Further Chronicles of Avonlea (Chronicles of Avonlea, #2) in Never too Late to Read Classics

Nov 22, 2009 Manybooks rated it liked it

Shelves: childrens-literature, book-reviews, l-m-montgomery, short-stories

Although I adore Lucy Maud Montgomery and consider her a perennial favourite, this collection of short stories (her Further Chronicles of Avonlea has never managed to achieve this exalted status for me. True, many of the presented offerings are as sweet and as poignant as ever and some even rate amongst my very favourites (I appreciate the combination of humour and pathos in many of the stories and especially the tale of the dream child, I not only love, it also sends delicious and sad shivers u Although I adore Lucy Maud Montgomery and consider her a perennial favourite, this collection of short stories (her Further Chronicles of Avonlea has never managed to achieve this exalted status for me. True, many of the presented offerings are as sweet and as poignant as ever and some even rate amongst my very favourites (I appreciate the combination of humour and pathos in many of the stories and especially the tale of the dream child, I not only love, it also sends delicious and sad shivers up and down my spine every time I read it). However, the fact remains that L. M. Montgomery did NOT WANT this selection of short stories published, and had made this abundantly clear to her American publisher L. L. Page (who promptly ignored her wishes and desires, and proceeded to publish the collection as Further Chronicles of Avonlea). And this fact, and that L. M. Montgomery was in a long and drawn out court challenge against said publisher (the stress of which played havoc with and on her already frail and fragile nerves) is already enough to always make me cringe somewhat even when reading my best-loved stories of the collection (now I still do read and enjoy them, but yes, I always rather feel guilty when I do and that I do). But furthermore (and perhaps even more importantly), the last selection of Further Chronicles from Avonlea, Tannis of the Flats is the ONLY piece of L.M. Montgomery's shorter fiction that I truly and actively despise with every fibre of my being, a racist stereotyping hate-mongering diatribe against both Native Canadians and the Métis I have actually only managed to read once in its entirity (and which I always deliberately skip when I do my rereads). Still, a recommended collection of stories is Further Chronicles of Avonlea (some of which tales are indeed absolutely outstanding), but with the caveat of the rather unsavoury backstory, and a major warning with regard to the racially insensitive and simply nauseating Tannis of the Flats (and while I do realise that perhaps my own reaction to the latter is a bit overly extreme and personal, the entire premise of Tannis of the Flats just bothers me to no end). ...more

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