Framed's 2007 Book Reviews

Thursday, October 11, 2007

I recently learned that the book I read for the 1910's decade, "A Tangled Web," by Ms. Montgomery, was actually published in the 1930's. To be true to this challenge, I quickly found another Montgomery masterpiece. "The Story Girl" has the same flavor and magic as the "Anne of Green Gable" series, and Sara Stanley (the title character) is every bit as memorable and endearing. Her voice is fantastic: "If voices had colour, hers would have been a rainbow. It made words live." Her stories can make the listener cry, laugh, or shiver in terror. Montgomery shares many of her stories interspersed amongst this tale of eight children spending an idyllic life on Prince Edward Island. It's an enchanting story of a time and place I wish I could have experienced. As always, the author paints beauty, innocence, humor and charm in the pages of this delightful novel. I marked so many passages, but will just share a few:
"Harvest was ended; and though summer was not yet gone, her face was turned westering. The asters lettered her retreating footsteps in a purple script, and over the hills and valleys hung a faint blue smoke, as if Nature were worshipping at her woodland altar. The apples began to burn red on the bending boughs; crickets sang day and night; squirrels chattered secrets of Polichinelle in the spruces; the sunshine was as thick and yellow as molten gold; school opened, and we small denizens of the hill fams lived happy days of harmless work and necessary play, closing in nights of peaceful, undisturbed slumber under a roof watched over by autumnal stars."
"She loved expressive words, and treasured them as some girls might have treasured jewels. To her, they were as lustrous pearls, threaded on the crimson cord of a vivid fancy. When she met a new one, she uttered it over and over to herself in solitude, weighing it, caressing it, infusing it with the radiance of her voice, making it her own in all its possibilities for ever.
"Even skeptical Dan prayed, his skepticism falling away from him like a discarded garment in this valley of the shadow, which sifts out hearts and tries souls, until we all, grown-up or children, realize our weakness, and , finding that our own puny strength is as a reed shaken in the wind, creep back humbly to the God we have vainly dreamed we would do without."
"The dusk crept into the orchard like a dim, bewitching personality. You could see her--feel her--hear her. She tiptoed softly from tree to tree, every drawing nearer. Presently her filmy wings hovered over us and through them gleamed the early stars of the autumn night."
I did not originally list this on my Canadian Challenge for Prince Edward Island, but I'm including it anyway. I like to think of it as a good representation of that place even though I've never been there. (Maybe someday).
I just learned that there are several books in this series so I am going to try to read more of them in the future. I just love Mongtomgery's books.
Rating: 5
Posted by Framed at 9:07 PM

7 comments:
Joy said...
Oh! I had this as my 1910's choice for the Decades Challenge 2008, but decided to read Anne of Green Gables for 1900's and didn't want to read the same author, so I chose something else. However...I'm glad to know it's a winner! I will save it for another time. :)
10/12/2007 5:26 AM
raidergirl3 said...
I always like when people enjoy LM's stories. I read some darker short stories for the RIP challenge.Let me know if you are coming to PEI - booklogged and I and her husband met for chowder and a great visit. It really is beautiful here, but don't cme in January. It's still beautiful, but green is so much nicer than white.
10/12/2007 3:16 PM
Booklogged said...
What a wonderful title. And a rating of 5. Are you going to put this on your mooch inventory?
10/14/2007 8:10 PM
Framed said...
It was on my bookmooch list along with the sequel and then I read it again. I must have been crazy. This is too good a book to give away. But maybe we can work something out on the side.
10/15/2007 11:36 PM
John Mutford said...
I'd never heard of this book before. Thanks for sharing!
11/18/2007 11:29 PM
Court said...
I just love Montgomery's books too. :) Happy to hear you enjoyed this book, it's positively adorable, as is the sequel.