things she read

I did it! After putting it off for years, I finally finished all the Anne books. I have to admit, the books about Anne’s children just do not interest me as much as the books about Anne herself, but I really wanted to get through the whole series. A couple of weeks ago, I sat down and started reading Rilla of Ingleside, and while it wasn’t the most interesting volume in the series, it was alright.

Unlike Anne, Rilla has no ambition to speak of and does not feel ashamed to admit it. She just wants to be pretty and have fun. A little vain and a little proud, Rilla is nonetheless a very loyal sister and friend. At 15, Rilla has nothing on her mind but enjoying herself at her first dance, and that pesky war is not going to ruin her evening.

But when the war truly breaks out and Canada is called upon to send her troops, Rilla finds that there’s more to life than worrying about your lisp when a handsome boy takes you for a moonlit walk.

Like Anne, Rilla is a full of heart and makes the best of any situation. When her brothers leave for Europe to fight, Rilla is left to wait and comfort her mother, but she does not do so with her hands crossed. Though she wants nothing more than to be the wife of Kenneth Ford when he returns from the battlefront, Rilla grows and matures into a capable young woman.

Like many of L.M. Montgomery’s stories, the book is a bit preachy in parts, but the anxiety and terror brought on by the war serves to balance the many references to the divine. Rilla’s story is interesting as an account of the lives of women left at home during WWI. She experiences loss and grief but stands firm to support those she loves, even when the other girls call her cold.

Overall, I liked the book, but I could have done without some of the passages about the Glen St. Mary crowd.

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After I finished Rilla, I told myself that I would also finish Robin McKinley’s The Door in the Hedge.

I started this four story collection of fairy tale retellings a few months ago, but didn’t get around to reading the final story until yesterday.

McKinley’s second published book, the collection includes “The Stolen Princess,” “The Princess and the Frog,” “The Hunting of the Hind,” and “The Twelve Dancing Princesses”. The characters in the stories are often unnamed, identified by their descriptions and titles and representing the sort of archetypal personalities often featured in traditional fairy tales.

Of the four stories, I enjoyed “The Hunting of the Hind” most of all, but though I like fairy tales, I prefer McKinley’s novels. The stories almost feel incomplete, which might explain why McKinley often notes that her stories have a tendency to turn into full-length novels when she starts to work on a short story collection. The descriptions are lush and airy, almost dreamlike, but I prefer a bit more depth.

That said, I still want to check out Water, and McKinley’s latest addition to the elementals story series, Fire.