TV adaptations. Not all of the sequels are great reads like this one - they start getting progressively more sappy - but I do recommend the first four books in this series if you liked this one.

I don't often give books five stars and as I neared the end of this book, I gave some thought to how many stars this book deserved. I've read the Anne of Green Gables series once before - over twenty years ago. In spite of the amount of time that has elapsed, I clearly recall reading the last book in the series very slowly and thinking to myself, "I will be so sad to not be able to read about Anne anymore." When I picked up this book a few days ago to re-read it, I found within a few chapters that it was like seeing an old friend. Anne was even more delightful than I recalled, since I now have daughters who share her "scope for imagination," her penchant for large words and her zest for life. Reading about Anne's appreciation for life's loveliness made me appreciate my daughters and long to live more in-the-moment myself. So, I decided that a book that feels like an old friend after twenty years deserves five stars.

Anne Shirley must be one of the most delightful characters ever written, largely because she is far from perfect. She makes mistakes, as we all do, but her mistakes are much funnier than my own feel and she makes me see the value in learning from each of them, laughing at them and moving on. Like my middle daughter, there is no lukewarm with Anne. I love that she approaches life enthusiastically, despite have spent a decade belonging to no one.

I also like that Anne talks straightforwardly about wanting, seeking and building friendships. Even now, I am hesitant, awkward and scattershot at building relationships. I may meet someone who seems a kindred spirit, but lack the time or, let's be honest, sheer boldness to approach them and seek to build a friendship. We see Anne seek and build relationships not only upon her arrival in Avonlea, but during her time at Queens.

One reasons I re-read this book was because two friends recommended it for it's fluency in writing dialogue. Unlike Little Women, which I attempted to read for the writing, this book did not disappoint. The dialogue sounds exactly like each character would sound and it flows smoothly from narration to dialogue and back. In fact, I'm baffled that Little Women routinely makes top 100 lists while Anne of Green Gables is nowhere to be found on the lists of must-read classics. Unlike the Little Women characters who are archetypes rather than three dimensional characters, Anne is a bold a female character who refuses to be categorized. That's exactly why I love her and love this book.

4.5 stars

Anne, my lovely, I feel restored.

n"Marilla!" Anne sat down on Marilla's gingham lap, took Marilla's lined face between her hands, and looked gravely and tenderly into Marilla's eyes. "I'm not a bit changed—not really. I'm only just pruned down and branched out. The real me—back here—is just the same. It won't make a bit of difference where I go or how much I change outwardly; at heart I shall always be your little Anne, who will love you and Matthew and dear Green Gables more and better every day of her life."n

Full RTC.

Pre-review:

You know what? I've been wanting to reread these books for probably a decade, and I'm still (inexplicably) battling my ever present book funk, so I'm just gonna do it.

Gilbert Blythe, you were my first and best book boyfriend. See you soon ;)

*فقط زمانی میتوانم خوب نوشتن را یاد بگیرم که عادت کنم سخت‌گیرترین منتقد خودم باشم.

*ما ثروتمندیم. ثروت ما این است که شانزده سال داریم، مثل ملکه‌ها خوشحالیم و امیدوار. همگی کم یا زیاد از قدرت تخیلمان استفاده میکنیم.

*هدف داشتن چقدر شادی‌بخش است. خوشحالم که هدف‌های زیادی در سر دارم که به نظر پایان‌ناپذیر می‌آیند. به محض اینکه به یکی از هدف‌هایت می‌رسی، هدف والاتر و درخشان‌تری سر راهت سبز می‌شود و همین زندگی را لذت‌بخش و هیجان‌انگیز می‌کند.

*کم کم دارم می‌فهمم که لذت تلاش کردن یعنی چی. بعد از تلاش کردن و پیروز شدن، بهترین چیز تلاش کردن و شکست خوردن است.

"ای دنیای قدیمی و دوست‌داشتنی! تو خیلی زیبایی، خوشحالم که در تو قدم گذاشته‌ام"

اتمام (جلد اول)
۲۳ آبان ۱۴۰۰
ساعت ۲۱:۴۵

“It's been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will.”

I finally finished this book. It's easy to get into but not one to fly through, plus I've been in a reading slump this month.

Anne is a funny child - she's positive and hopeful and...talkative. It's impossible not to like her. As an adult reading this I understand Marilla because the child definitely was willful and up to getting into accidental mischief, although the beginning where they didn't want her because she was a 'useful boy' was just a shame of the times. I'm glad she was around to bring so much joy around to Avonlea, Marilla, Matthew and neighbors. When she amused them with her stories, she amused me at the same time.

Each chapter is divided into an incident or event, which worked well for this type of the story. Montgomery's writing style is a delight, especially considering how old the book is. I can see why this classic has lasted through the ages. Through the afterword I found out how much it meant in particular countries for their hope after the war. Inspiring stuff.

I can see why readers fall in love with Gilbert - I did myself (Carrots! Carrots!)

This book works so well because it takes an unconventional girl filled with hope and wonder in the world, a girl who loves Octobers, nature, beauty, kindred spirits and friends. One loyal and ambitious and full of daydreams. I think this calls to something in all of us, a type of hopeful wonder that the world is always beautiful despite whatever wrenches are thrown in the way. This isn't the say Anne doesn't have a funny, frightful temper or that she doesn't hit with woes when warranted - actually she feels the intensity of lows as much as highs, making her a dramatic sort. This only makes her more endearing.

I think the best part was the feelings she invoked in the practical and still Marilla and the shy and simple Matthew. A beautiful bonding of family tale.

I haven't seen any movie or show adaptations of this one yet, but I somehow think the real beauty of the book can only come to life as its fullest in the written form.

ما ألطفها من رحلة في عالم أحلام آن المثالي ودنيا خيالها الجوّال، حيث فيضانات من الشاعرية والجمال والدموع بالطبع.


أعطتني الرواية شعورا كأنني طفل، تسرد له جدته حكاية من عصور ما قبل القُبح، وبعد النهاية ها أنا أتساءل متى يمكن أن يقابل المرء كل تلك المشاعر الدافئة مرة أخرى وأين؟

Every little girl should read it. I'm currently making my husband read it as well.

n  n    “well now, I'd rather have you than a dozen boys, anne. i guess it wasn't a boy that took the avery scholarship, was it? it was a girl — my girl — my girl that i'm proud of.”n  n

i have a very long history with this book. i read it for the first time when i was seven (one of those tiny abridged kid classic versions) and loved it. it was the first 'big book' i attempted a year later.

every time i feel sad or feel like my life is falling to pieces, i pick up this book and for a few moments, everything feels good again.

there's something so incredible and powerful about that. it's such a timeless book and i know (even if I've read is six times which is just genuinely concerning at this point) that i will inevitably read it in a few years time.

i love this book to absolute pieces. would die for it. a million stars and more for my girl anne <3

⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻

n  pre-rereadn
the amount of times i've read this book is genuinely unhealthy and concerning.

I do so love this book. Was there ever a lovelier man than Matthew Cuthbert? I get teary just writing that.