Thursday 25 October 2018

Audio: Marilla of Green Gables - Sarah McCoy



Audio CD, 9 h
Narrator: Cassandra Campbell
Published October 23rd 2018 by HarperAudio
Historical fiction
For review

My Thoughts:
In a way this one was kind of sad. There is a budding romance, but you know it will not have a happy ending and that she will have regrets.

It starts with Marilla at 13. She is mostly at home, she has no friends, but she is content. Life is busy on a farm. I liked young Marilla. She was kind and sweet. She does make a friend later on, a friend who will be her best friend for life.

I do get that her mother's death had a huge impact on her. She felt that she had to care for her father and brother. She had no time for herself, and that is so sad. I also felt sorry for Matthew, poor man, he wanted love too. See, this is a sad book, think how long they had to wait to find that sunshine in their lives!

There is a beau too, John Blythe, and how I wanted to smack her over the head! Yes yes, there can not be  happy ending, but but! There could have been. That is the sad part.

It is a book that deals with farmlife and the slow country life. How things shape us.

And then it jumps ahead and she is suddenly 36 or something. Life has gone on without her.

Ok since the blurb tells it all. There is also talk about what is happening in the world. And she feels she wants to help protect slaves that escape. She does not do much,, but even the small things can be a different if everyone made an effort.

This is not the Marilla that I remember from the movies, tv series (oh I have to watch that new one!!).  I also realised that Marilla is actually not that old, ok 50, but still. And she does say the windy island age you. It makes me understand her more, because the books do not give us a lot about her. The author of this book imagines that for us.

Conclusion:
And interesting what if. Still poor Matthew! You will see.

Narrator
She did well with the feel of the book. It is not a book that hurries toward something. It is life, the small things, the big questions. A slow sort of reflection that she handled well.

Blurb
Plucky and ambitious, Marilla Cuthbert is thirteen years old when her world is turned upside down. Her beloved mother dies in childbirth, and Marilla suddenly must bear the responsibilities of a farm wife: cooking, sewing, keeping house, and overseeing the day-to-day life of Green Gables with her brother, Matthew and father, Hugh.

In Avonlea-a small, tight-knit farming town on a remote island-life holds few options for farm girls. Her one connection to the wider world is Aunt Elizabeth Izzy Johnson, her mother's sister, who managed to escape from Avonlea to the bustling city of St. Catharines. An opinionated spinster, Aunt Izzy's talent as a seamstress has allowed her to build a thriving business and make her own way in the world.

Emboldened by her aunt, Marilla dares to venture beyond the safety of Green Gables and discovers new friends and new opportunities. Joining the Ladies Aid Society, she raises funds for an orphanage run by the Sisters of Charity in nearby Nova Scotia that secretly serves as a way station for runaway slaves from America. Her budding romance with John Blythe, the charming son of a neighbor, offers her a possibility of future happiness-Marilla is in no rush to trade one farm life for another. She soon finds herself caught up in the dangerous work of politics, and abolition-jeopardizing all she cherishes, including her bond with her dearest John Blythe. Now Marilla must face a reckoning between her dreams of making a difference in the wider world and the small-town reality of life at Green Gables.

26 comments:

  1. I'm not familiar with this story as a book or tv show/movie. Sorry it didn't have the happy ending, especially if it could've. Great review.

    Melanie @ Hot Listens & Books of My Heart

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    Replies
    1. Oh there could never have been a happy ending. She was a spinster

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  2. Anytime you include the phrase, "I wanna smack her over the head" when referring to a character makes me want to smack them over the head, too. Lol.

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    1. Hehe, well I sure want to smack a lot of people over the head

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  3. I'm excited about this book because I love McCoy's work.

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  4. Like Melanie I too don't know this story, I only know of Anne of Green Gables. Sounds like you enjoyed it even though it could have ended differently. Thanks Blodeuedd

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    Replies
    1. THis is the story before Anne, how Marilla never married, you know the old woman who is mean

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  5. Is it terrible that I just don't need to know more of Marilla? I love Anne of GG and I don't need to go back - maybe that's because I know it won't necessarily be happy.

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    Replies
    1. Well no one knows. It seems the only thing mentioned is that she had something going on with Gilbert's dad in the old days

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  6. I'm unfamiliar with this story but it's interesting, although probably not for me.

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  7. Very nice review, I have this one booked at the library awaiting my turn. I think I'll enjoy it but it is just one author's take on Marilla isn't it.

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  8. Fun enough I am watching the show on Netflix. Poor Matthew and Marilla

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  9. Oh no, I don't think I can do sad! I'm not familiar with the story or characters at all, I'm guessing she and John Blythe don't end up working out? D:

    ~Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum

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    Replies
    1. Omg have none of you watched Anne of Green Gables?

      And nope she is a spinster from the famous books

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  10. Sounds like a nice slow read (and I don't mean that in a bad way) with the sense of farm and island life.

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  11. Yeah, unless this was a variation there was going to be some sadness and regrets. I love the Green Gables world so I definitely want to read/listen to it.

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    Replies
    1. Yes I can do PP variations, but this has to stay as it is. I mean how could anne marry gilbert if not

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  12. I have not read Anne of Green Gables so I am not familiar with this character. It is interesting to get another story about a well loved character.

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    1. How is it that everyone has missed this wonderful book/tv series? Such a shame

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  13. When you start your review telling me the book is kind of sad... I know it's not going to be for me! Also, I've never read Anne, so I don't know anything about it. haha.

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    1. What is wrong with you people! ANNE!!!! Lol, I loved it as a kid

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