Sunday, December 01, 2013

Sunday Salon: Reading Jane of Lantern Hill

Jane of Lantern Hill. L.M. Montgomery. 1937. 274 pages. [Source: Bought]

Jane of Lantern Hill was one of the few L.M. Montgomery books that I had not read before this year. While I found Pat of Silver Bush and Mistress Pat extremely disappointing, I found Jane of Lantern Hill to be practically perfect in every way. (If Pat had been my first introduction to L.M. Montgomery, I'm not sure I'd have ever voluntarily picked up another Montgomery book.) I just loved, loved, loved Jane of Lantern Hill.

Jane is our heroine. She lives with her mother, aunt, and grandmother. All three call her Victoria. It is not a happy home for all live in fear or reverence of the grandmother. Her mother is a forgiven prodigal. She returned home with a three year old daughter. (She did not divorce her husband; divorce is unforgivable.) Jane has always assumed that her father was dead. When she learns the truth, she's one confused child. Her relatives only confuse her more. If he is mentioned at all, it is to say that he did not want her, that he never loved her, that she is nothing to him. So it is with dread that Jane learns she is to spend an entire summer with him. He lives on Prince Edward Island. If he never wanted her, why does he want her now?

Once Jane is reunited with her father, her Dad, then the magic happens. It's a lovely coming-of-age novel about Jane discovering who she is and who she isn't! It's about her getting to know and love her Dad. It's about her finding a home, finding a place to belong, a place in the community. Jane is a great narrator! I can hardly do the book justice by summary.

Jane of Lantern Hill is thoroughly satisfying!

Favorite quotes:
Sometimes Jane thought drearily that there must be something the matter with her when there were so many people she didn't like. 
If any one doesn't like the Bible there's something wrong either with him or with the way he was introduced to it. We must do something about it. The Bible is a wonderful book, my Jane. Full of corking good stories and the greatest poetry in the world. Full of the most amazingly human 'human nature.' Full of incredible, ageless wisdom and truth and beauty and common sense. 
Dad read words as if he tasted them.
© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

1 comment:

JaneGS said...

Oh, I want to read this! I haven't read Jane of Lantern Hill, but it sounds wonderful. I liked The Blue Castle, which was my first venture outside the Anne books, and I've been wondering which LMM book to read next!