“She looked like a very incarnation of Spring– as if all the shimmer of young leaves and glow of young mornings and evanescent sweetness of young blossoms in a thousand springs had been embodied in her.”
Genre: classic; drama; romance
Plot Summary: When Eric Marshall agrees to fill in as a substitute schoolteacher in a small farming community on Prince Edward Island, he doesn’t know it will change his life forever. One evening, while walking through an abandoned orchard, he hears the unearthly music of a talented violinist. The beauty of the silent girl captivates him, but Kilmeny has been kept hidden away from society because of a dark secret from her past. Can Eric convince her guardians to allow him to court her?
My Book Review: It’s been a few years since I’ve read my last L. M. Montgomery novel, and felt like pulling this off my shelf this spring while waiting for my next library book. It wasn’t long and took less than a week for me to read (I suspect others would easily finish it inside of a day).
This is a typical Montgomery novel—dripping with apple blossoms and roses on nearly every page. I think L. M. M. is the only author to get away with this! The story itself is not extraordinary, and I found it predictable and overly dramatic at times. However, it was a sweet story and I enjoyed it for all that! I don’t mind reading of heavenly places full of flowers, star-like heroines, and courtship amid the blossoms once in a while! Sure, I think it unrealistic that anybody could be quite as beautiful as the heroine (and I think it was just the description coming from a biased lover!), but it doesn’t hurt to sometimes have a heroine who is all things gracious and lovely. I’d take Kilmeny over Kardashian anyday. I think it would improve the world for young ladies to aspire more toward feminine elegance than the latest pop celebrity.
I honestly think I would have enjoyed this more when I was younger (teens), though I could probably say I appreciated some themes in it more now that I am a little older. Kilmeny’s sweet innocence in the beginning; Eric, who cherishes her as a valuable person and therefore seeks the blessing of her aunt and uncle even if things could have gotten complicated; Kilmeny’s slow blossoming to life, love, and awareness of herself. I thought the ending lovely in that Eric considers Kilmeny his greatest glory in life. Even though he doesn’t want to wait long for them to be married, Kilmeny is wise in knowing she needs time to prepare for their life together.
If you’re wanting a nice, light spring read, this will surely send you into dreamy ecstasy! You can listen to the audiobook for free here.
