In honor of Veteran's Day, I want to say thank you to the veterans in my life: my Grandpa Chris and my Uncle Steve and my cousins and friends who have served their country, our country, to keep us all safe and preserve our way of life. It's because of them and all of the other veterans that we have the opportunities we have in our country, and I'm grateful for everything they have done. I hope you also take the time today (and every day) to recognize the veterans in your life and what they have given us and sacrificed for us. Also, I think it's important to also recognize and thank the husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, children, and families of our military men and women, for all they have to give up, as well. So thank you—we are truly blessed to have people like you!
Because I like to share reading and writing experiences on this blog, I want to add a book recommendation to this post, hopefully without taking away from the gratitude I feel. However, I think it is fitting, in a way, because it takes place during WWI, and Veteran's Day was originally set aside as a day to honor WWI veterans and falls on the official end of the war (though did you know that WWI just actually officially ended in September?). It's the final book in the Anne of Green Gables series, Rilla Of Ingleside, by L.M. Montgomery, published in 1921. Anne is in the book, but much older and really the story is told with her youngest daughter Rilla being the focus.
I think anything Anne can be somewhat romanticized, which, really, is part of the magic of the books and what makes them classic, but I think Rilla of Ingleside really stands out as a more serious piece of literature that looks at the effects of war both on those who fought and those who were left behind. It looks at the sacrifices that people had to make during this war, what it's like to experience loss, and what everyday life was like for Canadians during this time period. It also looks at how quickly war changes people, seen mostly through Rilla, and looks at what the war was like for this particular town and family. Through letters, it also gives you a brief perspecitve of what it was like to be a solider.
This book moves me every time I read it (and I probably read it at least once every year, normally more than that) and when I read it as an adult, it only gets better because I can recognize all of the unique writing techniques that Montgomery adds to her books to make them special. For exaomple, she often has the narrator step back from the story and make some kind of commentary on the situation, or even the war, that just works without forcing it. Or, she occassionally changes character perspecitve, such as through converstaions about Rilla, to show what her charcter has become and who she is, thus illustrating how the war has affected her as a young woman. This all plays into the message she give throughout the book in terms of what I was talking about above: The effects that war, especially wars of this magnitude, can have on everyone.
The book also adds in situations that are less serious, such as a baby in a soup tureen, and a somewhat happy ending (that is so emotionally complicated and wonderful at the same time), but I think that this is also be a realistic portrayal of war that is not often thought about. Life doesn't always stop for war, even though it doesn't go away, as illustrated by Rilla Blythe and her family.
Because I like to share reading and writing experiences on this blog, I want to add a book recommendation to this post, hopefully without taking away from the gratitude I feel. However, I think it is fitting, in a way, because it takes place during WWI, and Veteran's Day was originally set aside as a day to honor WWI veterans and falls on the official end of the war (though did you know that WWI just actually officially ended in September?). It's the final book in the Anne of Green Gables series, Rilla Of Ingleside, by L.M. Montgomery, published in 1921. Anne is in the book, but much older and really the story is told with her youngest daughter Rilla being the focus.
I think anything Anne can be somewhat romanticized, which, really, is part of the magic of the books and what makes them classic, but I think Rilla of Ingleside really stands out as a more serious piece of literature that looks at the effects of war both on those who fought and those who were left behind. It looks at the sacrifices that people had to make during this war, what it's like to experience loss, and what everyday life was like for Canadians during this time period. It also looks at how quickly war changes people, seen mostly through Rilla, and looks at what the war was like for this particular town and family. Through letters, it also gives you a brief perspecitve of what it was like to be a solider.
This book moves me every time I read it (and I probably read it at least once every year, normally more than that) and when I read it as an adult, it only gets better because I can recognize all of the unique writing techniques that Montgomery adds to her books to make them special. For exaomple, she often has the narrator step back from the story and make some kind of commentary on the situation, or even the war, that just works without forcing it. Or, she occassionally changes character perspecitve, such as through converstaions about Rilla, to show what her charcter has become and who she is, thus illustrating how the war has affected her as a young woman. This all plays into the message she give throughout the book in terms of what I was talking about above: The effects that war, especially wars of this magnitude, can have on everyone.
The book also adds in situations that are less serious, such as a baby in a soup tureen, and a somewhat happy ending (that is so emotionally complicated and wonderful at the same time), but I think that this is also be a realistic portrayal of war that is not often thought about. Life doesn't always stop for war, even though it doesn't go away, as illustrated by Rilla Blythe and her family.
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