As you can tell from the left sidebar here at my little place, "Anne of Green Gables" is one of my all-time favorite movies. It's also an amazing series of books, and I was a fan of "Road to Avonlea" as well. It's one of those obsessions that I consider to be all healthy, and it's a definite cure for the blues. Anne Shirley is one rocking chick, and she didn't have to be mean or petty to other women to do it. She had the imagination, the sass, and the independent soul that made me just adore her. Nothing was going to keep her down. Love her.
So as I was doin' a little blog-hopping, I stopped at Jennie's blog and found this. (For more on the story, go here). Let me just say, my heart is not happy.
I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to this issue, and don't much care for other authors writing stories based on a popular book/series. In my opinion, it didn't work for "Scarlet", the "Gone With The Wind" sequel, and I dislike all the "Pride and Prejudice" takes out there. What is the point, I ask you? I don't care what someone else thinks about Mr. Darcy's relationship with Mr. Bingley, or whether Scarlett and Rhett really do get together, because to me, it's cheating. I don't care how many notes and outlines the original author may have drafted; unless it came from them, I don't want to read it. Seriously.
Is this too harsh? Maybe. I just feel like some things should be left as is. What if Margaret Mitchell wanted things to stay as they were? Why shouldn't we honor her wishes? (To be honest, I really don't know what her thoughts were on a sequel, but regardless, my opinion stays the same).
I know that in the case of AOGG, the author slated to write the prequel is fired up by the challenge to write about Anne's life before the Cuthberts, which is supposed to be very depressing and harsh, and that she's intrigued by the personality Anne Shirley developed despite her years in the orphanage, but is this really what Lucy Maud Montgomery would want? (Btw, I don't know the answer to this either). I just know I don't want it. What about you?
Would you read a sequel/prequel from a different author?
Why or why not?
Do you think there should be a prequel to AOGG?
Which other book(s) would you like to see written?
posted by Stacy~ at 11/06/2006 05:39:00 AM
Yeah, I pretty much agree. Take-offs can never compare with the real thing and I'm almost always disappointed by them.
byI LOVE LMM! She's the best.
Did you ever watch the third AoGG movie? I think Anne has a baby and Gilbert is lost in WWI or something? I've stayed away from it cuz it looked bad (and it looks like it veers off from the plot of the books). But if it's at all good I need to rent it. :)
Me too, I agree! I think classics need to be left alone. If these authors can't come up with their own material, well, they shouldn't be writing. Maybe it's me but I see it as a marketing ploy to cash in on the fame of the original books.
byI don't see a reason for a prequel to AOGG. I'm a bit boggled by it.
byThe only book I can think of that I wish someone would have written a sequel for is "Forever Amber" by Kathleen Windsor.
Jen
I don't see the point in a prequel to AoGG. Like you, I'm also a fan. Loved the movies and I still watch them a lot ~ exept for the 3rd one The Continuing Story. I did not like that one. You could tell LMM didn't write this one and it just didn't have the magic the first two did.
byHi Jennie: yes, LLM is the best. I did watch the 3rd movie, for a few reasons, not all of them deep and meaningful LOL. I loved the first two so much that I was hoping to capture some of that feeling, which was impossible - it was way too late. And Cameron Daddo was in it and I liked him a lot. (he kissed Anne in the movie). But very disappointing. Devonna's right - the magic just wasn't there.
byMailyn, I totally agree. Others are cashing in on stories already told and that's a shame. I see no reason for it other than to make these people money, and I can't go along with that. Anne of Green Gables is sacred LOL.
Did any of you get into Road to Avonlea? Gus Pike was my favorite character in that series.
Me, me, me! I enjoyed "The Road to Avonlea" also ~ Loved Gus!
byI don't like take-off's either. I remember a few years ago someone wrote a book that was supposed to cover the time Heathcliffe was missing in the Wuthering Heights book. I almost had a conniption fit over the audacity of that one!
byAnd this is a terrible admission, but I've never read or seen any of the AAGG tales. And *gulp* even though it was dear to the CBC's heart, haven't seen Road to Avonlea either
Stacy, sometimes I think we were separated at birth! :)
byI'm a LMM purist, too, and winced when I saw there were plans to write a prequel to AoGG. I mean, it's not like *Anne* spent a lot of time obsessing about her past; why should we open that door?
And I loved P & P so much I tried to read some of the takeoffs and just couldn't do it. The story is complete (and perfect) in itself; to go in other directions just felt wrong. I didn't finish any of them.
Although I did enjoy a couple of the Jane Austen mysteries, since they focused on the author and not her characters.
That's okay Kristie. I'm not big on some of the things that are big here in the U.S. - American Idol, Survivor, and I've never watched Grey's Anatomy. (shrug)
byDevonna, I had such a crush on Gus Pike. The one episode where Felicity runs away to his lighthouse and he tells her "I want everything you want" just melted my heart...sigh. I might have to blog about RtA one day...or at least about Michael Mahonen aka Gus.
LOL Kate. I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels the way I do. I once voiced my views to one of the authors writing a P&P "continuation", and she didn't really seem to understand why I was not into the concept of her writing about characters someone else created. She was very nice, but determined to write her stories. I just won't be reading them. AoGG rules....
Sounds like a marketing ploy to me too. Calling fanfiction "Official" bothers me.
byI've had a poll going on my LMM site, and surprisingly many people would like to read a prequel.
Ingrid
http:///www.tickledorange.com/LMM/