Book and Movie Review: Emily of New Moon
I thought I would review Emily of New Moon today, although it’s been a few months since I’ve read it.
I discovered the TV series at a store, and was immediately interested, if for no other reason than it was a historical children’s drama done in Canada. I love the way some of those TV shows are filmed and written (Pit Pony season 1 comes to mind, excellent illustration of family life and child labor and has well-defined characters). I rented Season One and was by turns impressed by some scenes (as when Emily confronts Aunt Elizabeth about her books, or when Emily damns a group of relatives to hell), and dismayed or irritated by their melodrama (Emily spends much of episode one screaming at various times as her cat is left behind, tossed from a wagon and thrown out of a window). Even though the novel was written by L.M. Montgomery, the author who wrote Anne of Green Gables, and this implies it is an early-20th-century book, (as it is), but I was inspired to read the series of books because I was certain some of the scenes had been stretched to fit modern tastes.
Would a child in 1915 really speak to a group of adults as Emily does? I thought it was pretty bold for a child of that time period.
Now other rude children like Mary in The Secret Garden spring to mind, but the answer is yes, in the first book she does speak rudely to the adults, and she does confront Aunt Elizabeth about her books in roughly the same way as in the movie.
There are extensive changes from the books, and in most cases, I think for the better. I slogged through the second and third books, uninterested by Emily’s various suitors, understanding why the book was so internal (Emily wants to be a writer and it is largely how she develops skills), but I felt that there were missed opportunities. You don’t learn very much about the inhabitants of the village in any way except through Emily’s diary at times, I didn’t feel attached to Teddy, Perry or Ilse, Emily’s friends, etc. Also, very little seems to actually be happening (more happens in the first book, in my opinion). This makes sense because the book is about observing things, and its said that the Murrays of New Moon keep to themselves, but wouldn’t observing townspeople at least or church or rare gathering places be useful? Granted, I suppose it’s more realistic than Anne of Green Gables, in that Emily is not off having adventures all the time, but I felt that was rather a shame. I’m not a large fan of Anne of Green Gables or L.M. Montgomery anyway.
The TV series keeps the best parts of scenes in the books, makes up several others so that something happens in each episode (sometimes melodramatic, sometimes not), and changes several incidents. For instance, the first book starts with Emily’s father dying of tuberucolis — a common theme in books like this, and one that would have been familiar in reality to people of the time. But this means that Emily’s father is too tired to do anything during the first chapter, except die. The TV series corrects this, by showing that he dislikes public school (which is amplified by a beating Emily gets at school) — causing her father to knock the teacher around. Well, at least he’s doing something. Then a sudden heart attack finishes him off, and Emily is made to draw lots as to which relative wants her.
I thought for certain the lots were created for the TV series, but there they are in the book too. Also, another scene (Lofty John and the apple), and a funny scene where chore boy Perry ends up naked before company are also in TV series and book. Other things I wish the TV series had developed further — they make good use of an unconventional teacher, and Perry’s aunt (who appears in a second season), but the episode that tries to show what happened to Cousin Jimmy to make him “not all there” is more confusing than the lines in the book that inspired it.
For instance, early on in the TV series, Emily is asked to take out the cows — and if writing and reading are forbidden in this new home (a device I thought was wonderful) — why is she not also making up stories while doing chores? In the book, if I remember correctly, she is rarely shown doing any chores at all, and you can’t tell me that a working farm during this time period, however poor, would not have children working. In the TV series, Perry the chore boy is hired, and the scene where he wants to go to school is expanded, but very little use is made of his character — even though he lives in the same house as Emily and she sees him every day. In the book, she’s friends with him as well, but I thought good use wasn’t made of her friends there either (though I did enjoy the “yo’ mama equivilant in the series and book between Emily and Ilse).
In the second season, cows, chickens and sheep are ordered slaughtered by Murray relatives (who did not exist in the book). Although you see the horse and occasionally cows, and the barn is Cousin Jimmy’s place, you rarely see any chores except sweeping up being done and I was not aware the family actually possesed sheep.
so I read all the books. I like the first one best, though I doubt I will check it out again. I had no use for the second and third, and I felt they dragged, and although I find the TV series has it’s high and low points, and is not as well-produced as Pit Pony, I am in the middle of the second season and plan to watch the third. I feel that they actually made improvements by changing what happens drastically. As far as production values, I should add that the scenery, props, lighting, costuming and general construction of the series are as well done as I would expect from a Canadian period piece. They are as well done as Pit Pony or Anne of Green Gables. That said, there are parts of this series that are over-acted or difficult for me to believe — almost never the case with the Pit Pony series, even though both that and this series contain ghosts.
So I am finishing season two, waiting for season three, and waiting for impatiently for season 2 (the final season) of Pit Pony on DVD. The first was released years and left an excellent cliff-hanger and I’ve been dying to find out what happens to the characters. I can’t say I have the same impatience for this series — but be that as it may, I now own the first season of Emily of New Moon on DVD.