Book of the Week #39 "Anne's House of Dreams"

Anne's House of Dreams

by L.M. Montgomery

After rivalling one another throughout grade school in book one, keeping a distant friendship in book two, Anne coming to realize that she truly loves Gilbert as she is threatened with losing him in book three, and spending a long courtship apart in book four, Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe are now getting married. The book begins as Anne spends her last evening as a single woman reminiscing with her bosom friend, Diana Wright. The next day, a simple, yet beautiful, September wedding takes place at the beloved Green Gables, Marilla Cuthbert and Rachel Lynde crying as they watch their Anne girl ride off to her new home in a small and charming sea-side town called Four Winds. Having finished medical school, Gilbert is now taking over his late uncle's practice. Alone, he searched for Anne's house of dreams and succeeded in a quaint little home in the woods, which Anne adores. Over the two years in which the book takes place, we see Anne make friends with a woman named Leslie Moore, a feisty spinster Miss Cornelia Bryant, and a sailor named Captain Jim, whose stories Anne listens to in awe. We also read of Anne being pregnant for the first time, giving birth to Joy in their home, and Joy passing shortly after being born. We watch as Anne suffers from grief and then begins to carry on with life, later giving birth to a healthy boy she names James Matthew.

I think this is where the series really begins to change, for obvious reasons. Anne is now married. She and Gilbert move to Four Winds and she begins keeping house, something some of us never expected to see Anne do, but she still maintains that whimsy you can only find in Anne. She manages to find a friend in Leslie Moore, a lonely young woman trapped in a loveless marriage. And Owen Ford? *swoon*

I love this book. I love the lovely simplicity to it. Anne and Gilbert's wedding is so beautiful and simple. The little seaside town sounds so charming and delightful. I love Leslie and how Anne helped her. Miss Cornelia Bryant made me laugh with her biting remarks. I never thought I would enjoy seeing Anne away from Green Gables. It isn't that I'm glad to see her away from the dear home she so dearly loved, I just love reading about how happy she is.

For a lot of us, we turned to the Anne books for comfort as we grew because Anne understood how hard growing up can be. And yet now we see Anne happy as an adult. I feel like Anne is more carefree in this book. She still has that spice to her, but her temper is more controlled than in the first books and she's more understanding of those around her. And though this book is full of Anne's happiness, we see her sadness, too, as she loses her firstborn. It's a terrible pain, but she faces it with grace and overcomes to live a better life.

Anne's House of Dreams is a lovely addition to the Anne series; one of my favorites of the lot. It's full of happiness, sadness, strength, and grace.

For so many reasons, I give this book a 5 out of 5.