bare-bones reviews: Anne of Green Gables

I rented from Netflix and watched a 1985 made-for-TV version of Anne of Green Gables. I’ve never read the book(s?), never watched any version on film. I was just curious about what I was missing, since I know a few people for whom this was one of their favourites as a child.

I’m sorry. I just don’t see it. She’s too bloody perfect and winsome for me. I’m not a big fan of the winsome orphan-heroine of young adult fiction (this includes Anne Shirley, Sara Crewe, and even Mary Lennox to a certain extent–though she’s kind of a bitch to everyone).

Actually, I just wasn’t much of a fan of young adult fiction. I think I went from Berenstain Bears to Stephen King and Ray Bradbury without a big transition in the middle. I seem to recall somebody trying to introduce me to The Babysitter’s Club, and being BORED OUT OF MY MIND. I did, however, enjoy Madeleine L’Engle and some R.L. Stine (not Goosebumps, anything but Goosebumps).

The redemption of Anne of Green Gables (over three hours long, by the way) was the rest of the cast. The side characters are much more real to me than Anne; their behavior, their reactions, their speech–all of it is more believable than Anne’s anything.