I bought it!

Posted: Fri Nov 24, 2006 11:28 pm

Rilla and Kenneth are so cute together Very Happy

Una was in love with Mary Vance?? Confused

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Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2006 6:58 am

raggedyanne wrote:

Una was in love with Mary Vance?? Confused

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Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2006 12:45 pm

You mean admired..?

By the way, I just remembered that Rilla did know Kenneth for a long time, she knew him when she was very young.

Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2006 4:11 pm

He sounded so nice!

Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2006 4:24 pm

I think he used to tease her too, didn't he?

Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2006 4:33 pm

Yeah, I think he called her Rolly poly.

Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2006 4:34 pm

Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2006 7:43 pm

I wonder what it would have been like for Rilla to have to go through WWI, with all of its horrors, and still live to see WWII. It probably would have been much worse for someone in Europe.

Despite everything we've learned in history class, I still find it very hard to believe that WWII could have happened so soon after WWI. In RoI, some of the characters were commenting on how absurd it was for large-scale war to break out among such "civilized" nations--and that was 1914. You'd think that after living through such a traumatic event, people would have done anything to prevent it from starting again.
I really can't imagine what it would have been like.

Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2006 2:04 pm

I can't imagine living through two WWs. Like you said, being in Europe while it happened must have be mortifying. There was some speculation that the attacks could reach North America, but the majority of the battles were on the other side of the world. Imagine living day by day and never knowing if you and your city would be flattened! Living in fear isn't living at all.

I'm more surprised at the Interwar years, how quickly the roaring 20s dipped into the 30s just because of the stock market. I guess people ditch all common sense in times of great depression. They go to all lengths and will believe anything in hopes of a better life.

It's so interesting to study the WWs. I would love to do that. I'm really glad that after WWII, the 20s didn't repeat itself again Mad

Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2008 9:34 am

I didn't read "Rilla" until I was about 20, about 12 or 13 years after I first discovered "Anne." It was quite a shock, in a way, that the series ended on such a sombre note, because it was something I was so familiar with as being timeless and innocent, and I was devastated that Anne - my kindred spirit Anne, who was more than just a character I empathised with; I thought of her almost as a part of my childhood self! - should lose a beloved son in such a way. I'd studied World War 1 in English Literature and it was such a tragedy to befall the previusly idyllic world of "Anne." Of course in reality the war left its mark on every idyllic world at the time.

Walter was a favourite character, because in some ways he was the Blythe child most like Anne, though without the rather wimpy manner of Paul Irving (sorry, Paul fans) - He was a stronger character for his weakness and his courage in overcoming that weakness. It was inevitable that he would die, but no less upsetting.

Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 6:57 pm

I always felt that there should have been another book in the series after Rilla because the series ended with such a tragic death (even if Kenneth and Rilla lived happily ever after), and it didn't focus on Anne. After reading Rainbow Valley and about all the kids, I really wished it talked about Anne again...like in Anne of Avonlea or Anne of the Island.

Walter was one of my favourite characters too, and I never imagined him dying actually. It shocked me quite a bit. I don't think I would have been as sad if it was Jem or the other Meredith boys (sorry).

Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 8:45 am

That's probably why he was killed off: to emphasise the tragedy of the war. I was sorry that Anne seemed to fade into the background in this one, that she just became "Mrs Blythe the Doctor's wife" or "Mrs Doctor Dear," as if she didn't have so much of her own life now she had grown-up children and was getting on a bit.

My favourite moment in this book was the chapter where Whiskers-on-the-Moon proposes to Susan. Laughing

Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 11:04 pm

Yes, that's why I really wished there was another book after Rilla to focus on Anne again. I read the books in order and sometimes felt I was reading another series. But it is my fave in the series.

Haha, Susan Baker always provided comic relief for me...even when she wasn't trying to be funny!

Wouldn't it be awesome if this book was made into a film?

Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2009 11:17 am

Yeah, I felt that way sometimes when I read the books. I think it would be great if they made the book into a film Very Happy

Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 10:35 pm

It's been a while since I've read the series. I think I need to start again Smile

When was the last time you read the series?