Audiobook Sample
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- Title: Rilla of Ingleside
- Author: L.M. Montgomery
- Narrator: Karen Savage
- Length: 08:40:00
- Version: Abridged
- Release Date: 09/08/2006
- Publisher: LibriVox
- Genre: Fiction & Literature, Classics
- ISBN13: SABLIBX978059
The first time I heard Karen Savage’s voice narrating Rilla of Ingleside, I was driving through the rolling hills of Prince Edward Island – the very landscape that birthed Montgomery’s timeless tale. There’s something profoundly moving about experiencing this story in audio form, where the cadence of Savage’s narration carries the same comforting weight as my Oaxacan host grandmother’s evening stories, each pause and inflection revealing layers of emotion beneath the words.
Montgomery’s final Anne novel unfolds like a hand-stitched quilt passed down through generations – familiar in its patterns yet startling in its wartime context. Where previous books danced with the lightheartedness of youth, Rilla of Ingleside bears the weight of history as we follow Anne’s youngest daughter through Canada’s home front during WWI. Savage’s narration captures Rilla’s transformation from a self-absorbed fifteen-year-old (‘I’m just a little girl!’) to a woman of quiet strength with remarkable nuance. Her vocal shifts between characters aren’t theatrical but subtle – a slight softening for delicate Susan, a firmer cadence for practical Gertrude – much like the natural variations in a seasoned storyteller’s voice around a campfire.
The audiobook format particularly shines in Montgomery’s letters-from-the-front passages. When Savage reads Walter’s poetic yet haunting battlefield accounts, her voice takes on a distant quality that makes you feel you’re hearing echoes across both distance and time. It reminded me of listening to war veterans’ oral histories during my travels – that particular timbre when someone recounts events that have etched themselves into their being.
What surprised me most was how contemporary Rilla’s story feels. Montgomery wrote this in 1921 with the war’s wounds still fresh, and Savage’s performance preserves that raw immediacy. The anxiety of waiting for telegrams, the surreal normalcy of knitting socks while empires fall, the way young love persists amid chaos – these moments land with startling relevance in our own turbulent times. I found myself parked at a coastal overlook, unable to exit the car during Rilla’s vigil for her brothers, so visceral was the narration’s emotional pull.
As a travel writer, I’m particularly drawn to how Montgomery (and by extension, Savage) maps emotional landscapes. The Ingleside kitchen becomes as vivid as any physical location – you can almost smell Susan’s war-effort cooking and hear the clock ticking through sleepless nights. Savage handles Montgomery’s famous descriptive passages with a painter’s touch, letting the imagery bloom naturally rather than forcing its beauty.
While some may miss the lighter tone of earlier Anne books, this audiobook reveals Montgomery’s mature craftsmanship. The juxtaposition of ordinary life against global catastrophe creates profound tension, and Savage navigates these shifts with impeccable timing. Her handling of the famous ‘dance of the shadows’ chapter – where joy and dread intertwine at a farewell party – is a masterclass in emotional storytelling.
For those new to Montgomery’s work, this stands powerfully alone. For series devotees, it’s a poignant culmination – hearing familiar names face unprecedented trials adds layers of meaning that Savage honors without overplaying. The free LibriVox production maintains excellent audio quality, though occasional background sounds only enhance the sense of listening to a cherished family story being shared.
In an era where we’re inundated with disposable content, this audiobook feels like discovering a forgotten journal in a seaside attic – intimate, historically significant, and unexpectedly timely. Whether you’re a longtime Anne fan or a newcomer to Canadian classics, Savage’s narration makes this wartime coming-of-age story resonate with quiet power.
With a traveler’s appreciation for stories that endure,
Marcus
Marcus Rivera
