After a year’s break it was about time to read number three in this series. Anne is now 18 and heading off to Redmond University on the mainland. The book covers her four years there. She arrives with three from Avonlea – Gilbert, Charlie and Priscilla, and quickly makes friends with a girl called Phil – Stella from Queen’s (I think) also joins them from second year.
We still spend time in Green Gables in the holidays, and as far as the book goes, maybe half of the narrative! So there are still wonderful quotes from Davy, to keep the childish delights from Anne in the first book alive and well.
Through the book Anne gets a few marriage proposals, and one serious boyfriend – but no spoilers here! You’ll have to read it! Phil is a little boy crazy, and this is the first time the books really cover that side of things to this level, she’s quite a lot of fun! We also cover a death too soon in this book, which I guess you’d pick up from the quotes below… again, no spoilers.
Picking up the book after such a long gap was tricky in places because it doesn’t really recap, (I’m still not sure who Mr Harrison is who they keep referring to), it would have been nice to have a couple of reminders occasionally!
As before, here are some of my favourite quotes from the book:
- “We are all servants of some sort, and if the fact that we are faithful can be truthfully inscribed on our tombstones nothing more need be added.”
- “Oh, I’m not afraid but that I’ll go to heaven, Anne. I’m a church member.”
- “Heaven must be very beautiful, of course, the Bible says so – but, Anne, it won’t be what I’ve been used to.“
- “Do you think we’ll never laugh in heaven?” – Anne
“Oh – I – I don’t know, it doesn’t seem just right, somehow. You know it’s rather dreadful to laugh in church.” – Diana
“But heaven won’t be like church – all the time.” – Anne
“I hope it ain’t, if it is I don’t want to go.” – Davy - “All life lessons are not learned at college.”
- “I love her best when she is asleep and better still when she is awake.”
- “I could be sorry for it afterwards, couldn’t I?”
- “Can’t a man laugh and laugh and be a Christian still?”
“Oh, men – yes. But I was speaking of Ministers, my dear.” - “When I was a girl it wasn’t considered ladylike to know anything about mathematics, but times have changed. I don’t know that it’s all for the better.”
- “Oh, I dare say we all pray for some things that we really don’t want, if we were only honest enough to look into our hearts, I’ve a notion that such prayers don’t rise very far. I used to pray that I might be enabled to forgive a certain person, but I know now I really didn’t want to forgive her. When I finally got that I did want to I forgave her without having to pray about it.”
- “I love [cats]. They are so nice and selfish. Dogs are too good and unselfish. They make me feel uncomfortable. But cats are gloriously human.”
ineke.co.uk 