Anne's House of Dreams

Rating:
Summary: Anne and Gilbert FINALLY get married and set up house
Review: "Anne's House of Dreams" is my least favorite of L. M. Montgomery's novels in the Anne of Green Gables series, which does not mean it is not a first-rate novel. For me, I guess it was a bit anticlimactic for Anne and Gilbert to finally get married! But then I read the books in the order they are numbered and not the order in which Montgomery wrote them, in which case I would have skipped "Anne of Windy Poplars" and would therefore not have been bothered by all that time between the engagement and the wedding. The newlyweds move into their House of Dreams and start their life together. For the first time Anne is more of an observer than a participant, as the two main characters of the book turn out to be the storytelling Captain Jim and the tragic but romantic figure of Leslie Moore. The most fascinating part of the novel is that the only way you can tell Anne is about to have a baby is that she stops going outside and Marilla shows up (and I have to admit I was shocked, shocked I tell you, that her son's first name is James rather than Matthew!). Perhaps no other aspect of Montgomery's work gives us as good an indication that she is writing about another time. After this point the emphasis will be more on Anne's children and their friends than our beloved red-haired orphan, so "Anne's House of Dreams" is very much a transitional book in the series. It is nice to say that if this is the "low" point in the series, other writers should be so lucky with their high points.

Rating:
Summary: Anne and Gilbert FINALLY get married and set up house
Review: "Anne's House of Dreams" is my least favorite of L. M. Montgomery's novels in the Anne of Green Gables series, which does not mean it is not a first-rate novel. For me, I guess it was a bit anticlimactic for Anne and Gilbert to finally get married, especially after it took three novels for the Anne girl to admit what everybody else knew from the start, that Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe were made for each other. But then I read the books in the order they are numbered and not the order in which Montgomery wrote them, in which case I would have skipped "Anne of Windy Poplars" and would therefore not have been bothered by all that time between the engagement and the wedding.

In this fifth Anne of Green Gables novel the newlyweds move into their House of Dreams and start their life together. For the first time Anne is more of an observer than a participant, as the two main characters of the book turn out to be the storytelling Captain Jim and the tragic but romantic figure of Leslie Moore. The most fascinating part of the novel is that the only way you can tell Anne is about to have a baby is that she stops going outside and Marilla shows up (and I have to admit I was shocked, shocked I tell you, that her son's first name is James rather than Matthew). Perhaps no other aspect of Montgomery's work gives us as good an indication that she is writing about another time.

After this volume the emphasis will be more on Anne's children and their friends than our beloved red-haired orphan, so "Anne's House of Dreams" is very much a transitional book in the series. As she becomes an adult and starts living a grown up life, Anne Shirley becomes less interesting to Montgomery than the children (and in "Rainbow Valley" the interesting ones are even the Blythe kids). It is nice to say that if this is the "low" point in the series, then other writers should be so lucky with their high points.

Rating:
Summary: Anne's House of Dreams
Review: 1,000 words can't describe how much I love this book. This book is where after agonizing along with Anne she finally gets married to Gilbert. They settle into a place called Four Winds. Through the story of there first years of marriage they experience their joy over Jem their first born and the pain of losing a child. They make life long friends that are as pleasant as Diana Barry and Rachel Lynde. L.M. Montgomery makes the charecters come alive. They go through things that we can relate to today. Her excellant writing makes this easy to read whether you are 10 or 100. I highly recommend that if you enjoy this book you need to read the first four books. Then there is three more books. If that isn't enough there are two movies. I hope that you enjoy this series as much as I have.

Rating:
Summary: This one is my favorite of the Anne books (after the first).
Review: Although I loved and still love all the Anne books - I discovered them as a teen-ager and am still re-reading them every now and then - I especially love to re-read Anne's House of Dreams.

There are so many elements to make a good story! There is the romantic aspect of Anne and Gilbert setting up house together, then there are some of my very favorite characters - Captain Jim and Miss Cornelia. They certainly don't make them that way anymore! Between the four of them (five including Leslie) there are so many thought provoking discussions, and we get a fascinating view of life "on the harbor" for those times.

But what really sends this book way over the five star category is definitely Miss Cornelia! This is a character that not only is living and breathing throughout the book, you wish she would pop up in your living room! Wouldn't I love to meet her! If you like strong, independent women, and you thought that they were only a character of fiction (surely a hundred years ago women were meek and timid?), well, this book was written quite some time ago, and Miss Cornelia could almost put Gloria Steinhem to shame! Miss Cornelia is the strong, independant woman that you thought did not exist in those days - she owns her own house and fields, she manages very, very well, thank you very much, will not get married because she doesn't want a man telling her what to do, and certainly does not need a man to help her self-esteem! She also thinks that men were only put on this earth to enslave women, and the world would be much better off without them "believe me!") I love her favorite phrase "isn't that just like a man", it became part of my mental thinking process.

