Book Review: The Golden Road

[osprey_archer]

The Golden Road is the sequel to The Story Girl, and I remembered vaguely that I had liked it more than the first book, although as with the first book I had forgotten most of what actually happens in it. However, one sequence more or less burned itself into my mind:

The Awkward Man is a desperately shy man who lives alone on a farm not far from the domicile of the Story Girl and her companions. Although he mostly keeps himself to himself, one tale of him remains a source of speculation on the Island:

In the Awkward Man’s otherwise unexceptionable farmhouse, there is one room that is always kept locked. One day, however, he forgot to lock it, and his weekly charwoman went inside and discovered that the room is daintily furnished, with a low comfortable chair and a shelf full of books with “Alice” written on the flyleaf and an elegant pale blue silk tea gown hanging from the wall.

From this the denizens of PEI drew the obvious conclusion: the Awkward Man is trans!

Hahaha no, this does not occur to anyone. No one even contemplates “Cross-dressing?” In fact, the conclusion they draw is that the charwoman must be lying.

But the charwoman is telling God’s own truth. As the Story Girl discovers, the Awkward Man furnished this secret room for his dream woman, a boon companion to his solitude, for he never expected to marry in real life. But then a new sweet new music teacher came to town - and her name just happens to be Alice…

As Alice’s path to and from town takes her past the Awkward Man’s property, they soon get to talking, and a friendship develops. It would never have been anything more, however, if Alice hadn’t happened to pass at an unusual time one day, and catch the Awkward Man pouring his heart out to himself in his orchard, proclaiming the love that he will never, ever be able to share to Alice’s face, for of course she would only laugh at him…

If anyone else on God’s green earth wrote this story, it would seem at least a little weird - even the Story Girl says that if she didn’t tell it just right, the story would seem laughable. But like Miss Lavendar, in Montgomery’s hands the Awkward Man seems somehow sweet and romantic, and even slightly magical. How did he know that her name would be Alice! Montgomery offers no explanation. We are simply left to infer that it was, perhaps, precognition, or the sympathetic vibration of souls across time and distance.



…I finished this book just a few days ago, and I have yet again forgotten most of the parts that are not about the Awkward Man. Oh, and also our young heroes decide they’ll make their own magazine! That’s always fun.

Comments

[asakiyume]

See, this goes to show how there's a magical chemistry between a story--however doubtful the premise--and a reader sometimes, and other times it's lacking. You felt it here, but not for Scarlet Sails! ... Which sounds like grievance speaking, but that's not how I meant it. I'm fine with Scarlet Sails being a miss for you--hell, I barely remember it, as I said in my comment on your entry on it--but I'm just struck by the fact that two stories that could seem from an outsider's point of view to have similarly preposterous premises, and which are written by authors with similar degrees of popularity in their own spheres (though admittedly LM Montgomery has wider international reach) can affect readers totally differently. It's chemistry; it's magic. Or maybe it's the other thing you said: you had read this one as a child, and maybe the seed needs to land at that time to be appreciated, in some cases.

[osprey_archer]

I think it also helps in this case that, although he builds the Alice room before he actually meets Alice, once he does meet Alice there is in fact a courtship period before she stumbles upon him pouring out his heartfelt love in the orchard. He lends her books! They lean over the fence to chat about the books! There is time for love to develop on both sides.

[landofnowhere]

Does he lend her the books with "Alice" in the flyleaf, and does this spark any awkward conversations?

[osprey_archer]

IIRC the book doesn't mention any such situation, so I can only assume that he sees the awkward conversation potential and doesn't lend her those books.

[asakiyume]

Hahaha, fair enough. That's a bit more realistic!

[sovay]

How did he know that her name would be Alice! Montgomery offers no explanation. We are simply left to infer that it was, perhaps, precognition, or the sympathetic vibration of souls across time and distance.

That fits with some of the other faintly supernatural touches in Montgomery's work. The mystical connection of Teddy and Emily in the Emily books never worked for me, but Emily in a fever seeing the death of Ilse's mother always did, and Walter's premonitions of the Piper in Rilla of Ingleside frightened me as a child.

[osprey_archer]

Yes, and Montgomery isn't the only early twentieth century writer who has these little flashes of telepathy in otherwise realistic novels - Norah, the heroine of the Billabong series, sometimes has clairvoyant moments, most notably one time when her dad is injured. It's interesting how the boundaries of "realistic" shift from era to era.

[kore]

I remember it happening in Jane Eyre! For some reason most of the adaptations leave that out, heh.

[osprey_archer]

Rochester CALLS TO JANE across the miles, and she knows that she must go to him at once! Classic. Beautiful. Soul telepathy! Montgomery draws from only the classiest sources.

[kore]

“Down, Superstition!” I commented, as that spectre rose up black by the black yew at the gate. “This is not thy deception, nor thy witchcraft: it is the work of Nature. She was roused, and did – no miracle – but her best.”

Charlotte Bronte: YOU WILL INTERROGATE MY TEXT THE RIGHT WAY, KTHNX

[osprey_archer]

NOT supernatural, simply the NATURAL POWER OF LOVE.

[kore]

I love how totally pagan that book is (and how Charlotte keeps insisting it is the power of NATURE). The religious dudes are the villains! Go Charlotte! (And it wasn't supernatural, but she gave Papa's curates some serious shit at the beginning of Shirley.)

[kore]

(Not to mention all the fairy stuff and Rochester calling Jane an actual spirit! ....I think Anne was the one who never had anything supernatural in her novels, superNatural or otherwise.)

[kore]

....I am a sad modern creature because my brain immediately went "OMG THAT'S THE COLLECTOR." Oh dear.

[osprey_archer]

I'm not familiar with this reference!

[kore]

The John Fowles novel that You ripped off: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Collector

[skygiants]

The Awkward Man is also what I remember best about The Golden Road! It's an extremely sweet story but I also firmly believe in my heart that there is Certainly some Gender Stuff going on there.

[osprey_archer]

I often feel that there is some Gender Stuff going on in LMM without, usually, being able to pinpoint exactly what it is. Just vibes! Lots of vibes!