lmmontgomery

Emily of New Moon | Lucy Maud Montgomery

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I finished this on Saturday and forgot to post. I loved revisiting New Moon in this reread. Reading LMM's journals has deepened my appreciation of her novels.

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BarbaraJean

Emily of New Moon | Lucy Maud Montgomery

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread

Do you agree with LMM that this is the best book she‘s written (thus far in her life)?

What criteria do you use when considering what is a “best book”? For you, is “best” different from “favorite”?

rubyslippersreads, JenlovesJT47, lauraisntwilder, kwmg40, TheAromaofBooks, willaful

BarbaraJean I have a *really* hard time with determining what is a “best book.“ For me, “favorite“ and “best“ are very different things. I can appreciate a book's literary excellence and still not like it, and I can absolutely LOVE a book that I know isn't very well-written. So even though I asked this question, it's hard to answer! 😆 I do think EoNM is a better book than AoGG, but I don't know if I'd say it's better than Rilla. 2w

lauraisntwilder EoNM is my favorite, but I think AoGG is probably her best to this point, from a literary standpoint. Marilla, Matthew, and Rachel are all so well and clearly defined. Jimmy is, but Elizabeth and Laura don't feel quite as real. I love them, but they're very similar to other sets of sisters in LMM's work. 2w

TheAromaofBooks I think I have to agree with @lauraisntwilder that AoGG seems like a more well-rounded book to me. It's also possible, though, that I feel that way because I've read AoGG a thousand times and EoNM twice 😂 I definitely don't think Emily is better than Rilla - I really think Rilla may be LMM's best book. I do think LMM connected far more with Emily as a reflection of herself than she did with Anne, who was entirely imaginary, and I can see why ⬇ 1w

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) LMM would consider this her most pleasurable book to write. I think she enjoyed slipping in some autobiographical tones. She's also more confident as a writer at this point than she was when AoGG was written. 1w

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BarbaraJean

Emily of New Moon | Lucy Maud Montgomery

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead LMMReread

For those of you who are re-reading, is there anything that landed differently for you on this reading?

If you‘re also reading the journals—how did the context of the journals affect your reading of the book?

rubyslippersreads, JenlovesJT47, lauraisntwilder, kwmg40, TheAromaofBooks, willaful

BarbaraJean Because of the journals, I saw SO many parallels between Emily and LMM: her life, her personality, and her family stories. I see such a mirror in Emily of LMM's NEED to write, how often she has to “write things out“ in order to process them emotionally. I also saw so many parallels to LMM's own writing ambitions (I mean, the Alpine Path is pretty obvious). Aunt Elizabeth landed a little differently this time—I actually found her more sympathetic.⬇ 2w

BarbaraJean (Cont'd) I wondered how much of LMM's grandmother was reflected in Aunt Elizabeth. She absolutely DOES NOT understand Emily, but I found her so human in her eventual flash of realization that Emily is her own person whose perspective and feelings should be considered. She literally is a woman who has ZERO experience with or understanding of children and that somehow made me understand (not excuse!) her behavior a bit more this time. 2w

lauraisntwilder The Alpine Path, yes, but it struck me as sad that creepy Dean Priest sent Emily the lines in a letter. I don't think I knew the significance of that poem to LMM when I read this before. LMM also had a horrible time shut up in the medical ward at school with measles. I was fascinated by that part of the journals and had completely forgotten that Emily gets measles, too. 2w

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lauraisntwilder Knowing how often LMM had to entertain clergymen, I enjoyed the part where Emily asks Lofty John's priest for help even more. 2w

TheAromaofBooks YES on the parts of Emily's life and personality that aligned with Emily! It was so interesting to see what family history tales she granted to Emily. And yes, Emily's determination and ambition and literal NEED to write all felt so close to the way LMM describes herself. 1w

TheAromaofBooks I wonder if LMM had already decided who Emily would marry when she wrote this first book, or if she was still keeping her options open? I feel like she sets Emily up with three options who connect with her in different ways: Teddy (soul), Dean (brain), and Perry (body). I could be getting really carried away here haha but in some ways these three also seem to represent the way LMM didn't really think it was possible for her to find someone who ⬇ 1w

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) could be all three. (And in the end, LMM married someone who was none of them! Ewan is a fourth category, really - “practical“.) As a side question, do you think LMM intended for Dean to come off as creepy? @lauraisntwilder I would be interested in your thoughts, too!! 1w

lauraisntwilder @TheAromaofBooks No, I don't think she did. I like your idea of the three possibilities lining up with soul, brain, and body. LMM had Herman Leard for body (and what a lovely way to rewrite the life of someone who died young) who was socially inappropriate, like Perry, the "hired boy." Her brain companion was probably George MacMillan, right? I don't think he was creepy, but he was across the ocean. Maybe Dean's age is supposed to feel like a 1/2 1w

lauraisntwilder great distance? And maybe she knew the whole time Emily would never be able to cross it? And her soulmate was Frede, I think. I don't think she ever found that connection in a romantic relationship. 1w

