Rilla of Ingleside

Just added another to the series.

I wouldn’t recommend it. Perhaps for those who have read the previous books, it carries a certain nostalgia. For one who has not, the book falls flat. The pacing of the book is painstakingly slow, the plot dragging on town gossip and auntie chatter more than anything else. Whilst the book does have an aspect of emotional depth, with the death of an important character and the boys going off to the war, it almost began to irritate me. I got sick and tired of it quickly but somehow I managed to persevere to mage 400 which must account for something, I suppose. What can I say, it does well for a book of its time. But coming from a lady of the modern century, this book was not amusing to me. Could we not have had a perspective from one of the boys, to know what it is they suffered which would add more weight to the frantic struggle of the women back home. Also, I have little care or enjoyment for the trivialities and mundane matters of everyday life, why I’d spend my time in a book reading about it, I do not know. I frankly, don’t care much, for Susan’s elaborate on and on’s. The book lacks suspense, action and drama. For me, it’s too laid back to be described as a story about war and waiting, coming of age and the sort. I have issues with it. Rilla seems to just grow up and we don’t see much into the internal warfare that provokes it besides ‘she has taken good care of a baby’ and ‘she’s grown because of the war and she must be brave’. I mean really? It was hard to get though but I did it. The romance is practically non existent and I don’t care for it at all. Yes Kenneth makes a feature where he gives a vague promise but then it’s forgotten about the letters are inconsistent which makes me struggle to have any attachment to him. His death might’ve been more crushing than his proposal. The book was also a little predictable. Anyways I’ll say this, I loved Walter. And Rilla wasn’t half bad either. But my oh my, it’s not the best of books. Unless you enjoy trivial aunty gossip and townsfolk storylines.

Beautiful story.