book data
445 ratings, 3.91 average rating, 30 reviews
(more data...)
edit
published
September 1st 1989
(first published 1931)
by Seal
binding
Mass Market Paperback, 288 pages
isbn
0770422454
(isbn13: 9780770422455)
description
Over the years sixty members of the Dark family and sixty Penhallows have married one another--but not without their share of fighting and feuding. No...more
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of this book.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »
friend reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 579)
Read in January, 1994
I've probably read this book more times than any other. I'm talking 12 or 15 times between the ages of 13 and 15. It's the story of a "clan" in Canada (of course), made up of the Darks and the Penhallows. It used to be that the Darks and Pehnhallows would only marry each other, but now it's a little more like no one else will marry a Dark but a Penhallow and vice versa. The story centers around a hallowed family heirloom, a cracked and ugly ceramic jug, and the decision of the clan mat...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in November, 2008
This is probably my all-time favorite book by LM Montgomery. The characters are admittedly a little predictable, but I am always impressed with her ability to describe them so vividly in just a few words. They are distinct. You can usually read her description and think of someone you know that is just like that!
If you're going to read the book for the first time, I would recommend keeping a quick list of who is who right from the beginning. The whole point is that the jug affects numero...more
If you're going to read the book for the first time, I would recommend keeping a quick list of who is who right from the beginning. The whole point is that the jug affects numero...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
A dated but wonderful book -- a friend and I attempted to adapt it as for the musical stage in college. The comedy and tragedy within a huge extended family comes to a head when the matriarchal figure, Aunt Becky, decides that she's lived long enough and plans to leave one of them a valuable heirloom (but who will it be?). As they all wrangle for her notice, their individual stories play out. There is love, betrayal, absurdity, offense, scandal, style, sweetness, craziness... everything you can ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
This is probably the most grown up and unique of all of the LM Montgommery books. It's also one of my very favorite LMM books (in the top 10 for sure). The plot is intricate with very detailed characters and some pretty mature themes. I even hesitate a tad to include it in my YA category, but like all LMM books it is still completely wholesome.
The general plot involves a large family clan all hoping to get their hands on a much coveted family heirloom after the death of the matriarch. Th...more
The general plot involves a large family clan all hoping to get their hands on a much coveted family heirloom after the death of the matriarch. Th...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in April, 2008
Wow, I'd forgotten how the last paragraph of this book is so completely offensive to the modern reader. Still, I like everything before that point.
Once upon a time, this was my favorite Montgomery book; it's been years since I read it though. I liked it much less (a whole star less than I would have given it back in the day!) than I did back then. Maybe I've grown out of it a little or maybe I wasn't properly using my this-is-the-past-and-I-can't-expect-it-to-entirely-conform-to-my...more
Once upon a time, this was my favorite Montgomery book; it's been years since I read it though. I liked it much less (a whole star less than I would have given it back in the day!) than I did back then. Maybe I've grown out of it a little or maybe I wasn't properly using my this-is-the-past-and-I-can't-expect-it-to-entirely-conform-to-my...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1990
A strange little book. Enjoyable in that it was a rather nice piece of gossip. Very Montgomery with the ideal of the "Clan" family. United against anyone from the "outside" yet snapping and biting each other all the time in private. A book set in its time, place & people. A polite wasp story. Ending is typical for its time but still unnecessarily offensive. I'm not sure what Montgomery was trying to achieve, except she was trying to demonstrate how uncouth the Sams...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in February, 2008
I'm sad to say that I was very disappointed in this book. I could tell that it was meant to be a romantic comedy, but it really lacked. There were literally more than 50 characters in this book, and you had to follow more than 10 of the characters through their struggles of love and fighting over a plain jug. You never really get attached to any of the characters because there were too many to keep track of. If you plan on reading it anyways, keep track of everybody's name. Believe me, it w...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in September, 2008
If you've ever read any of Montgomery's short stories, it'll help you to understand what I mean when I say this book is like a bunch of them interwoven together, and hence is better than if they were all separate. The book follows a large family clan through about a year with engagements, weddings, falling in love at first sight, *thinking* you fell in love at first sight, etc. Although it was hard for me to keep so many people straight, I really loved it. Montgomery did a clever job making t...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1996
recommends it for:
fans of LM Montgomery and/or of character intense, intertwined stories
This book is a little unexpected coming from LM Montgomery, the author of sweet books like the Anne series. This book tells the twisted story of 2 interrelated families, the Darks and the Penhallows, and their strange, strange interractions. It's a bit odd, a bit twisted--shades of Gosford Park without a murder, maybe. It kept me interested through to the end, despite, or maybe especially because it didn't seem like typical LM Mongtomery. give it a read sometime--I think you'll enjoy it.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1991
One of my favorites of LM Montgomery's books. It's a little purposefully murky, and there are numerous errors--I'm sure it was hard to keep track of all those people with the same name--but the human emotions are right on, particularly of Gay and Donna. It's also a really great way to get some insight into dating/courtship/marriage mores of the time (the 1920s, though most of the people are more old-fashioned than, say, New Yorkers in the 1920s).