TheAromaofBooks @lauraisntwilder - Yes!! That is a great call with Frede being her soulmate; I genuinely think that's true. It doesn't seem like she ever connected with a man/potential husband in that way - or maybe she didn't let herself? I think she had trouble trusting people, and Frede was one of the few people in the world that she 100% completely trusted. I think part of the reason she married Ewan was because he WASN'T someone she could ever fall in love ⬇ 1w

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) with, which weirdly made him “safe“ - falling in love gives someone a lot of power over you in many ways. 1w

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BarbaraJean

Emily of New Moon | Lucy Maud Montgomery

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread Emily of New Moon
As I was reading, I had a couple ideas I thought would be great for discussion questions. I was going to get up & note them down, but I was lazy and told myself of course I‘d remember. Well. I forgot. So. General discussion post! (I do have a couple of other questions I‘ll post separately)
What are your thoughts on Emily of New Moon? What themes, characters, scenes, or quotes stand out to you?

rubyslippersreads, JenlovesJT47, lauraisntwilder, kwmg40, TheAromaofBooks, willaful

lauraisntwilder I was struck by how much Emily wants to obey Aunt Elizabeth. She is amazingly loyal and sweet. 2w

TheAromaofBooks @lauraisntwilder - I was thinking about that, too! Especially since there are times that Laura encourages Emily to basically go behind Elizabeth's back, but Emily instead does try to stay true to what Elizabeth wants her to do. 1w

TheAromaofBooks There was one line towards the end of the book where the aunts and uncles are talking about whether or not Emily should go to Queens, and Elizabeth says something like, “No Murray has to work for her living“ and the uncle says, “Well she's only half Murray“ And I was honestly so confused - aren't they ALL only half Murray!? 😂 1w

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BarbaraJean

Emily of New Moon | Lucy Maud Montgomery

“The happiest countries, like the happiest women, have no history,” said Dean.

“…like all female creatures, you form your opinions by your feelings.”

Every time I read this, I discover more reasons to hate Dean Priest. #LMMReread #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

rubyslippersreads, JenlovesJT47, lauraisntwilder, kwmg40, TheAromaofBooks, willaful

Trashcanman I‘ve never met a wise man, if so it‘s a woman. 2w

TheAromaofBooks On top of being a total creep, he's sooooo condescending 2w

kwmg40 He definitely comes across as a creep! 2w

rubyslippersreads 😡🤢 2w

lauraisntwilder The. Worst. 2w

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BarbaraJean

Emily of New Moon | Lucy Maud Montgomery

Goodness, I love Father Cassidy so much. I wish we had more of him than we get!!

How is your reading coming along this week, Kindred Spirits? What are your favorite parts in this week‘s chapters? #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread

rubyslippersreads, JenlovesJT47, lauraisntwilder, kwmg40, TheAromaofBooks, willaful

JenlovesJT47 Thank you for reminding me!! I absolutely love this trilogy but have only read it once. Will try my hardest to get to it this week but I‘m so behind on everything. 😭 3w

JenlovesJT47 And I love Emily, she‘s so feisty. 3w

kwmg40 I love the interaction with Father Cassidy too! 3w

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BarbaraJean @JenlovesJT47 I get it! No pressure, I know how busy things can get and how the self-assigned reading piles up 😆 3w

BarbaraJean @kwmg40 He's such a delight! And I wish he could be more part of Emily's life. She needs more adults like this! 3w

TheAromaofBooks Father Cassidy - finally a good adult!!

One thing that struck me this week was how much of this book is actually from Emily's first-person POV. Compared to the Anne books, where we don't get anything from Anne's direct POV (except in Windy Poplars, which hadn't been published at this point). However, this mixture of journals and narration does remind me of the format of Rilla. I really appreciate how, despite writing a story about another ⬇ 3w

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) orphan girl, LMM has created a character completely different from Anne. Imaginative and creative, yes, but Emily is really just so so different from Anne in so many ways, beyond just her circumstances. Even at this young age (younger than we meet Anne) she's ambitious and goal-oriented vs Anne who did love learning and studying, but also at some level seemed to do it for the joy of learning more than because she had a specific career ⬇ 3w

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) in mind. While Emily does sometimes get in a bit of a temper, she also tends to keep things in more until she can “write it out“ vs Anne's temper flashes and chatterbox tendencies. All that to say, even though I don't really objectively like this book - it's just too sad for me to really like it - I do appreciate LMM's incredible skill in character creation. 3w

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BarbaraJean

Emily of New Moon | Lucy Maud Montgomery

I don‘t generally advocate drinking your feelings, but tonight this lady needs a drinky drink and a comfort read.

ncsufoxes I have been having a few Surfside Vodkas & we watched an Adam Sandler movie tonight to laugh. 3w

BarbaraJean @ncsufoxes sounds like a good way to self-soothe—you have to take what comfort you can get! 3w

dabbe 🎯🩵🎯 3w

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BarbaraJean

Emily of New Moon | Lucy Maud Montgomery

Hello, Kindred Spirits! Just a quick check-in on how your reading is going this week!

