They are inspiring, botanically erudite, and they add something more to the knowledge of the environment.With this sentiment and being a fan of Anne of Green Gables, I requested The Landscapes of Anne of Green Gables by Catherine Reid.
I was waiting for sure a beautiful book but this one is not just beauty, this one is not just interesting, this one has been in grade to capture in a brilliantly, poetic, wonderful way the character of Anne and mrs Montgomery.
I guess that the writer is a fan of the writer and of Anne of Green Gables.
This book is simply amazing! Wonderful pictures, resonanting quotes from Anne of Green Gables or mrs Montgomery Journals, The Alpine Path or from poets she appreciated a lot like Robert Browning.
The book is a tribute and a compenetration of the essence of work of Montgomery that couldn't never be separated by her alter-ego Anne Shirley the character of Anne of Green Gables and her beloved island of Prince Edwards because an unicum.
Mrs Montgomery was a wonderful, optimistic lady in particular for other people presenting to them always a reason for going on, and as we will vividly see thorough this book she projected herself with all her best, in terms of encouragement, in terms of optimism in little Anne Shirley.
I was thinking that another modern actor with these extraordinary treats was Robin Williams.
There are many similarities with the personal life-story lived by Montgomery and little Anne. Yes: mrs Montgmery didn't have red hair and didn't suffer all the troubles suffered by Anne but she also remained orphan when she was 21 months old and although she developed a beautiful relationship with her dad she absolutely found the lady he re-married a very disgusting and horrible woman.
She continued to keep an intense correspondent with her dad 'till at the departure of her beloved father a terrible news this one for her.
Mrs Montgomery loved nature and in the nature of her beloved Prince Edwards Island she was in grade of going on and re-birth all the time from the various life-sufferences she was experiencing.
The island at the moment is more modern than the one Mrs. Maud knew but substantially it is possible to recognize very vividly the locations in part recreated of the places where Anne of Green Gables or also the author lived. The tourism is one of the most important voices thanks to the books about Anne and Green Gables and the following notoriety brought to the island by mrs. Maud. Other important voices are agriculture and fishing. A land where it was possible to find peace, a beautiful land where nature was friend, and where to restore the soul.
The tourism is mainly a spring-summer tourism because later like for most other places in the world, fall and winter are pretty long and cold months. Population, if in the past diminuished became more interesting during these past decades.
Although Anne Shirley was a fictional character without doubt she also was the alter-ego of Montgomery, the person with which mrs Montgomery communicated her beautiful thoughts of encouragements, with the world, people and with generations of children and adults.
We will visit thanks to this book also the house of Anne of Green Gables, the bedroom where she lived in, the one of Marilla, the one of Matthew and we will see the kitchen and the most important spots re-created at the perfection. We will find Bonny the geranium Anne started to be so affectionted at immediately after her arrival at the farm of the siblings Cuthbert and all her world, for the joy of the estimators of the author and this legendary character.
The island is plenty of great resources regarding Anne and mrs.Montgomery.
Mrs Montgomery loved nature and she idealized it so badly. It was to her the best refugee where to escape and to discover the harmony of this world. Spring, summer, fall and winter were beautiful for various different reasons, although we will find her discouraged in some part of her life for the arrival of winter. But all these personal state of her soul won't never filter outside if not in the pages of her journals or letters. She won't never ask for a help, she won't never ask for some joy. She will continue to tell to everyone how wonderful was the world to her.
Looking through the idealistic, dreaming eyes the world by Montgomery is an experience that you can't miss because this lady was in grade to capture like a radar mentally only the best sentiments, only the best part of the world, keeping out stress, sadness, unhappiness state that world can present to people, for de-stressing psychologically for example Anne when the situation was too ugly for going on.
In this book we will also discover the favorite gardens by Montgomery. The old-fashioned garden, where various plants and herbs planted in the remote past by the ancestors of the family; a wild garden, and a woodland garden. All these gardens for different reasons are important for the author, because they put her, and Anne of Green Gables in connection with nature.
Why Anne of Green Gables and L.M.Montgomery can be a very happy re-discover for the children but also for adults?
First of all because Montgomery speaks of universal themes like love, friendship, being happy with little things, appreciating life also when it becomes very hard, and at the same time finding harmony in a harmonic world where man has respect for this one and using and directing our mind at happy thoughts also when situations are difficult.
Second: because in a world always more confused there is not another voice more strong and secure, optimistic and certain than the one of Anne of Green Gables assuring ourselves that life will be good.
Third because Anne suffered a lot and for this reason her happiness is so important.
You can't discover real joy and happiness if before you won't have met the sufferance, although you must know that after a period of sufference happiness will return with prepotence. It's a life-lesson for everyone.
Anne didn't lose her smile because of her sufferances but she continued to stay positive, appreciating later all the joy life donated her and at the same time constructing into himself a parallel reality for surviving during the hardest moments.
So that's why she created invisible friends for chatting when too discouraged and why she re-named various locations with appropriate sunny names.
She wanted to feel that the places were part of her and they were also part of that Anne in search for approval in search for love, in search for friendship.
The beauty of Anne has always been the optimistic approach to life remaining open to the others and opening the door of her soul to everyone.
These people touched directly by Anne were lucky because they learned how to cope much better with life thanks to the example presented them by Anne and her enthusiasm.
This book is a masterpiece because more than telling to you which plants and flowers there are in Prince Edwards, (of course it's explained by poetically) we will compenetrate the nature of L.M. Montgomery and her alter ego Anne and thanks to them we will see the world with different lenses, more beauty, more clean, more relaxing, more loving. I strongly encourage all parents to buying to their children Anne of Green Gables' books.
I surely thanks NetGalley and Timber Press for this wonderful book!
Anna Maria Polidori
No comments:
Post a Comment