Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
Book 1 of Anne of Green Gables series
Unabridged; 10 hr. 7 min.
Post Hypnotic Press Inc.
Colleen Winton (narrator)
May 30, 2014
★★★★ ½☆
Genre: Classic; Historical Fiction
Source: Received download from publisher for review as part of Audiobookworm Tour
Anne, a young orphan from the fictional community of Bolingbroke, Nova Scotia (based upon the real community of New London), is sent to Prince Edward Island after a childhood spent in strangers' homes and orphanages. Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, siblings in their 50s and 60s, had decided to adopt a boy from the orphanage to help Matthew run their farm. They live at Green Gables, their Avonlea farmhouse on Prince Edward Island. Through a misunderstanding, the orphanage sends Anne Shirley. Anne is described as bright and quick, eager to please, talkative, and extremely imaginative. She has a pale face with freckles and usually braids her red hair. When asked her name, Anne tells Marilla to call her Cordelia, which Marilla refuses; Anne then insists that if she is to be called Anne, it must be spelled with an e, as that spelling is "so much more distinguished". Marilla at first says the girl must return to the orphanage, but after a few days she decides to let her stay. Marilla feels that she could be a good influence on the girl and had also overheard that another disagreeable woman in town might take Anne in instead.
Unlike many, many readers out there, I never read Anne of Green Gables as a child or young adult; I honestly had never heard of the book until a few years ago. Even at that point, I wasn’t all that interested in reading it as an adult despite many of my friends who have enjoyed it. I’m not even really sure why, because it is along those same lines of the Little House books, which I loved, in terms of tone and audience. However, when I was approached with the opportunity to review the first three books in this series as audiobooks, I took the bait! And I’m very glad that I did! When reviewing classics I tend to keep my reviews short, because what more is there to say that hasn’t already been said about it, and the heart of this review will focus on the audiobook presentation itself.
This installment of the series follows Anne from her arrival at Green Gables after being accidentally adopted by the Cuthbert’s around age 11 up through age 16 when she is ready to go off to school. A lot happens in Anne’s life during this 5 year period and she certainly grows up a lot from a girl always somehow getting into scrapes and living in a dream world to someone who can be counted on to do the right thing. Personally, I think this book covered maybe a little too much of her life, seeing as it is a series it could have maybe saved the later part for the next book because I feel like there is really two different Anne’s here, but it still works well. The story kept me entertained, even though the events are happening to a much younger character, and I always wanted to pick it back up and keep reading.
★★★★★
Colleen Winton knocked her narration out of the park! The most important thing to get right in an audio treatment of this book is the presentation of Anne. She is not only the main character, obviously, but she is quite the spitfire and requires that trait to be brought out through the telling. That is exactly what Winton did. Her presentation of Anne’s manner of speaking, including the way her thoughts just run together, one after the other, and the dreamy quality of many of the things she speaks of, was SPOT ON! It was like she was standing in front of me. The other character that I think was perfect was Matthew Cuthbert. He has a slow, measured, and thoughtful way of speaking, as he is a man of few words, and she NAILED that one too. Some of the best scenes to listen to are when Anne and Matthew are speaking to each other because you can get the perfect measure of each. The narration between dialogue has an even pace that brings the listener back from the slow or quick speech patterns of the characters, which is like a cleansing of the palate before moving on. I know that Winton narrates the next two books in the series, and I don’t think Post Hypnotic Press has released any more than the first three books, but I would be happy to listen to her any day.
Reviews of this book by other bloggers:
Buy the Book: Audible | Post Hypnotic Press
You can check out a sample from Anne of Green Gables below.
Also by L. M. Montgomery:
Anne of Avonlea (Book 2)
Anne of the Island (Book 3)
Anne of Windy Poplars (Book 4)
Anne’s House of Dreams (Book 5)
Anne of Ingleside (Book 6)
Rainbow Valley (Book 7)
Rilla of Ingleside (Book 8)
Tour-Wide Giveaway!
As part of the tour, there is a tour-wide giveaway sponsored by the publisher, Post Hypnotic Press, for store credit: $120 (Grand Prize), $90 (Runner-up) & $60 (2nd Runner-up). Entries are made via the Gleam app and can be made on any of the participating tour pages. Please if you have questions, contact the tour coordinator as I have no input in the giveaway. Good luck!!
