The front cover is simply maddening! There are four girls, and Anne only has three, so one must be a Meredith. So which one??The boy in the water is, I'm thinking, Shirley, and the tall one is Walter. The girl sitting is Diana.If the girl in the blue dress holding the flowers is Rilla and the one holding the basket is Nan, or vice versa, then who is the second redhead? Rilla's hair is a softer red, and neither of the Meredith sisters has red hair.Till my dying day I will be puzzling over this...I like things to make sense, for heaven's sake.Ah well, it's the wonderful book that counts: as always, LMM's powers of description shine out. I relish each word I read like a juicy piece of fruit whose sweet taste never quite leaves my mouth. Every character means something to me and moves me in some way.There are characters I would like more of, especially Una. I'd love more of her troubles and adventures, particularly since I feel like her--sensitive and shy. But Faith gets more attention, more, in fact, than any of the other children. It's understandable given her spunky, active personality, and there's no doubt that she's a fun, lovable heroine. But just because Una is perhaps less active and outwardly reactive than Faith doesn't mean her episodes would be less engaging and meaningful. This partiality for Faith in Rainbow Valley is similar to what happens in Anne of Avonlea: Dora, the quiet, perfect child, is ignored in favor of Davy, the more vivacious, troublesome one.I would also like more of the Blythes and their specific activities with the Merediths in Rainbow Valley. In addition, a chapter or two from Anne's persepective, in which Faith or another Meredith comes to her for a talk, would be nice. I want a sampling of her adult self, who is sympathetic and helps them with their problems and feelings. Adults seek Anne too, but there are no examples of either. Vagueness in Rainbow Valley also lies in the romance of Mr. Meredith (who is really too absent to be believable-forgetting to eat and sleep! But he is lovable) and Rosemary West. It's rather rushed. He meets her, 'wakes up' a little, visits her and Ellen frequently, then suddenly proposes. I feel like "Did I miss something, skip a chapter?" I don't get to see any of the dialogues Mr. Meredith has with Rosemary, or Ellen. I have to give LMM a break because it's hard to actually show relationships develop, but they would have so much more meaning if I got an idea of what exactly Mr. Meredith and Rosemary are like together and what they talk about. I always love LMM's romances, especially how they begin and culminate, but she does tend to gloss over their progression, summarizing with "They talked of books, politics, etc, and felt such kinship," which is easier than actually showing the conversations. The summaries and circumstances of her romances are so beautifully described I love them anyway, but still feel a little cheated. For example, on page 148, 'Mr. Meredith touched deeps in her nature that Martin had never touched--that had not, perhaps, been in the girl of seventeen to touch.' Wonderful! But where does such a sentiment come from? In simply being with him, in the things he says...?Another point on Mr. Meredith--I am opposed to the idea that, in order to be an attentive, caring father, Mr. Meredith needs a wife. It may be true that he cannot do it all alone and children's lives are not quite complete with only one parent, but I can't accept his lack of a wife as an excuse to be neglectful. Throughout the book he rues his neglect when his children get into scrapes, but he really does nothing about it. No wife is necessary for him to be more involved in their lives. I greatly enjoy the intervals with Miss Cornelia and Susan giving their opinions on various matters, as well as the theological discussions of both the adult and children. All of them are enjoyable and thought-provoking.Despite some vagueness, Rainbow Valley is utterly lovely and golden. How I wish for a Rainbow Valley of my own, and a group of such children as the Blythes and Merediths to tryst in it with! LMM is an author who instantly instills in me a desire to live in the worlds of her books. How I wish, too, that there was another book between Rainbow Valley and Rilla of Ingleside that shows all of the Blythes and Merediths growing up! I come to care so deeply for them.
It had been years since I had read "Rainbow Valley" as I have a tendency to stop reading at "Anne of Ingleside", therefore, my memories of "Rainbow Valley" were iffy at best. However, I really enjoyed reading it this time through and was caught up by the storylines of the manse children, the two sisters who had given up on love, and the hints of what the future was to hold for Walter and the other boys. Of course, being the Anne and Gilbert fan that I am, I would have been happy with a little less "Mother and Dad" and a bit more "Anne and Gilbert" interaction, but at the same time, it was interesting to see what the offspring of Anne and Gilbert were like. One character who is mentioned but is lacking in storylines, is Shirley - Anne and Gilbert's fifth child, and apple of Susan's eye. It's almost like he doesn't enter into the family at all, which I think is a little strange. We see a whole lot of the oldest four Blythe children, but Shirley and Rilla don't have a lot of family interaction in "Rainbow Valley". So, while it remains as the least of my favorites of this delighful series, I certainly enjoyed it more this time around than I did in past readings, and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to read the Anne stories.
What do You think about Rainbow Valley (1985)?
I remember now why I didn't rush to read this. Anne is hardly in it at all! As a book in the Anne of Green Gables series, it's a terrible let down. I got quite excited when the Reverend said he was going to see Mrs Blythe. Finally, a bit of Anne. But no. The doctor's wife is not at home. It was the same when Faith wants to see her. Anne being away does serve to forward the plot with other characters, but oh dear. Not much Anne, even less Gilbert, and no Avonlea at all. That said, this book is lovely on its own merit. Montgomery certainly knew how to write charming children. Their sweet little ideas and attitudes, their games and adventures. Rainbow Valley sounds like a lovely place and it was so enjoyable to imagine the little town surrounding it. It's a good story, too. I just really like the way Montgomery writes about people. They're so real. I intend to read Rilla of Ingleside next. I know it'll be about the children of the place again, and not much Anne, but to be fair, her six children are not unlike her dear self.
—Laura
Like I always say, children are the best form of birth control. Even imaginative, sweet-natured children. Oh, lisping Rilla, being chased into the mud by a codfish-wielding Mary Vance... how I laughed uproariously over your plight, though I gathered from the soulful prose that I was meant to feel sorry for you.Seven books in, and I can't stop wondering what Anne was like in bed. When one of her litter of six was born, L. M. Montgomery wrote of a stork depositing a bundle of baby at the Blythe residence. I was so flummoxed by the reference to this cliched bullshit that I couldn't even summon a proper giggle. It made me think of the horrible Victorian values that are with us still, in their myriad stifling forms. I suppose Vicki really did just close her eyes and think of England. I wonder what Liz thinks of the whole reproductive process.
—Lady
2.5 stars. This book follows the adventures of Anne and Gilbert Blythe's 6 children as they grow older and meet the mischievous Meredith clan. It generally focuses on the adventures of the children, with Anne appearing only in passing. The children's adventures are amusing, but the core of the book for me was really the would-be romance between Mr. Meredith and Rosemary West. If not for that, the book would have lacked a strong emotional foundation. Many of the Meredith children's woes and misadventures can be traced to the fact that they lack a mother, a proper housekeeper, or an attentive father, so the reader naturally begins to wish that someone would just help these kids out. That helps to link the childish and romantic aspects of the book quite nicely.I would really only recommend this book to completists who feel that they just have to finish a series; I suspect that most Anne fans won't find it particularly compelling. At this point in the series, the books are really just a series of charming vignettes about children living in a quaint time and place. As I mentioned in my review of Anne of Ingleside, much of the appeal of the original Anne of Green Gables was the adversity that Anne faced. The Blythe children lack any kind of meaningful adversity; their lives are essentially perfect. Perhaps that's why the Meredith children and other characters such as Mary Vance (who hailed from the same orphanage as Anne) were introduced. I will also echo the sentiment found in others reviews that it's a shame that we don't hear more about Anne herself or about any of the folks at Green Gables. Much of the core of the series seems to have been lost, which is a real shame.
—Kristi
