Twenty-nine years old and still a spinster, Valancy leads a cheerless existence, bullied by her emotionally distant mother and whiny Cousin Stickles. Hemmed in on all sides: by the poverty of her immediate family, by the restrictive social conventions governing the "respectable" middle class in early twentieth-century Canada, and by the horrible knowledge that she is unloved, unwanted, and unneeded, Valancy is near to the breaking point when fate steps in.
Diagnosed with an incurable and fatal heart illness, this quiet young woman decides to put aside fear, live life on her own terms, and seek - for the short time she has left - for her "Blue Castle." Leaving the confines of her mother's house, Valancy takes a job as housekeeper to Roaring Abel, the town drunk, shocking all of Deerwood by taking care of his dying daughter, Cissy Gay, whose unwed motherhood had made her the town pariah.
As Valancy steps out from the shadow cast by her unappreciative family, she slowly grows in confidence and sense of self. Her friendship with Barney Snaith - the disreputable young man who roars through town in his loud Grey Slosson, Lady Jane Grey - blossoms into love, and Valancy reaches for her Blue Castle, determined to be happy for at least one season.
My review:I absolutely loved this book and it is now on my wishlist to own.
"Deerwood and the Stirlings had long since relegated Valancy to hopeless old maidenhood. But Valancy herself had never quite relinquished a certain pitiful, shamed, little hope that romance would come her way yet -- never, until this wet, horrible morning, when she wakened to the fact that she was twenty-nine and unsought by any man.
Ay, there lay the sting. Valancy did not mind so much being an old maid. After all, she thought, being an old maid couldn't possibly be as dreadful as being married to an Uncle Wellington or an Uncle Benjamin, or even an Uncle Herbert. What hurt her was that she had never had a chance to be anything but an old maid. No man had ever desired her."
Yeah, that accurately describes my situation. Except I'm a 37-year-old spinster who has never been desired by a man. Or a woman for that matter, in this pan-sexuality-minded age. Right from the first page, I sympathized and connected with the main character.
I loved Montgomery's descriptions and turns of phrase. There were zingers of humour that are meaningless without the context of the rest of the story.
The book is set in Muskoka, Ontario, Canada. I have family and friends that live there so I personally loved that there was no mention of mosquitoes in the summer. But they were mentioned in January because of the lack of them.
The plot and action were quick paced until Valancy's biggest life change and then everything slowed down to describe the peaceful serenity of her living on the island. Despite this major change in pace, I still loved the story. Montgomery managed to keep the descriptions and the story captivating enough that it didn't bother me at all.
I loved this book so much that I read it in one sitting.
I have not read any other L.M. Montgomery books and I'm undecided as to whether I will or not. I've seen the movie of "Anne of Green Gables" and liked it enough when I was young, mostly because I am a redhead. But I don't know if I want to read it. Since "The Blue Castle" was written for adults, I'm not sure I would like/appreciate "Anne of Green Gables" as much. "The Blue Castle" is actually quite witty and I worry that any other of Montgomery's works would pale in comparison.
You can read "The Blue Castle" online thanks to Project Gutenberg.
Read on,
Paula
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