Katja Labonté's Reviews > Anne's House of Dreams

5+ stars (9/10 hearts). All the Anne books are beautiful, but this one is particularly lovely and touching. It’s just so gorgeous and I can’t stop tearing up or laughing aloud. Anne & Gilbert's romance is absolutely wonderful. The kind you dream of and wish for. I am always touched by how beautiful their love for each other is.

The setting is simply magnificent and I can’t get enough of the sea and ships part of the book—those descriptions make my waves-loving heart happy. And then the characters. Captain Jim…. ah, Captain Jim. He is wonderful. How can you love him so much when he only figures in this one book? What a good, wise, admirable man. <3 Miss Cornelia, so hilarious and kind, and Susan, so simple and humorous, and Owen, so passionate, and Leslie, so broken and yet so strong… and Anne, so much deeper than ever before.

There is great sorrow and great beauty in this book. The tragedies and beauties of life, the adventures and everyday events, are woven so sweetly together. There is so much passion and wonder and love… so much truth. This is my second-favourite of the Anne books. <3 I love the whole series so much. It’s my favourite book series ever. But some of the books are a little better than the others… In my humble opinion, Rilla of Ingleside is THE best. But I *love* Anne’s House of Dreams. It’s such a paradox. Heartbreaking and swelling with joy. Beautiful and somber. Powerful and gentle. Alive and dreamy. I love the setting, so gorgeous, so moody, so shifting. I love the people—living, vibrant, with their own flaws and virtues, their darkness and light. I love the humour, so brilliant and homely. But the love—the LOVE that fills this book. The love of Anne and Gilbert for each other and their babies. Captain Jim’s love for everyone and everyone’s love for him.… and the same for Miss Cornelia. Leslie’s love for Anne… Anne’s love for Leslie… and Owen’s love for Leslie… mother love and romantic love and friendship love. It’s a picture of life.

Content: 3 mentions of suicide, one rather detailed; 1 kiss mentioned in passing; and Leslie’s story is very tragical/difficult, so that I recommend this book for ages 18+.

A Favourite Quote: “I don’t want to. I know how you feel about it, Mistress Blythe—just as I feel meself. But it ain’t our feelings we have to steer by through life—no, no, we’d make shipwreck mighty often if we did that. There’s only the one safe compass and we’ve got to set our course by that—what it’s right to do.”
A Favourite Beautiful Quote: It was an exquisite morning, full of tints and sounds at once ripe and delicate. The harbour was sparkling and dimpling like a girl; white gulls were soaring over the dunes; beyond the bar was a shining, wonderful sea. The long fields by the shore were dewy and fresh in that first fine, purely-tinted light. The wind came dancing and whistling up the channel to replace the beautiful silence with a music more beautiful still.
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “Now, now, Cornelia,” remonstrated Captain Jim[,] “you shouldn’t say that about those two ... boys, unless you’ve got certain proof. Jest because their father ain’t none too honest isn’t any reason for calling them thieves. It’s more likely it’s been the robins took your cherries. They’re turrible thick this year.”
“Robins!” said Miss Cornelia disdainfully. “Humph! Two-legged robins, believe ME!”
“Well, most of the Four Winds robins ARE constructed on that principle,” said Captain Jim gravely.