Where Anne Wins Over Another Generation

Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Almost as affecting and entertaining as the first book, Anne of Avonlea is a solid sequel to a genuine classic. It isn't possible to be quite the same thing; in the first book, Anne was an orphan, and misunderstood, and an outsider, and she does most of her growing up in that book. The original story carries her through some awkward times, from struggling to succeeding, from unreliable to reliable, from putting people off to winning them over, and from beaten down to joyful. In this second book, she's older and more established, and though she's still growing up a bit here and is facing real challenges, her triumphs have to come in a slightly different form.

I thought this book would be a lot about her success teaching, and there's some of that in there, but I'm relieved the book didn't spend too much time on that. Instead, it focuses more on new neighbors and friends, including a crotchety guy next door, a couple orphans who need a home, some tough students, and an old unmarried woman that Anne meets when she takes a wrong turn. It's their stories, and Anne's impact on them, naturally, that give this book its charm. The old guy next door makes up with his wife; the orphans find a home with Anne and Marilla, including a rowdy boy who needs a lot of training; difficult students warm up to her; and disappointed lovers, long separated by foolishness, make up and start over.

There is a fair amount of loss and heartbreak and disappointment in the book, and it seems that the author's personal experience of losing parents and being moved around emerges in many different forms in the story. Both the first book and this one are filled with found families, people making unique households by choice, taking in those who need a home. The whole ethos of these novels is to lament loss and then make the best choices left, finding as much joy in the new arrangement as possible. Death can't be defeated, but sometimes separation can, and loneliness. There's always hope.

I guess that's what these books are selling, the hope for happiness, and it makes sense that so many of us are buying. Anne is kind of the guide who shows us how to navigate disappointments, by being open to change, seeing beauty in nature and friendship and art, seeking forgiveness and reconciliation and connection, and doing it all while being a bit silly and kind of fearless.

I think it's a beautiful vision. Recommended.

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