Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Book #26: The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery

Like every girl ever, I loved Anne of Green Gables and the rest of that series while growing up. I read those books SO MANY TIMES. Several of the books fell to pieces because I re-read them so much. But I'd never read any other L. M. Montgomery books until a year or two ago when I discovered the Emily of New Moon books and loved those too. I'd never heard of The Blue Castle until I read a review of it on a book blog, but I was excited to check it out. I even bought a copy of it before reading it--gasp!--because I was sure it would be worth owning (knowing its author so well). And it was--I loved it.

This story is about Valancy Stirling, who grew up in a very unhappy life with a very overbearing mother and extremely interfering extended family who never let her make any of her own choices. The book starts on her 29th birthday, when she realizes she is officially an old maid and that her life will never change and never be any better--she will always live this half-life, controlled by her mother and her uncles and aunts, until she dies. Then she finds out from a doctor that she has a very serious heart condition and that she only has a year left to live--and she decides to once and for all actually start living her life and to do things that please her instead of just being cowed by all the other people in her life.

I loved Valancy's turnaround and how she began to exercise her own free will after 29 years of letting people boss her around. The dinner where she finally starts to tell her aunts and uncles what she really thinks was really funny, and all of her family's reactions to her behavior. I liked how she became totally fearless in her interactions with people, and didn't mind saying what she really thought--because she knew she was going to die soon anyways. I don't think it's TOO much a spoiler to say that there's some romance in the story, and also that she doesn't actually die, which makes it all very satisfactory. Montgomery's amazing nature writing really stands out in this book, particularly when Valancy begins living on her island. Everything that she writes makes me die to go visit Canada and walk through flower-filled meadows and uninhabited forests. (I really will go to Prince Edward Island someday... just you wait.)

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