Anne of Green Gables Giveaway: Three Winners
Tour Schedule
ANNE OF GREEN GABLES, BOOK 1
Jul. 30th:
History From A Woman's Perspective (Review)
The Book Slayer (Review)
Spunky 'N Sassy (Review)
Jul. 31st:
CGB Blog Tours (Spotlight + Audio Excerpt)
A Book and A Latte (Review)
Canadian Book Addict (Review, Giveaway)
Tara's Book Addiction (Spotlight + Audio Excerpt, Giveaway)
Aug. 1st:
The Maiden's Court (Review)
Book Reviews By Jasmine (Spotlight + Audio Excerpt)
Lilly's Book World (Review)
Aug. 2nd:
2 Girls and A Book (Review, Teasers)
Macarons and Paperbacks (Review, Spotlight + Audio Excerpt)
Bound 4 Escape (Review, Giveaway)
WTF Are You Reading? (Review, Spotlight + Audio Excerpt, Giveaway)
Aug. 3rd:
To Read Or Not To Read (Spotlight + Audio Excerpt, Giveaway)
Jorie Loves A Story (Review)
Notes From 'Round the Bend (Teasers, Giveaway)
Haddie's Haven (Review, Teasers, Giveaway)
Hall Ways (Review, Spotlight + Audio Excerpt, Teasers, Giveaway)
Aug. 4th:
Lomeraniel (Review, Spotlight + Audio Excerpt, Teasers, Giveaway)
Joy of Bookworms (Review)
SMADA's Book Smack (Review, Spotlight + Audio Excerpt, Giveaway)
Aug. 5th:
Buried Under Books (Review)
Life As Freya (Review)
ANNE OF AVONLEA, BOOK 2
Aug. 6th:
History From A Woman's Perspective (Review)
Spunky 'N Sassy (Review)
Aug. 7th:
The Book Slayer (Review)
A Book and A Latte (Review)
Tara's Book Addiction (Spotlight + Audio Excerpt, Giveaway)
Aug. 8th:
CGB Blog Tours (Spotlight + Audio Excerpt)
2 Girls and A Book (Review, Teasers)
Lilly's Book World (Review)
Aug. 9th:
The Maiden's Court (Review)
Macarons and Paperbacks (Review, Spotlight + Audio Excerpt)
Canadian Book Addict (Review, Giveaway)
Aug. 10th:
Jorie Loves A Story (Review)
Notes From 'Round the Bend (Teasers, Giveaway)
Dab of Darkness (Review, Giveaway)
Haddie's Haven (Review, Teasers, Giveaway)
Aug. 11th:
To Read Or Not To Read (Spotlight + Audio Excerpt, Giveaway)
Joy of Bookworms (Review)
Hall Ways (Review, Spotlight + Audio Excerpt, Teasers, Giveaway)
Bound 4 Escape (Review, Giveaway)
Aug. 12th:
Lomeraniel (Review, Spotlight + Audio Excerpt, Teasers, Giveaway)
Forever Literary (Spotlight + Audio Excerpt, Teasers, Giveaway)
Life As Freya (Review)
WTF Are You Reading? (Review, Spotlight + Audio Excerpt, Giveaway)
ANNE OF THE ISLAND, BOOK 3
Aug. 13th:
History From A Woman's Perspective (Review)
Spunky 'N Sassy (Review)
Aug. 14th:
A Lovelorn Virgo (Spotlight + Audio Excerpt, Teasers, Giveaway)
2 Girls and A Book (Review, Teasers)
Tara's Book Addiction (Spotlight + Audio Excerpt, Giveaway)
Aug. 15th:
Dab of Darkness (Review, Giveaway)
Joy of Bookworms (Review)
Canadian Book Addict (Review, Giveaway)
Aug. 16th:
CGB Blog Tours (Spotlight + Audio Excerpt)
A Book and A Latte (Review)
Macarons and Paperbacks (Review, Spotlight + Audio Excerpt)
Lilly's Book World (Review)
Aug. 17th:
To Read Or Not To Read (Spotlight + Audio Excerpt, Giveaway)
Jorie Loves A Story (Review)
Reading for the Stars and Moon (Spotlight + Audio Excerpt, Teasers, Giveaway)
Notes From 'Round the Bend (Teasers, Giveaway)
Haddie's Haven (Review, Teasers, Giveaway)
Aug. 18th:
The Maiden's Court (Review)
The Book Slayer (Review)
Jorie Loves A Story (Interview)
Hall Ways (Review, Spotlight + Audio Excerpt, Teasers, Giveaway)
Aug. 19th:
Christian Chick's Thoughts (Review)
Lomeraniel (Review, Spotlight + Audio Excerpt, Teasers, Giveaway)
Life As Freya (Review)
Bound 4 Escape (Review, Giveaway)
WTF Are You Reading? (Review, Spotlight + Audio Excerpt, Giveaway)
Copyright © 2017 by The Maiden’s Court
Thanks for this wonderful feature and giveaway. I adore L.M. Montgomery's, Anne of green Gables novels which I read when I was 9 years old, hardcover and living in Montreal and borrowed from the public library. This was my introduction to this series which is my favorite.
ReplyDeleteMhmmmm very interesting.
ReplyDeleteBTW - did you change your profile picture? Looks new!