Escape Reality: a review of Anne of Green Gables

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

This book is a favorite of so many dear friends, it is incredible that I did not get around to reading it until well into adulthood. But books like this, no matter when you read them, stick with you forever; and I understand now why people return to this book again and again and again.

So, if you are like me, and have not read this classic yet, here is what you can expect from Anne of Green Gables:

Wholesomeness, warmth, joy, sunshine, hope, and sweetness.

But none of these things are at the expense of an honest portrayal of the difficulty of life. After all, Anne is an orphan who has lived a very difficult 10 years of life before she is adopted by Marilla and her brother Matthew. Matthew is doting, but Marilla is hard. And Anne is often misunderstood. Life is hard, but it is Anne's indefatigable optimism and willingness to see the good, coupled with her fiery temper, that makes her such an endearing heroine.

Additionally, you will fall in love with Marilla as she softens to Anne; and the whole village of Avonlea is such an endearing place full of colorful and relatable characters. You often feel that you are reading an earthy fairytale.

If that is not enough, the writing itself is highly accessible, even while being written in an "older" style. It is a purely character-driven story, and the plot that is there falls into the category of "coming-of-age."

In a world where bad news is at our fingertips the moment we wake up in the morning, stories like Anne of Green Gables become more and more important as a true (but healthy!) escape from reality.

Stories like Anne of Green Gables remind us that, to quote Samwise Gamgee, "there is good in this world and it is worth fighting for." So if you do not read LM Montgomery's entire series about Anne, please at least read Anne of Green Gables.