Franklin Peach's Reviews > Anne of Green Gables

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

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1159496
's review
May 13, 08

bookshelves: own, classic
Read in June, 2007

To be brutally honest, I was disappointed. I found Anne quite often to be annoying and found my self skimming through many of her rambling soliloquies. Many (especially those of the female gender I suppose) may find her apt to talk ad nauseum to be one of her most enduring qualities, I however did not.

I discovered that it was difficult for me to continue reading once the characters had been established, that is I had no motivation to continue reading as there appeared to be no underlying plot to the book. Each chapter was it's own story and there was very little connecting one chapter to the next, so after you finished a chapter it's easy to put the book down and not be in the least bit curious was was going to happen next. After reading about 3/4 of the book, I must have put it down for two weeks as I did not care was was going to happen next, nor did it seem to matter as the next chapter was just as likely to be the same as the last one: Anne would get into some minor scrape which would be resolved in one way or another by its conclusion.

Having said that, I must conclude that I was glad I did finish it. The last two or three chapters were by far the best of the book and they did bring the conclusion of the book to a wonderful little ending. Keeping with my policy of not posting spoilers, all I will say about this is that it was nice to see the person that Anne grew into. I started the book with the hope of understanding young girls just a little bit better as I have two daughters of my own. I think that in the end I was successful in that, at least to some degree, however I'm not sure that I could stand living in a young girls world for any sustained length of time

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Comments (showing 1-14 of 14) (14 new)

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E.E. Blake Well duh. You're a guy, lol. Anne is written for us women.


Franklin Peach Yes - in keeping with my policy of full disclosure, I am a guy. ;)


Brittni I think guys have a tougher time relating to the heroine, though even some girls dislike the book because they don't enjoy the classic novel style.

I know a guy who did enjoy the book, but he was gay. ;P


Valerie Sherman Franklin, I am a woman and I found Anne annoying, too. It's a sweet book, but damn, Anne is annoying.


Chezon i appreciate your honesty


message 6: by Gasp. H (new)

Gasp. H Penderton i haven't read the books but in the movie i found anne to be all the things she is described, vain, childish, stubborn etc etc but i have never found her annoying *cough cough* i am a girl....


Connie Clark Isn't that just like a man? (for those who got to the book of Anne & Gilbert's first year of marriage. . . . .


Jenn Each chapter was it's own story and there was very little connecting one chapter to the next, so after you finished a chapter it's easy to put the book down and not be in the least bit curious was was going to happen next.

To be fair to LM Montgomery, the story was started as a weekly serial that appeared in her local paper or Sunday school publication... something to that effect. I think if you kept reading the series, you'd see it becomes more complex.

I do agree that Anne gets annoying at times :)


Arlette Sjerp I completely agree with your description, and I am a woman! :-) Jenn's comment above clarifies a lot about the structure, though.


Claudia She is just a little girl........


Milka I'm a third into the book and I completely agree with you (and yes, I'm a woman). Anne is so melodramatic, you just want to smack her and bring her back down to reality. And she just can't shut up...As for the writing style, there are some poetic parts

, but the pace is so slow. Not much happens in each chapter and there are so many words to describe every single detail, the "plot" gets lost. Such overuse of adverbs and long, boring sentences also. I can't imagine this book being published as is today without serious editing, and that's counting on an editor being interested in the story. Very outdated overall, in style and in storytelling. And I still have two-thirds to read!


Jennie Man I could copy and paste this review, this was how I felt to!! I read books rather quick a book this size would normally take me a day, or one sitting if I have nothing on that day, this one took me over a week. Like you said there was just nothing to keep me going back to it!!


Franklin Peach Jenn wrote: "To be fair to LM Montgomery, the story was started as a weekly serial that appeared in her local paper or Sunday school publication... something to that effect. I think if you kept reading the series, you'd see it becomes more complex."
Good point and something I did not realize at the time, I would say then her serials needed more of a story arch. I have no problem reading Dickens who published often in the same way, yet had an overall story arch. Like I said it did get much better and the last few chapters were worth the read.

It is good to hear her sequels get better plot lines, however it is doubtful I will pick one up. (although my daughter did like them)
Thanks for the comment


Roene For those who thought Anne to be annoying, you must relate with all the characters in the book that cannot stand Anne and all her nonsense, - Mrs. Racheal Lynn and yes even Marilla.
If you were annoyed by Anne as a character then Montgomery achieved her goal. Her main character became alive enough to annoy you! Ha!


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