Certainly better than anything written today!

Rating:
Summary: One of the best books in the Anne of Green Gables series!
Review: First of all, I must confess I'm not a huge Anne fan. I don't read this book so much for Anne and Gilbert as for Leslie and Owen. Their story is so romantic, so dramatic, fairy tale like, and sort of sappy. It's not the sort of book you are always in the mood for, but when you are it definitely 'hits the spot' as they say.
Picture a beautiful, love starved, miserable girl suffering silently on a gorgeous harbor in a gloomy house. Watch as she is transformed and comes to live happily ever after. Definitely all- girl and definitely fun.
The way Lucy Maud Montgomery describes the scenery, the ocean and all at Anne's new home is beautiful. Leslie's story is beautiful. If you want something sweet, fanciful while not fantasy, and just. . . lovely read this book.
Only thing I don't like is Captain Jim. He is boring and sort of drives me crazy, but he is in the book a ton. I often just skim the parts he's in.
Miss Cornelia is another new character, and she is sometimes annoying but on the whole is amusing.
I guess that's it. I also like all the Biblical references in the conversations. A lot of them are somewhat obscure, so they're probably some I'm not even picking up on, but they're good.

Rating:
Summary: A five star read!
Review: I have all of the Anne of Green Gable series and continue to read them over again, delighting in each new discovery that I missed when reading it before.

Anne's House of Dreams starts when Gilbert Blythe, who has loved Anne ever since they were children, becomes the doctor he has set his ambitions for. Anne had discovered that she was in love with Gilbert and so they are happily married and off to Four Winds Harbor where they start their new life, together.

Finding beauty and adventure wherever Anne turns she is forever making friends and finding new discoveries. Miss Cornelia becomes a friend as does the forever-interesting Captain Jim.

A mysterious young woman capitivates Anne's curious attention however and she finds that the young woman's name is Leslie. She cannot forget the beautiful but sad creature who seems to be hiding something. Enters Owen Ford and by chance mystery starts to be slowly revealed ...

This book was (and still is!) a fantasic read and I recommend it to anyone! As well as any other "Anne" books!

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: If you like Anne of Green Gables in any way, you have to read the other books in order to see her grow up. She stills continue to get in trouble, romance with Gilbert continues, just about anything that can happen, happens. These books fulfill everything that you could ever want out of a book.

Rating:
Summary: I adore this book!
Review: It is, in my opinion, the second best Anne book! Its Anne's wedding! The whole thing is soaked in romance! Leslie's story is so amazing and sweet that you have to love her. Captain Jim is so sweet and perfect, you can nearly see him. Miss Cornelia is funny and Susan is great. Anne has to deal with tragedy and joy that makes the books so wonderful. The only thing I don't like, is that i wish Marrilla and all the Avonlea people would be in it a little more. In my opinion, this should be where the series ends.

Rating:
Summary: Slog on to Get to the Real Anne
Review: Some of the wit and magic is missing from Anne's life in the beginning of this book. She's grown up, and there seems to be no real hurdles to cross, or conflict. It makes for a slow read for the first third of the book, while you wait for something to actually happen, instead of a completely idyllic life. Thankfully, things pick up by the 2nd third, and the reader is rewarded by the Anne we all know and care for- responding with love and romance to life's situations and participating in the redemption of those around her. Certainly the ending is a O'Henry twist you wouldn't ever expect. Here again is Anne that you have to sigh over in delight, and kick your feet in the air and laugh in the exhilaration of love found again.

Rating:
Summary: Okay.....
Review: This was a good book with a delightful set of characters. My own personal favorite was captain Jim, with his stories about the sea, and of his lost love, "Lost Margaret." It's not just a happy book that bores us because Gilbert and Anne do lose a child, and they do quarell. However, I think my biggest dissapointment is the lack of Gilbret throughout the entire Anne series. Really, in Montgomeries books we see much more of the male friends of her heroines than their lovers. Gilbert as a character isn't built up at all, I don't really know anything about his personality. He's just a puppet. I'm so eager to know more about him, but it's like he's just a foil for Anne's character. If they were friends perhaps we would know more about his personality. I wish Anne had married someone like David in "Mistress Pat", Barney in "The Blue Castle" or Dean in "Emily's Quest" , or even Jingle in "Pat of Silver Bush."
The relationship between Pat and Jingle is especially moving. But because Gilbert and Anne did not grow up as friends the way Teddy and Emily, and Pat and Jingle did, it's hard to fully understand their feelings for one another...or appreciate the developement of their relationship. I was also dissapointed that Anne gave up her ambitions with marriage, although I understand that Montgomery must have been catering to what society wanted of her during that time period.