The next novel under discussion by my L.M. Montgomery Readathon Facebook group, starting Jan. 15th, is "Anne's House of Dreams" (originally published in 1917). The book opens with the long-awaited wedding of Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe at Green Gables. He's a newly graduated doctor, taking over his great-uncle's practice in the small seaside community of Glen St. Mary, and he and Anne set up housekeeping in a small white house in nearby Four Winds Harbour. There's a memorable cast of neighbours, many of whom turn out to be "kindred spirits" -- including Captain Jim Boyd, retired sailor, storyteller and keeper of the Four Winds lighthouse; Miss Cornelia Bryant, sharp-tongued spinster with a heart of gold; and the beautiful, mysterious, prickly, tragic Leslie Moore.
I hadn't read AHOD in many years when my Katie was stillborn (in 1998) -- and I had forgotten -- until someone reminded me -- that Anne & Gilbert lose their first baby here, a girl they name Joyce (Joy for short), shortly after birth. (Montgomery herself was a loss mother: the second of her three sons, Hugh Alexander, was stillborn in 1914.) 25+ years after my loss, more than a century after it was written, this chapter still packs a powerful punch. Anne's emotions, post-loss, are completely relatable to any mother who has lost a child. And anyone who has longed for a child they fear they will never have will relate to Leslie's jealousy and bitterness, when Anne first tells her she's pregnant. Anne's fear during her subsequent pregnancy (briefly mentioned) also rings true.
There might be a few points I could quibble about: for example, Miss Cornelia's dislike of men and Methodists -- voiced multiple times throughout the book -- doesn't seem quite so funny as it did when I was younger (although Miss Cornelia remains one of my favourite secondary characters in the series). And there's a subplot involving Leslie's husband that's kind of a cliche/trope. But overall, I love this book, and it's one of my favourite entries in the series. (Have kleenex handy.)
4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.
I will count this book as a re-read when our group finishes its chapter-by-chapter group read and discussion, later this spring.
This was Book #2 read to date in 2024 (and Book #2 finished in January), bringing me to 4% (!) of my 2024 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 1 book ahead of schedule. :) You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2024 tagged as "2024 books."
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A related (and timely) anecdote: In Chapter 16, Anne, Gilbert and some of their friends spend a memorable New Year's Eve at the lighthouse, where Captain Jim opens the door just before the stroke of midnight to "let the new year in." I first read this book when I was about 11-12 years old, and -- Anne-like -- thought this sounded SO romantic!
At the time (early 1970s), it was traditional for my sister & I to spend New Year's Eve having a sleepover with the three sisters who lived across the street from us, while our parents attended the dance at the local community hall together. Most of us had read all the "Anne" books, and after playing cards, listening to records (Partridge Family, Osmonds...!) and staying awake until midnight, we decided to open the front door of our house and "let the new year in," a la Captain Jim.
Unfortunately for us, we didn't quite close the door properly. It was a VERY cold (well below zero degrees, Celsius OR Fahrenheit!) and blustery night, and our parents arrived home to find the door blown wide open. Not only that -- one sister had taken offense at something another sister had said, and stomped off to sleep in another room -- so when our parents took a head count, only four sleeping girls could be seen. AND -- one of the neighbour sisters was known to sleepwalk.
Their panic was, thankfully, short-lived -- but our parents imposed a moratorium on sleepovers for several months after that! Happily, some or all five of us went on to spend many more New Year's Eves together, even after my family moved away in 1974 -- right through university, up until we all started getting married in the early/mid-1980s and I moved further afield.
I told this story to the Readathon group on Facebook when someone posted a meme with Captain Jim's quote about letting in the new year, a couple of New Years ago. Everyone thought it was hilarious!! -- although, obviously, it wasn't very funny at the time...! I also got to speak to one of the sisters during the Christmas holidays and reminded her not to leave the door open if she let the new year in, lol. After we both stopped laughing (!), I told her about the group's reaction to the story when I told it there. She'd totally forgotten the connection to the Anne novel!
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