"Chronicles of Avonlea" by L.M. Montgomery (re-read)

One of the unexpected pleasures that this pandemic has brought into my life has been the L.M. Montgomery Readathon group on Facebook. Over the past year-plus, chapter by chapter, we've read and discussed four classic Montgomery books so far -- including three of my all-time favourites: "Rilla of Ingleside," "Jane of Lantern Hill," "The Blue Castle" -- and, most recently, the short story collection "Chronicles of Avonlea" (all reviewed here on this blog -- my posts related to the group, to the books and to Montgomery herself can be found here).  

Beyond the pleasures of rediscovering Montgomery's wonderful books together, there are also well-researched posts on related subjects ranging from the kinds of flowers Montgomery mentions in her books to candy making to the role of women during the World War I to women's fashions of the time, and much, much more. The group is facilitated by two Montgomery scholars, and the level of knowledge and discussion among the members is sometimes mindblowing. As an almost-lifelong LMM fan, it's been a total blast to take these deep dives into her work and commune with other fans. :)     

(Can I digress just a little here to say I'm more than a little envious....??  The study of Canadian literature ("CanLit") was a relatively new thing when I was at university in the late 1970s/early 1980s, fuelled by the celebration of our country's centennial year in 1967. It was mostly male dominated (Robertson Davies, Mordecai Richler) with perhaps a couple of selections by the two Margarets thrown in for good measure (Atwood -- who had not yet written "The Handmaid's Tale" -- and Laurence). I think there was one CanLit course offered by the English department when I was an honours student. Montgomery -- generally classified as a "children's writer" -- was not yet regarded as a subject worthy of serious academic study.  Through the Facebook group, I've also learned about and sat in on Zoom sessions sponsored by the L.M. Montgomery Institute of the University of Prince Edward Island, on topics including Montgomery's scrapbooks and library (the books she read that influenced her own writing).  It feels like everyone on these calls knows each other from years of attending conferences together and reading each others' LMM-related papers -- they're the cool kids, and I get to sit in the back row and bask in their reflected brilliance and just gobble up all the knowledge, lol....)

(Anyway, back to "Chronicles"...!)  

We're just wrapping up our discussion of "Chronicles." (My initial review of the book from my first read-through is here.)  I'll admit I didn't re-read every single story in the book ;) but I have still been following along with the discussions and occasionally throwing in my two cents. My initial review cautioned that "many of these stories are definitely of their time, and contain themes/elements that those of us who have been through infertility or childlessness might find uncomfortable or even offensive."  I was relieved to find, during our discussions, that others shared my concerns about some of the more more dated elements of the book that haven't aged very well (ALI-related and otherwise).  At the same time, our discussions also deepened my understanding and appreciation of other elements of the stories. 

But, not enough for me to change my initial Goodreads rating, of 3.5 stars, rounded down to 3. :)  

Our next LMM book will be announced shortly. If you're an LMM fan, you are welcome to join us, at the link above!  :)  

This was Book #30 read to date in 2021 (and Book #7 finished in May), bringing me to 83% of my 2021 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 36 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 16 books ahead of schedule. :)  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2021 tagged as "2021 books."