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in February, 2008
I liked this a lot. There were some characters I wish there had been more depth on, like Brian, but overall I liked the range of characters. I could have done without the last chapter, however; the Sams were my least favorite pair (in terms of their reconciliation) and the last paragraph left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Overall, though, I really liked it!
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in October, 2007
Another pick from the used bookstore. I've never read this one before!
(wow, there's a lot of characters introduced all of a sudden at the beginning. I am never going to keep them all straight.)
***
A bit hard to follow in spots (and the last paragraph gave me time period whiplash), but full of Montgomery's usual charm.
(wow, there's a lot of characters introduced all of a sudden at the beginning. I am never going to keep them all straight.)
***
A bit hard to follow in spots (and the last paragraph gave me time period whiplash), but full of Montgomery's usual charm.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1986
recommends it for:
Everyone
This is an excellent example of Montgomery's ability to take word making exactly the right description and turn it into a living person. This book is full of humor, romance and a little tragedy, and the characters are rendered so perfectly you can see them, and know who they are exactly like in your own circle of family.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in October, 2005
This is one of LMM's only two books written for and aimed at adults (the other is "The Blue Castle"). There are a LOT of characters to keep straight in it, but I enjoy it. It's one of my favourite books by her I think. If you've read it, here's a question for you: Who do you think ought to have received the jug?
Like this review?
yes
2 comments
One of the few of Montgomery's books that don't involve a girl growing up. It also doesn't focus on one person. Instead, its the story of a heirloom jug and what happens to all the people who are waiting to see if they inherit it. A touch more 'adult' than her normal books.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in May, 2008
I like this book- about a big old family clan and their crotchety Aunt Becky- who holds the inheritance of the family heriloom over all their heads a year after her death. Lots of satisfying romances in Anne of Green Gables tradition. (If marrying your cousins is okay!)
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1993
So funny with all of the strange goings-on that "go on" with families. I loved the various stories all intertwining together just like anyone's life who is part of a large extended family.
After Anne and Pat, this is my third favorite of Montgomery's books.
After Anne and Pat, this is my third favorite of Montgomery's books.
Like this review?
yes
3 comments
Read in May, 2008
recommended to Heather by:
Christy Johnson
What a interesting book. Anne of Green Gables is the only other series of books I've read by this author. This one is so thought provoking. Romance, and Mystery together. You get swept into each character and really feel for the main characters.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Loved this one. It makes you laugh and cry at moments. Read this first as a young teen and several more times though the years. Just re-read this summer and still thoughly enjoyed. The stories of the family matriarch and her jug.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Fantastic story about family and gossip in the Roaring 20's. I want to be as crass and intimidating as this matriarch in my old age! Very different from L.M. Montgomery's typical books - one of my all-time favorites.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
to-read
(on 78 people's shelves)
classics (on 14 people's shelves)
young-adult (on 12 people's shelves)
fiction (on 10 people's shelves)
currently-reading (on 6 people's shelves)
lm-montgomery (on 4 people's shelves)
classic (on 4 people's shelves)
childrens (on 3 people's shelves)
youngadult (on 3 people's shelves)
childhood-favorites (on 3 people's shelves)
More shelves...
classics (on 14 people's shelves)
young-adult (on 12 people's shelves)
fiction (on 10 people's shelves)
currently-reading (on 6 people's shelves)
lm-montgomery (on 4 people's shelves)
classic (on 4 people's shelves)
childrens (on 3 people's shelves)
youngadult (on 3 people's shelves)
childhood-favorites (on 3 people's shelves)
More shelves...
groups with this book