How are you enjoying Emily of New Moon so far?
What stands out to you from this week's chapters?

I‘m loving Emily and her world, as always. Emily is a delight and Cousin Jimmy is such a gift to her grieving spirit. I love seeing the parallels between Emily‘s writing and LMM‘s writing. And I want to shake Aunt Elizabeth. 😡

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread

rubyslippersreads, JenlovesJT47, lauraisntwilder, kwmg40, TheAromaofBooks, willaful

rubyslippersreads While you‘re shaking Aunt Elizabeth, give Ellen Greene a smack for me. 😠 4w

JenlovesJT47 Have you watched the show? They picked the perfect person to play Aunt Elizabeth. 💚💚💚 4w

kwmg40 This is a reread for me, and I‘m enjoying it very much so far. 4w

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BarbaraJean @rubyslippersreads Yes! And I'll also throw in a slap for Miss Brownell. @JenlovesJT47 I haven't yet! I think I'll wait to finish this re-read. Glad to know they cast her well! @kwmg40 💜 💜 4w

rubyslippersreads @BarbaraJean Miss Brownell! 😡 4w

rubyslippersreads @BarbaraJean And let‘s not forget Aunt Ruth. 4w

BarbaraJean @rubyslippersreads So many people to slap. 4w

TheAromaofBooks Urgh, this book is so frustrating because it feels like basically every adult in Emily's life is ignorant, mean-spirited and/or too weak to stick up for her. Aunt Elizabeth shouldn't be allowed within 100 years of a child; was there ever someone with less understanding?! However, it's been SO interesting to pick up on parallels to LMM's childhood. I also recognized a few of the New Moon stories as belonging to her family (especially how their ⬇ 4w

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) family ended up on PEI). Unpopular opinion, I'm really not that fond of Aunt Laura, either. She's obviously better than the others, but the way she just passively lets things happen to Emily, and then encourages Emily to just disobey behind Aunt Elizabeth's back! It drives me a little crazy. 4w

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Every time I read this I discover I've forgotten just how bad 90% of the adults are. The way Elizabeth gets all snippy and lecture-y when Emily is crying, the night of her father's funeral?!?! 😡😡😡

I get where you're coming from with Aunt Laura. I'm SO glad Emily has Laura and Jimmy who actually love her and make her feel loved, but just encouraging Emily to sneak around behind Elizabeth's back is NOT the way to handle things. 4w

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks And YES, I'm loving recognizing some of the New Moon stories from LMM's family lore! “Here I Stay“ is such a great tale, especially knowing it actually happened! 4w

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BarbaraJean

Emily of New Moon | Lucy Maud Montgomery

Juxtapositions like these are one of the reasons I‘m so enjoying reading LMM‘s journals alongside a re-read of her books!

Top: quote from Aug. 4, 1923 — just weeks before Emily of New Moon was published
Bottom: quote from chapter 1 in Emily of New Moon

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread #LMMJournals

lauraisntwilder, TheAromaofBooks

JenlovesJT47 💚💚💚 1mo

TheAromaofBooks I am really interested to see what connections we find between Emily and LMM (and later - Pat and LMM) 1mo

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks I am SO interested to read the journals alongside Pat! I remember you really not liking the Pat books--do you think you'll re-read this time? 1mo

TheAromaofBooks I still have never read Mistress Pat, but I probably will reread Pat of Silver Bush despite saying I wasn't going to read it again ever 😂 1mo

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BarbaraJean

Emily of New Moon | Lucy Maud Montgomery

I was really excited about re-reading Emily of New Moon by listening to this audiobook narrated by Megan Follows. Until I saw it‘s abridged. 😭 Maybe I‘ll read it in print and then go back afterwards to listen and see what they cut out. #LMMReread #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

TheBookHippie Oh dear. 1mo

lauraisntwilder ☹️ I see no reason for this book to have been abridged. 1mo

BarbaraJean @TheBookHippie I‘m SO disappointed! @lauraisntwilder Right?!? How could Megan Follows be part of this kind of travesty?! 1mo

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TheBookHippie @BarbaraJean it makes no sense. 1mo

willaful Good grief! It's hardly a super long book! 1mo

BarbaraJean @willaful I was thinking it was longer than Anne by about 100 pages, but I just looked it up, and at least in the Bantam paperbacks, it's all of 30 pages longer than Anne. 🙄 1mo

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